Canterbury City Council has announced it has invested £23m in affordable housing after secret negotiations.

The local authority has bought the freehold of 44 properties in Canterbury, which will be converted into 63 self-contained flats and houses.

The deal was reached in secret because the council was worried they might be ‘gazumped’ by a wealthier local authority.

In 2016 they were outbid on 208 properties in Canterbury by the London Borough of Redbridge, who planned to move in more than 200 families who were in temporary housing.

‘This deal has been a long time coming and is the result of a great deal of hard work by officers behind the scenes,’ said the Canterbury CC leader Cllr Simon Cook.

‘We have not been able to talk about this earlier for fear of being gazumped by those with deeper pockets than our own.

‘These properties, which are close to the city centre, will provide a massive boost in the number of socially-rented homes across the district.

‘Local people tell us affordable housing is one of their key priorities and high house prices and market rents are an issue.’

Statistics show homes that are among the cheapest 25% of properties in the district, cost more than 13 times the income of the 25% lowest earners.

There are 2,401 households on the city council’s Housing Needs Register who are unable to afford private market housing.

The new purchase will be partly funded from the money received from homes sold under the Right to Buy scheme and partly funded from the council’s housing reserve with the balance made up by a loan.