Plans for a new garden town with 8,500 homes are reportedly a step closer with shovels set to hit the ground next year.

Not a single brick has been laid yet for Otterpool Park near Sellindge, Kent, despite the plans getting the thumbs up in April 2023.

But a deal with the Labour Government is in the offing on the scheme, which was one of the country's largest planning applications when it was submitted.

Folkestone and Hythe District Council (FHDC) leader, Jim Martin, has said he is more confident than ever over the new garden town's future.

Once people move in, Otterpool Park will have a larger population than , the nearest town, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

FHDC's planning chiefs gave an outline application for the scheme at the old Folkestone Racecourse a green light 20 months ago.

It emerged last month that the local authority had yet to secure a business partner to help deliver the huge project, but a council meeing on Wednesday revealed the town hall is striking a deal with Homes England, the Government's housing and regeneration agency.

Challenges remain, including the funding and approval of a wastewater treatment plant, but Mr Martin said 300 new homes could probably be built per year.

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "I am more confident than I've ever been about the future of Otterpool."

A spokesman for Homes England said talks are ongoing with FHDC to determine the best course of action to deliver Otterpool Park.

News of the development comes amid a shake-up of planning rules, with councils given mandatory targets to deliver a total of 370,000 homes a year in England as the Government battles to make sure its target of 1.5 million new homes can be built over the course of this parliament.

An updated national planning policy framework commits to a "brownfield first" strategy, with disused sites which have been developed in the past prioritised for new builds.

The default answer when a developer seeks to build on brownfield sites will be "yes", but the Government says such sites will not be enough for the number of homes needed.

Councils will also be ordered to review their greenbelt boundaries to meet targets by identifying lower quality "grey belt" land which could be built on.

The framework defines the grey belt for the first time as green belt land which "does not strongly contribute to green belt purposes".

Those purposes include limiting urban sprawl, stopping neighbouring towns merging and preserving the special character of historic towns.

Safeguarding the countryside from encroachment and helping urban regeneration are no longer included as purposes.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said this week that building homes is a "top priority" over nature and the environment.

He said: "Of course we want to get the balance right with nature and the environment, but if it comes to a human being wanting to have a house for them and their family, that has to be the top priority."