The deal to purchase the site is subject to planning, which has been granted (resolution to grant outline planning permission).

The project is set to deliver two-, three-, four- and five-bedroom houses with gardens, an orchard, and an open public space of around 4.7 acres, in the form of a ‘pocket park’.

The residential scheme includes 40% affordable housing.

The purchase is the first in a series of negotiations to form £500m in land acquisitions over the next five years, adding to the company’s £2.13bn portfolio of pipeline developments across London and the South East in a plan to deliver more than 7,500 homes.

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Weston Homes is keen to develop greenfield land and brownfield sites and country houses, as well as corporate headquarters or institutional buildings to convert into residential and mixed-use schemes.

The business aims for its developments to be within a 15-minute walk to a rail station in outer London and the South West.

Bob Weston, chairman and managing director at Weston Homes (pictured above), said: “The acquisition of the Thornwood village site in Epping will enable Weston Homes to deliver a new residential scheme of family houses perfect for first-time buyers, young couples and families.

“This new development in the London commuter region is part of our ongoing major growth and expansion.”