Council Talk

I do hope everyone has enjoyed their Christmas break and I wish you all a Happy New Year.

was a bumper year for developments in Ashford, with the first occupants taking up office space in the first new building in the Commercial Quarter, the magical Snowdogs art trail capturing the hearts of visitors young and old, the poignant First World War memorial events, and the opening of Elwick Place leisure complex, including the new Picturehouse cinema.

2019 is already shaping up well with the Chapel Down Brewery and visitor centre opening in the spring, the Designer Outlet extension due to welcome shoppers in the autumn, and plans to transform some industrial buildings close to the International station into a more inviting food and drink destination, as well as various other developments on the horizon.

Ashford has been named top of the league when it comes to recycling in Kent for the fourth year in a row.

National performance statistics for 2017/18 just released by Defra show that Ashford retains its spot at the top of the Kent table for both highest percentage of household waste recycled and composted, and for the lowest residual waste tonnages per household.

Nationally, we are now 27th in the country for recycling – a jump up from 35th place last year and 10th for the lowest amount of residual waste produced per household. Ashford’s recycling success could not have been achieved without our residents’ ongoing support and responsible use of our recycling system. We are also determined to continue to clamp down hard on fly-tipping and where we can identify those responsible we will prosecute them through the courts.

The government’s investigation into the decline of the high street resulted in the formation of a Town Centres Expert Panel. The panel spent six months examining the many challenges facing the high street to present a plan of action which was published just before Christmas.

The report calls for a community-focused approach to tackling the challenges facing high streets and town centres and community involvement and local leadership at the centre of a plan to create the town centres of the future.

A lot of the recommendations in the report reflect what is already happening in Ashford.