The £24.5m contract will see the builder deliver 110 houses and a range of apartments of different size and tenure at Barrow Hall Road in Great Wakering.

Steve Leakey, managing director of Higgins said: “We look forward to starting on site in the coming months.”

The buildings are designed by Chaplin Farrant Architects to complement the local area with dark roofs with brick and occasional rendered walls.

Open swales, ponds and basins form part of the sustainable drainage system while a large wet feature within the public open space will be provided which will serve as an attenuation pond and encourage diverse wildlife.

A pumping station, which will be largely underground and hidden from view, will also be built.