Maidstone council has taken 40 affordable-rent flats at Britannia House and Earl's House, Granville Road: 24 one-beds, 16 two-beds, tenants moving in soon.

Maidstone Borough Council has taken ownership of 40 new affordable homes on Granville Road. They are in two blocks, Britannia House and Earl’s House, and the council says residents are expected to move in soon (Maidstone Borough Council, 29 October 2026).

The flats were built by Skillcrown Homes for the council on what the council calls “previously underused sites”. Skillcrown’s project page gives the mix and the tenure (Skillcrown: Granville Road, Maidstone):

Number
One-bedroom flats 24
Two-bedroom flats 16
Total 40

All 40 are for affordable rent, with the council as the client.

What is in them

The council lists these features:

  • solar panels
  • electric heating
  • heat-recovery technology
  • water-efficient fittings
  • bat and swift boxes built into the blocks
  • new planters around both buildings

The council says the energy features could lower residents’ bills. It has not said by how much.

The second handover this autumn

This is the second batch of council flats from the same partnership in seven weeks. In September the council took 43 flats at Len Martin Court and Wilberforce House, both on Tonbridge Road, which we reported at the time.

Skillcrown’s land and development director, Matt Arnold, said 83 homes are now complete across three sites, with “a further 41 in the pipeline”.

That matches what the council said when it reopened its Housing Revenue Account on 1 October, becoming a council landlord again for the first time since 2004. Its announcement listed 63 council homes then under construction (Maidstone Borough Council, 30 September 2026):

  • 28 at Britannia House, Granville Road
  • 12 on land in Granville Road
  • 23 at Corben’s Yard phase 2, Tonbridge Road

The first two make up today’s 40. Corben’s Yard is the one still to come. Our report on the account reopening covers the rents it assumes and the 332 further homes with planning permission.

Councillor Simon Wales, the Cabinet Member for Housing and Homelessness, said: “Having a safe and secure home can make such a difference to someone’s life, and that is what makes developments like these so important.”

The council’s stated target is 1,000 affordable homes over ten years.

What it means for you

The council has not said how the 40 flats will be let, or what the rents will be. We will add both if it publishes them.

The usual route into council and housing association homes in the borough is the housing register (Maidstone Borough Council: the housing register). To join, you must be over 18 and eligible, and meet both tests:

  • a housing need, such as a medical need, overcrowding, unsafe housing, hardship, or a welfare reason like leaving care
  • a local connection: you have lived in Maidstone for the last three years, or work in the borough for at least 16 hours a week

Once accepted, you get a band and bid for homes through Kent Homechoice.

Sources