Kentish Express Ashford & District
Council Talk
The success of Repton Connect was celebrated at an event to mark one year since it opened. The centre is run by the Repton Community Trust and offers activities and services for the whole community. More than 10,000 people have used the centre in the past 12 months, all of them rating services as very good or excellent. External funding has been secured to develop a community garden, sports, a community café and also fund an apprenticeship programme, all priorities identified by local residents. Thanks are due to the trustees for their hard work and dedication.
Waterside Children’s Centre in Turners Close has been refurbished and is opening this week with an activity programme offered by Uprising, a local youth and community charity. The redecoration has been carried out by the Designer Outlet, in partnership with McLaren, as part of its community projects scheme.
It is good news that this popular community centre has been given a new lease of life as it gives young people somewhere safe to go and spend time with their friends. This much-needed youth asset, operates alongside the successful SureStart operation in South Willesborough, Newtown and Aylesford Green area.
The council has a legal duty to protect tenants living in houses of multiple occupation from poor conditions and we will not hesitate to take action to safeguard the residents. This was underlined last week when the owner of a house believed to be occupied by multiple tenants was successfully prosecuted and fined for failing to co-operate with attempts by the council to ensure that the quality of the accommodation meets acceptable standards.
I am pleased to say that we have been able to give free parking to those attending the Picturehouse cinema in Elwick Place and to make parking free for other users of that car park in Elwick Road after 3pm. Finally, it is good to see that the enlarged McArthurGlen Designer Outlet centre is being so well used since opening a couple of weeks ago. This £90 million investment just shows the faith businesses have in Ashford.