The first garden city to be built in Britain in almost 100 years is to be constructed in Ebbsfleet, by the Thames Estuary, creating a range of job opportunities for tradesmen.

Chancellor George Osborne has announced the creation of the new city, saying that 15,000 homes will be constructed in the first phase of the development, with a further 120,000 homes planned for the future.

The Ebbsfleet sites has been chosen as a result of its proximity to good transport links into central London – a high speed rail link will take commuters into the centre of the city in just 19 minutes.

“In Ebbsfleet there is the land available, there is fantastic infrastructure with the high speed line,” Mr Osborne told the BBC.

"It's on the river, it's in the south-east of England where a lot of the housing pressure has been. And crucially you've got local communities and local MPs who support the idea,” he added.

London mayor Boris Johnson said that the plans were “great news for London", as well as for the jobs market, overall UK growth and the economy.

Local tradesmen such as electricians and plumbers will be much in demand as the first phase of construction gets underway at the site. Many local residents are thrilled that the site is finally to be developed – Ebbsfleet has been identified as a site for a major housing development for the last 10 years, but, until now, progress has been slow.