Perimeter fencing has been erected around farmland in Herne Bay poised to be turned into a 450-home estate.

The 57-acre plot - now dubbed Oxenden Park - has been earmarked for housing for a number of years, and now diggers are primed to move in.

But construction work cannot begin before the last piece of the planning puzzle has been completed.

Outline permission for the sprawling £150 million estate at the site, between Thornden Wood Road and the Thanet Way, was secured last autumn - yet national housebuilder Bellway Homes still requires the go-ahead for its detailed proposals.

The plans now lie in the hands of Canterbury City Council, which is likely to determine the designs in the coming weeks.

Bellway acquired the site earlier this year from Herne Bay-based firm Hollamby Estates which drew up the masterplan back in 2017.

If given the go-ahead to move the diggers in, project leaders hope the first properties to be marketed and built from 2022.

It was previously predicted that the first homes would be occupied by the end of 2019.

The development to the south of Greenhill Road will comprise a range of two, three and four-bedroom family homes, along with a number of two-bedroom flats.

When complete, it will act as a large expansion to Greenhill in a project aimed to “maximise the potential of the land”.

Throughout the planning process, the scheme was known as Thornden Wood Village, yet after being taken over by Bellway, the estate is set to be named Oxenden Park.

As part of the project, Briary Primary School will be given additional playing fields, an improved car park and an enhanced drop-off area for parents.

A community building, pitches and a hard-surfaced multi-games area, which are set to be managed by the Herne Bay Roller Hockey Club, will also be built.

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