A large-scale construction scheme in Kent, which is said to have the potential to deliver 60,000 jobs, has been given the go-ahead.

The Department for Communities and Local Government, local councillors and developers have reached an agreement which should see the first homes completed in December 2013 as part of the first phase of development of a brownfield site at Eastern Quarry, Ebbsfleet.

This first phase will deliver 1,500 homes and the project as a whole is due to deliver 22,600 over a 20-year lifespan.

Speaking to Recruiter for the construction and property sector focus in the August edition of the magazine, industry recruitment and resourcing professionals suggested that a lack of major projects presently tendering would lead to a longer-term skills shortage. And Baljit Rai, recruitment manager at contractor Kier Infrastructure & Overseas, noted in the article that “there’s not much housing going on”.

Developer Land Securities is at the centre of the new developments, having invested over £100m in development, as well as £25m in the Home and Roads Programme, which also benefits from £13m awarded by government agency the Homes and Communities Agency.

Colette O'Shea, head of London development, Land Securities, says: "We are pleased that a way forward has been found to unlock the potential at Eastern Quarry and we will now sit down with our housebuilding partners and press ahead to start delivering homes and jobs."