Plans for thousands of homes, an education campus and park in Ebbsfleet have been approved.

The development is the largest part of Ebbsfleet Garden City, and will include 6,250 homes and an education campus.

The site, which is three times the size of Hyde Park, will have a market square with shops, bars and restaurants in it.

Once this scheme has been completed, the Garden City will have three new villages built across 1.5 miles.

Plans by Landsec include an education campus with secondary and primary schools to serve the growing Garden City population.

This comes after a primary school in Northfleet was shelved last week by the Department of Education, which said there was a lack of pupils available for the opening date which was set for next year.

As well as the new campus, Ebbsfleet Development Corporation has given the green light for neighbourhood greens, parks and play areas.

Ian Piper, Chief Executive at Ebbsfleet Development Corporation: “We are determined to create a great place for people to live within the Garden City and we will continue to work with all the developers to ensure the highest quality development is now delivered.

“The Development Corporation will invest further in key pieces of infrastructure, including an upgraded public transport network with dedicated routes for buses - meaning the majority of residents living in Eastern Quarry will be within a five minute walk of a bus stop - giving great connections across and through the Garden City.”

These plans are for the largest part of the garden development, which was first announced in 2014.

The number of homes being built in Dartford rose by over a thousand in the last year, making it the most in Kent for new developments.

Ian Rickwood, Chief Executive of Henley, which is delivering the infrastructure for the Garden City scheme, said: “We are pleased that planning permission has been granted for Eastern Quarry, which marks a significant milestone in progressing this landmark residential development in the heart of Ebbsfleet Garden City, and is testament to the strength and high quality of the plans.

“This project is in line with Henley Camland’s ongoing commitment to placemaking and creating communities, as well as contributing to alleviating the UK’s housing shortage through the delivery of much-needed new homes. We look forward to making further announcements in the near future on the successful momentum we are seeing at this site.”