Not enough space as town expands

At last Tuesday’s Joint Transport Board meeting, Kent Council Council member Derek Smythe made a speech criticising the lack of parking in and around Ashford town centre, which was likely to encourage car drivers to go elsewhere, where there was better parking.

This was supported by county councillor Mike Angell who added comments about insufficient car parking provision and then went on to say that the number of car parking spaces for the soon-to-expand Ashford Designer Outlet was insufficient.

In the past I have been critical that, in my opinion and others, insufficient numbers of car park spaces have been provided in the planning applications for the extended Designer Outlet and the proposed Ashford International Model Railway Education Centre (AIMREC), but when I have voiced my opinions I have always been told at the planning committee that the car park numbers have been agreed by KCC.

Now that the planning applications have been “done and dusted”, KCC has finally come clean and said the numbers of car parking spaces are insufficient.

While Cllr Angell only spoke of the extended Designer Outlet, if KCC is recommending insufficient parking provision for this one major scheme, I can only believe that it has been doing it on other applications like the next door AIMREC scheme.

For this project, AIMREC’s own flier says it anticipates 250,000 visitors in the first year, growing to 500,000 in the fourth year, yet KCC, supported by Ashford Borough Council at the planning committee, agreed that the building could be provided with only 68 car spaces.

While no one from KCC chose to challenge my comments, my concern continues to be that when these schemes are completed and there is insufficient parking, the overflow parkers will aim for local residential streets, which will be unable to cope with the demand. David Smith Ashford Independent councillor for South Willesborough Your report on the “nightmare junction” at Ashford Retail Park