Houses emerge from the rubble of KM Group's headquarters
13:15, 21 June 2013
The development of homes at the former headquarters of the KM Group will be officially launched next weekend.
Saturday, June 29 is the moment potential buyers can visit the Larkfield site, just off New Hythe Lane. It will be known as Orchard Mews and, when complete, it will also have a new head office for the KM Group.
So far, three new show homes have been built. The rest of the homes will be complete in the next 18 months to two years.
An idea to name at least one of the roads after the industry that has dominated the site has not come to fruition. Several suggestions were put forward, but Tonbridge and Malling council has chosen Albion Drive for one of the streets.
Business on the site shut down in August when the last of the KM Group workers moved out.
By May, most of the site had been reduced to rubble, and now the new homes are emerging from the debris.
A spokesman for builders Redrow Homes said the demolition process lasted four months and some of the materials had been recycled. During construction work, KM Group employees from Larkfield have been relocated to other offices across the county.
Orchard Mews will have 55 homes, a mix of two-bedroom flats and family houses.
Redrow's Kerry Jenkins said: “We know from our other highly successful developments nearby that there is a strong local demand for high-quality new housing. But, as well as a fantastic selection of homes, the venture will also bring additional economic benefits to the area including a new media facility and construction jobs.”
Redrow is the company behind the Sutton Woods and The Grange development on the former Senacre College site in Maidstone, where it is building 350 homes.