Exciting plans for Ashford Town Centre Regeneration

Reset sets out next stage of development and regeneration of Ashford Town Centre

With Town Centres facing considerable economic, environment and social changes, Ashford Council has set out its Town Centre Reset; a strategy which includes the revitalisation of our High Street and identifies a number of areas that require improvement and intervention.

The Strategy suggests four key intervention areas which are:

• The T – the key focus for the next few years is prioritised around the junction of Bank Street, High Street and Middle Row by the bandstand as a key connecting point in the heart of the town. Proposed to become an area embracing independent boutique retail and eateries.
• Lower High Street – providing improvements to compliment the proposed development of the Former Odeon building. This area will see the development of cultural, community and entrepreneurial space, alongside neighbourhood commercial, utilising the great potential public realm in the Lower High Street area.
• Lower Bank Street – considerations for a more pedestrian sensitive bus and transport area, with improved and upgraded public realm over time.
• Elwick Place – continued focus as the leisure core to the town centre, with the Cinema and eateries making this a key destination during the day and evening.

Ashford’s footfall on the High Street has bucked this trend with figures showing a 20.9% increase in footfall year to date in 2022 compared with 2019. This shows that people are still engaging with Ashford Town Centre, which provides opportunity if the offer and environment can be improved.

Using part of the Welcome Back Fund provided by Government to support Town Centres to recover from the pandemic, the Council commissioned Milligan to undertake more detailed research into the town centre and put forward recommendations on areas of focus within the town centre that would help shape new actions over the next 3 years.

You would have seen the small temporary interventions in the town centre. The ‘Parklets’ installed in Bank Street and Middle Row for a 10 week pilot period between August and October 2022

For additional information and to view the full Cabinet report visit:

https://ashford.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=136&MId=4256&Ver=4