A social housing provider has signed a deal to take on 156 new affordable homes.

Park Properties Housing Association (PPHA) will take on the units at the Barratt Redrow’s The Poppies development in Aylesford.

The collection of one-bedroom and two-bedroom flats and three-bedroom and four-bedroom houses will provide accommodation for up to 648 people.

All the properties are being designed to be energy-efficient, and residents will have access to the primary school and medical centre being built on site as part of the wider development of 840 homes.

The affordable homes will be constructed over the next three and a half years, with the first due to be completed this December.

They will be made available on an affordable rent basis.

Daniel Watson, the head of PPHA Acquisitions, said: “We are committed to getting more affordable rental homes on the market as soon as possible.

“This urgent need is evident from the latest shocking statistics, which show that there are more than 169,000 children living in temporary accommodation.

“This first project with Barratt Redrow is a big opportunity to bring high-quality affordable rent homes to completion, so people and families in Kent can have somewhere warm, safe and comfortable to live.”

PPHA has 1,500 units nationwide with a combined open market value of £500m.

The company is owned by the HSPG group.

Not far away, on the other side of Maidstone, the Golding Homes Housing Association has reached a deal with housebuilder Vistry to take on further affordable housing units at the Rosewood development in Langley.

Jack Crabtree of Golding Homes, said: “Rosewood is one of the most significant development sites in Maidstone, and we’re really pleased to be providing even more affordable housing in an area where we’re already a local, listening and accessible landlord.

“We’re also excited to strengthen our partnership with Vistry, to deliver more high-quality homes for local people.”