Tesco’s development arm Spen Hill is believed to be looking at plans to employ contractors directly for the projects rather than run the jobs as joint-ventures with other developers

The firm has considered a move into the housebuilding market several times in recent years but now believes the timing is right with prices  rising and construction levels still low. It also believes it can raise funding for larger developments which have proved a struggle for traditional house builders during the recession.

The “mini-villages” are due to be built in Bromley-by-Bow, East London, Dartford, Kent, Streatham, in South London, and Woolwich, southeast London.  Lambeth Council has already given the go-ahead for it to build 200 homes, a bus depot and ice rink in Streatham.

Tesco is expecting approval next month for the 400 homes, primary school, hotel and park that it plans to build in Bromley-by-Bow, close to the Olympic Park. It is also in advanced talks with Dartford Borough Council over a development of around 1,000 homes. It is finalising the details of 900 homes in Woolwich, where work has already begun on a library and civic centre.

Consent has been granted for a scheme in Ipswich that will have some flats and it is in talks with councils in Gateshead and Sunderland about bringing the model to the North East. The projects are expected to create at least 1,000 construction jobs.

A Tesco spokesman told the Times: “Through innovative mixed-use developments such as Bromley-by-Bow and Streatham we are able to invest and create jobs in areas that many other developers cannot and will not.”