Town with 28 hair salons

But residents would prefer more shops

AS market towns go, it’s probably on the large side, with a population of 74,000.

But residents of Ashford in Kent are not convinced that they need a total of 28 hair salons in the town centre.

In fact, they’d rather see the return of a few traditional shops.

While some towns seem to have been taken over by charity stores or coffee shops, Ashford was blessed with 27 barbers and hairdressers within a mile of each other. But now yet another – HD Barbers – has moved in near the 13th century St Mary’s Church.

Many are clustered in the town’s High Street, Park Street and Bank Street areas, with more in the Park Mall and County Square shopping centre. There’s even a vegan salon called Edge in Castle Street.

‘There are too many – same as cafes,’ said resident Angela Lines. ‘Bring back shops we can browse around. It will keep the high street alive and browsing leads to sales. We’ve certainly lost our nice market town we used to have.’

Another local, Louise Day, 39, added: ‘Ideally we’d like a bit more variety, but I guess if they’re doing well it’s hard to complain about it. Do people here just have good hair? Maybe.’

A staff member at one of the women’s salons said: ‘ They are all busy and they’re all making money.’

Ashford Borough Council said that, as long as businesses were opening, it was a positive sign.