The Ashford Story

Ashford is getting a new lease of life with the town set to double in size over the next 25 years. In March 2001 the Regional Planning Guidance for the South East identified Ashford as one of four key growth areas in the South East, alongside the Thames Gateway, Milton Keynes and Stansted/M11 Corridor.

In 2002 the Ashford's Future Study assessed Ashford's capacity for growth and concluded Ashford has the capacity to provide an additional 31,000 homes and 28,000 jobs by 2031. In 2003 recommendations from the study were included in the Government's Sustainable Communities Plan which outlined how housing needs would be met in the South East.

Since then, Government and private sector funding has been secured. Detailed planning and feasibilty studies have been conducted to ensure the correct infrastructure is in place. The Ashford's Future Core Team has been set up to drive and co-ordinate Ashford's development.