Be positive, get behind the town

Week after week I have read negative points of view in your letters page and many column inches from Stuart Barton on developments, both residential and commercial in Ashford.

It seems some of these people either don’t want to remember, or are unaware of how the changes in Ashford came about.

It all started to change when Ashford and Andover were identified as “overspill” areas for the then Greater London Council at the end of the Second World War to help rehome the many people bombed out of East London.

Indeed, a visit to Andover will reveal it too has a County Square and a ring road round it.

Then, much more recently, John Prescott when Labour Deputy Prime Minister, identified Ashford as a “growth area”, wanting 30,000 homes built, (with by the way, the so called “standard” of only 1.5 parking spaces per household, hence the huge parking problems on some of our estates!)

When Ashford Borough Council argued the number of houses was too high, the office of the DPM threatened to take planning away from the borough altogether.

Fortunately, a compromise was reached which was somewhat lower. Gerry Clarkson and his administration has to work with that, so we are where we are.

As regards commercial opportunities, surely a little understanding of the financial climate over the past few years is called for?

Few developers will press on without massive financial backing and it’s good that the council sees fit to get behind the cinema in the town centre, and most company bosses considering a move to Ashford obviously want to be as near the International Station as possible, and not in The Panorama, which can offer more as apartments than it can as offices.

If only people will stop being so negative!

I went to Maidstone last Saturday afternoon. The Marks & Spencer store there completely dead, apart from just two people walking round, and the area around Royal Star Arcade and beyond was equally quiet.

So, let’s stop this blame game and get behind Ashford. Elizabeth Tweed, Charing master plan”. Boy this is real progress! Gerry keep up the exciting ideas.

He also thinks it’s very unfair of a negative Ashfordian (there must be three of us) to bad mouth the farmers’ market. One of the traders provides excellent fudge and appeared on BBC Saturday’s Kitchen. I can’t disagree: Gerry knows all about fudge!

His first rule in business is the customer is always wrong, in the minority and should be overwhelmed by his wonderful leadership. Great fudge Gerry! Dudley Mallett, High Halden