£150m scheme shown to public

Developers hoping to build 600-space lorry park and up to 400 houses

Developers have put on show multimillion-pound plans to double the size of a lorry park and build hundreds of houses.

GSE Group and DHA Planning revealed a first glimpse of their plans for the Waterbrook site, to the east of Ashford, at a public exhibition last week.

The display at the Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce revealed that work to build a 600-space truck stop at the 150-acre site could begin in January.

Plans will soon be put to the council as part of a hybrid application including up to 400 houses, along with drive-through restaurants, business units and a petrol station at the site off the A2070.

Work would start on building the new international truck stop to the eastern edge of the site, while the existing facilities remain open. The work will coincide with the construction of the new Junction 10a of the M20.

The developers say housing will be screened from the truck stop by a “linear park” and no homes will be built until the M20 works are finished in May 2020.

Jaguar Land Rover has already confirmed it will open a £9 million dealership under the Barretts Motor Group brand at the The development is planned for the Waterbrook Park site site but details of other businesses have not been revealed.

GSE Group will also build its own headquarters as part of the £150 million development, and seeks to submit its planning application to the council by September.

Initial plans reveal that the business park and restaurants will be built to the north of the site, alongside the A2070 and opposite the Orbital Park, while the housing development will connect to the Finberry estate in the south.

But the plans are likely to be changed before the planning application is put to Ashford Borough Council. Go to www.waterbrookpark. co.uk to see the proposals