One of the developers behind Ashford's garden city project says first-time buyers trying to get out of London are driving interest in the new homes.

And elsewhere in Tunbridge Wells, estate agents Belvoir also say they have seen an increase in people from the capital interested in buying homes in the county, mostly because of the pandemic.

Natalie Boardman from Belvoir says more working from home has been a deciding factor

Natalie Boardman, owner of Belvoir, said she's noticed an influx of people who want to buy homes in the county.

She said: "As a result of the pandemic people are seeing that they don't need to be London-based to do their jobs. They can often do them at home or they may need to go into the office just a couple of times a week, so they can obviously get an awful lot more for their money in and around Tunbridge Wells than they can in London.

"We've seen that in terms of both buyers and sellers and in terms of renters.

"They can be in Kent and have still got an easy commute to London with the good train services that we've got and if that's only a couple of days a week, then it probably enables a better work/life balance for people as well to spend more time with their children."

Ms Boardman also thinks Kent appeals to Londoners because of what it has to offer.

She added: "It has an awful lot of green space and there is quite a lot of culture as well, so you know talking about Tunbridge Wells for example, you've got a lot of cultural activities and high street names, but you've also got lots of lovely independent shops.

"It's the same with the restaurants as well, you've got a bit of familiarity with some of the names, but it's nice to have independent, more boutique-style shops and a lot going on, so that is attractive to people who have come from a sort of bustling part of the country."

Ms Boardman says the trend will continue into 2021.

She added: "We had one family come down and they are living in a small one-bedroomed flat in London and they were looking at a four-bedroomed house, so financially it's comparable, which is a bit crazy.

"What we are seeing is when people do move down from London they are very much looking for the working from home space, so whether that's a room big enough for a desk or an additional room they can use as an office and obviously outside space is particularly important given what's happened recently.

"People want to know they have got some outside space."

And in Ashford, the Chilmington Green scheme, which was approved in 2014, will see 5,750 homes built south of Singleton.

There will also be five new schools, shops, a community hub and sports and leisure facilities.

Construction at the site is being carried out by a group of developers, of which Hodson Developments is the lead.

Of the 5,750 houses about 500 are being erected by Barratt Homes.

Phase one of their build consisted of 13 homes, all of which are now complete and occupied, and phase two launched earlier this year, consisting of 52 homes.

This latter phase is expected to be completed at some time between December and March 2021.

Barratt land director Luke Cooper said he was positive about sales, despite the impact of Covid-19 on the economy.

He said: "When we first started on site, sales were a little slower than we hoped for but when the views of the country park opened up that was a key selling point.

"We did stop on site temporarily due to Covid but we saw a massive spike in interest in the homes.

"The lockdown and furlough period saw a lot of people looking at properties. When restrictions were lifted in May, we saw a real peak with first time buyers trying to get out of London.

"It's a reasonable commute to the capital and we've seen a lot more interest from people there."

Since sales started in early 2019, there have been 47 Help to Buy sales to date, 37 of which were first time buyers.

Mr Cooper said many of the sales had been to local buyers either looking to get onto the property ladder or downsizing to a lower-maintenance new home.

He suggested: "People are seeing the work environment change - people are looking for places with more space and moving to places with better views and nature.

"The homes at Chilmington are ideal for working from home and rooms can be easily converted into home offices."

Prices currently start from £344,995 for a detached three-bedroom home with three double bedrooms, a utility room and three parking spaces.

Read more: All the latest news from Ashford

Read more: All the latest news from Tunbridge Wells