Growing the Kent economy 2016/17

Growing the Kent Economy 2016

live-work units, a foodstore and retail

units and a public house/restaurant.

Outline permission for a sustainable

community of 5,750 homes designed on

garden city principles at Chilmington

Green, with employment space to

create 1,000 jobs, was approved in

2014. Funding of £10.2m from central

government via the South East Local

Enterprise Partnership (SELEP) will

address A28 Chart Road congestion

and create access to the site.

Such infrastructure improvements are

vital and, in addition to dualling the

A28, the importance of Ashford is

shown by the Ashford International rail

signalling project with £2m of European

funding in addition to £2m from SELEP.

A new M20 Junction 10a, recognised as

an NSIP, will unlock development in

southern Ashford.

Stanhope Plc has submitted an application

with in excess of £75m of private

investment into Ashford for a multi-

screen cinema, family hotel, restaurant

and new homes on the long-awaited

Elwick Place site. McArthurGlen has an

approved application to add up to 40

new stores and six restaurants/cafés to

extend Ashford Designer Outlet by

around 9,290m² (100,000ft²). The

opening is planned for 2018 and is set

to provide a stronger link with the town

centre and create up to 700 jobs.

East Kent

Ashford

Ashford has been named as the best

business location in Kent, the number

one choice for inward investment in the

County and a commercial powerhouse

in the South East. With its unrivalled

location, Ashford is the fastest growing

town between London and the

continent, enjoying high speed and

international rail links, competitive

house prices and beautiful countryside

as the most rural borough in Kent.

Ashford continues to attract international

companies and retains its position as the

place in Kent to relocate as evidenced

by leading Swedish bank Handelsbanken

and the investment promotion

agency Locate in Kent moving into

International House. The building,

opposite Ashford International Station,

was purchased by Ashford Borough

Council in 2014 and is part of major

regeneration plans for a commercial

quarter in the town centre.

This prime location offers extensive

opportunities and potential for

thousands of jobs, 54,812m² (590,000ft²)

of office space, 150 homes and to

become a business hub for the South

East. Public realm improvements

nearing completion will create a

positive first impression for people

who arrive in Ashford by train.

In September 2015 the Council also

announced it has triggered the delivery

of the first new office building in the

commercial quarter by selling 5,000m²

(53,820ft²) of land to Quinn Estates Ltd

and George Wilson Holdings Ltd.

With their expertise they will bring

forward exciting plans to redevelop the

area adding to over three million square

feet of commercial space created in

their ten-year partnership. Work on the

first commercial building will start in

2016 with completion in 2017.

A planning application is expected for

industrial units on most of a site at

Carlton Road in the town.

Significant commercial development

is complemented by major housing

developments under construction,

illustrating confidence in the housing

market in the Ashford area. With an

average of 615 new homes built in each

of the last 12 years, Ashford has bucked

the national trend.

With the emphasis on quality and strict

space standards demanded by the

Council across all new-build housing,

phase 1 of 1,000 homes at Finberry,

Cheeseman’s Green is being delivered

by Crest Nicholson. Numerous detailed

planning applications for detailed

permission were submitted in late 2015,

including for an extra care facility,

CGI of Ashford VictoriaWay