Thousands more homes could be built on a town’s outskirts as council bosses “refresh” a major planning blueprint.
Ashford Borough Council (ABC) has revealed its new draft Local Plan which envisages 17,622 homes constructed across the district in the next 16 years.
The authority says up to 2,700 of those could go on the edge of Ashford, including to the north of Kennington, and further development around Chilmington Green.
The council – which is led by an Ashford Independent/Green Party coalition – approved a draft version of the plan at a meeting last month.
Today, it is launching a public consultation asking residents for their views on what should be included in the final document, which includes five “areas of search” on the edge of the town.
ABC is currently using a Local Plan to 2030, which was adopted in 2019, but now wants to “refresh the current version” by adding a further 5,730 homes to the masterplan.
If it is approved by central government on schedule, it will be adopted in 2027 and in place until 2042.
Without a Local Plan, the authority says it has less of a foothold to resist unwanted planning applications, as it is working on an outdated determination of how land should be used.
Areas of search
With the new plan still in the early stages, specific sites for allocation are yet to be confirmed, with ABC instead offering broad “areas of search” in the draft.
The outline is provided as part of the authority’s bid to construct between 2,500 and 2,700 homes on the outskirts of Ashford.
It also reflects plots submitted under the previous ‘call for sites’ – an invitation to developers and landowners to submit plots for inclusion in the Local Plan – which took place in 2023.
The five areas are:
– North west of Ashford, near Hothfield and the A20
– North near Goat Lees, Sandyhurst Lane and Eureka Park
– North east near Kennington, including Crown Hill View ‘Large Burton’
– South east near Waterbrook Park and Finberry
– South near Chilmington Green
A number of sites on the edge of Ashford are already included in the Local Plan to 2030, including the 5,750-home Chilmington Green ‘garden town’, and 725-home Crown Hill View ‘Large Burton’ development in Kennington.
Others include an 128-acre site between Trinity Road and Sandyhurst Lane, where developer Quadrant received approval for 375 homes, known as Trinity Lakes, last year.
Further planned developments already include 950 dwellings at Court Lodge and 550 houses at Kingsnorth Green, making up the South of Ashford Garden Community along with Chilmington Green.
Cllr Linda Harman (Ashford Independent), ABC’s cabinet member for planning, confirmed the revised Local Plan is a “very early draft”.
“The first policy intention is to show how we, as a planning authority, intend to meet our housing requirements,” she said.
“The areas for search show how we believe we can deliver the numbers shown in the plan as we’re looking to add approximately 5,700 new dwellings to the housing already in our current plan.
“At the moment, we are not discussing any particular site or allocation. We are merely saying this is our thinking, what do you think?
“So we’re out with a very early draft that shows an indicative picture of our thinking and sites that may come forward in the next iteration of this plan.
“And consultation gives people the opportunity to have their say.”
In the 2019 Local Plan, ABC identified a need for 13,118 new homes.
However, development has largely stalled due to environmental issues at Stodmarsh Nature Reserve, a protected area near Canterbury.
The beauty spot has been affected by wastewater run-off from developments across east Kent causing high levels of harmful nitrate and phosphate nutrients.
Under the new Local Plan, ABC’s housing target has risen to 17,622 homes.
Of these, 10,392 are already committed sites but are not yet built.
Another 1,500 are expected on windfall sites, leaving 5,730 homes that still need to be allocated to future plots across the borough.
A windfall site is a plot of land that becomes available for development unexpectedly.
It will not be specifically identified for this purpose in a local development plan but may come forward at a later date.
Town centre
ABC has put forward a new approach for Ashford town centre in its draft Local Plan, as bosses look to provide 600 to 800 more homes in the area.
Documents state one of ABC’s objectives is to deliver a “vibrant, resilient and mixed-use town centre, including residential, retail, leisure, health, community and entertainment uses”.
It adds: “As the most accessible and sustainable location in the borough, the delivery of high-quality residential development in the area shall play an important role in achieving this objective.”
Going forward, the town centre has been split into four “zones”, each defined by the existing role and characteristics.
The central zone, which covers from Elwick Place to Somerset Road, will remain as the primary retail area in the town centre, with development schemes going forward having to aid in creating a “mixed use hub” in the town.
The East Hill zone, between Mace Lane and Tannery Lane, is identified as having little room for development, with focus instead being on redeveloping brownfield sites.
Previously, land occupied by Ashford School was put forward under the ‘call for sites’ in 2023 as bosses considered building a state-of-the-art campus three miles away in Great Chart.
However, after months of consultation, the scheme was withdrawn after a £30 million shortfall was identified.
The station zone is dominated by Ashford International station and the Stour Centre, characterising the area as the primary location for employment in the wider town centre.
Lastly, the southern zone, south of the railway line, is recognised as recently undergoing major transformation, now featuring substantial residential development as well as a primary school, Hampton by Hilton hotel and Curious Brewery.
In the ‘call for sites’, County Square’s extension was put forward for 200 homes, but no further updates have been provided since.
In the draft Local Plan, ABC states: “The town centre reset strategy identifies County Square remaining as the main indoor retail and leisure centre, particularly focusing on the former Debenhams unit.
“The strategy envisages County Square’s extension as a potential anchor for indoor leisure uses, complementing the existing use and character of Elwick Place.”
Elsewhere in the town centre, several building opportunities have been identified, namely the redevelopment of Park Mall shopping centre, ABC’s former Civic Centre, the ex-Kent Wool Growers site and The Odeon and Vicarage Lane car park – all of which are owned by ABC.
Cllr Harman said these potential developments were important as the council can have more of a steer going forward.
“They’re very crucial because they’re sites within our own control,” she added.
“It’s not the plan for what’s going to happen next week…”
“For example, if you look at previous plans for the borough, if the land is not within the council’s control then all we can do is announce an intention but it is really dependent on developers coming forward.
“But they may be interested in building something completely different, so if it’s under our control, we are able to steer it more tightly towards our vision.
“At the end of the day, the Local Plan is not the plan for what’s going to happen next week.
“It’s a long-term vision, showing how we think the borough should evolve and thrive.
“It’s about creating a greener, more sustainable, modern community that meets the needs of the people who live in Ashford today and in the future.”
Villages
The new Local Plan outlines an ambition to provide an additional 1,000 homes across the district’s villages in the next 16 years.
Previously, a strict hierarchical approach looked first at bigger settlements of Charing, Wye and Hamstreet for expansion due to the services, such as train stations, already available in these areas.
However, under the new plan, ABC is looking to share the allocation across a greater number of villages in what bosses say will allow “the impact from new housing growth to be shared equitably across a larger range of locations”.
Areas such as Bilsington, Crundale, Godmersham, Molash and Shottenden are included, despite a Planning Inspector stating in the previous examination of the Local Plan the opportunities in this area were limited.
“The thinking is that the previous categorisation created some villages where no development was possible, but in order for villages to continue to thrive, they need to grow in appropriate ways,” said Cllr Harman, who represents the Saxon Shore ward and lives in Aldington.
“We haven’t made any allocations yet, and any that are made will have to be appropriate for the area in terms of scale and location.
“But that is to be considered under the next plan, all we have currently is a list of villages and a total number of homes we’re looking for.”
Cllr Harman added the new Local Plan can also consider additional infrastructure for the villages.
She continued: “We have an excellent walking and cycling strategy in the town centre, but we’re a rural borough and our villages are not connected.
“Wouldn’t it be great if development could fund improvement of more cycle paths so that you could, as a tourist, come out into the villages and the same for villagers heading into town.
“Planning can do a lot of things in addition to building houses.”
According to the draft plan, future allocations will be identified and “strategically justified” in later stages.
Tenterden
Recently, Tenterden has seen about 360 homes delivered across the Tent 1A and ‘Tilden Gill’ developments, with a further 141 dwellings receiving final approval earlier this year on ‘Limes Land’ between Woodchurch Road and Appledore Road.
A further development, known as Tent 1B, was allocated in 2010 and was set to provide further 175 homes.
It was also put forward for a second time in 2023 under the previous ‘call for sites’.
Yet, 15 years later, a planning application is still yet to be submitted for the project, meaning ABC has continued to discuss further sites, which could provide a total of 500 homes in the town.
Cllr Harman added it was important ABC showed the Planning Inspector the sites included in the Local Plan were deliverable.
“As it stands, the landowner has said the Tent 1B site will come forward, but there isn’t any proof of that, just a statement,” she said.
“So we have to consider other options, and that’s what you’re seeing in this draft plan at the moment.
“Going forward, we will be discussing this with members of the public, Tenterden Town Council and all other stakeholders.”
Options on the table include land to the north of St Michaels, either side of the A28, which has been put forward as a broad area for search, with 250 homes envisaged on the various parcels of land.
Several parcels were put forward as part of the earlier ‘call for sites’, which ABC says, “shows a desire from the market to develop in this broad location”.
The draft Local Plan adds: “A landscape-led proposal is envisaged, to be supported by new, policy-protected green buffer areas to respond to the natural features which include large open fields and woodland areas that contribute to the area’s predominantly open character.
“Development here will require significant landscaping to provide a suitable transition into the countryside beyond.
“This will be important to provide a clear distinction between existing settlement boundaries.
“A built form is envisaged that spans both the eastern and western land parcels of the A28.
“Proposals shall need to demonstrate how development will respond to this, whilst delivering good placemaking.”
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Another area set for consideration is land along the Small Hythe Road, formerly Hopes Grove Nurseries, which is earmarked for 250 homes.
ABC adds that if evidence is provided that Tent 1B will be delivered, a later masterplan could incorporate both sites in the south east of Tenterden.
Have your say
Several consultation events are planned in the coming months.
They will be at Ashford Cinema at Elwick Place on September 11 from 3pm to 7pm; Tenterden Leisure Centre, September 16 from 3pm to 7pm; Kingsnorth Village Hall, September 19 from 4pm to 8pm; Sandyacres Sports and Social Club, September 23 from 3pm to 7pm; Mersham Village Hall, September 25 from 3pm to 7pm; and Wye Village Hall on September 29 from 3pm to 7pm.
A virtual consultation will also be held on October 2 from 5pm to 6.15pm.
Residents are able to share their views on the new plan until Monday, October 13.
To find out more, click here.
What do you think? Leave your comments below or email kentishexpress@thekmgroup.co.uk
