Kentish Express Ashford & District
Next steps revealed for hall as residents hit out
Consultation to be held in the spring after listing bid fails
The future of the council’s town centre regeneration plan has been revealed amid public furore over the failure to list the Mecca Bingo building.
The Kentish Express revealed last week how the Lower High Street former cinema was not deemed to meet the necessary criteria to be listed by Historic England.
Campaigners had seen the listing application as the last line of defence as Ashford Borough Council (ABC) prepares to partially demolish it to make way for the Odeon Square scheme, comprising an outdoor cinema, 61 homes, retail units and eateries.
They hope to flatten the rear of the property and knock through the former entrance in the Lower High Street to make a pedestrian route leading to the public square on the Vicarage Lane car park.
Speaking after the listing decision was confirmed, council leader Gerry Clarkson (Con) told the Kentish Express: “Historic England took a full assessment of the building and its recommendation was not to list.
“It was helpful that it wasn’t listed but that doesn’t detract from the fact that we want to preserve the facade because of the value it holds as part of Ashford’s history.”
It has now been noted that a wider public consultation on the scheme will be held in the spring with a planning application being submitted by the end of summer.
The two-year-long construction schedule is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2021.
A Facebook post by ABC was met with indignation when it stated that: “Although we would welcome a theatre coming forward in Ashford, we believe the timing and location are not quite right in this instance, which is why we are looking at other proposals to transform the site.”
Following the largely negative response to its first social media post, the authority published another.
It said: “We know that there is an appetite for a theatre in the centre of Ashford, however the potential cost of converting this particular building added to the fact that former cinemas do not tend to make good theatres - as the set-up is actually quite different - has led us to look at other potential uses for this space.
“In the recent consultation we discovered that people were interested in having a theatre however residents also put forward a number of suggestions for alternative uses of the space, including eateries, community space and the potential for indoor and outdoor events.
“We have tried to take aspects of all of these ideas and include them in our plans for the site to please the maximum amount of residents.
“We know this won’t please everybody but we hope that the mix proposed for the development will balance the need to generate income as well as provide a community and cultural hub that enriches our town centre.
“Inside, the plan is to create a spacious new indoor performance space upstairs, seating about 120 people.
“There would also be an outdoor performance area along with a food and drink offering and pedestrian route through the site.”