Town ‘Shard’ finally set for approval

Plans for what would be one of the tallest buildings in Kent were expected to be given the go-ahead at a meeting last night (Wednesday).

If approved, the so-called ‘ Ashford Shard’ will be 16-storeys of apartments, with adjoining four-storey townhouses and a restaurant installed at the top.

Being built on the former HomePlus Furniture site on Beaver Road, the plan is being led by Ashford Borough Council’s property investment branch A Better Choice for Property.

Demolition work and ground preparation has been ongoing since summer despite the proposal still pending approval.

Last week, construction crews had to halt work after finding an unexploded Second World War bomb on the site.

Overall, the scheme would comprise 207 apartments and nine townhouses, as well as three retail units and a central courtyard linking the two main blocks and townhouses.

Touted as a landmark building due to its proximity to Ashford International, the other buildings’ roofs were pitched and lowered in the amendment.

This was not the first time the proposal has come before the committee, as members voted to defer the plan to a later date at a meeting in June.

Furthermore, the plan was withdrawn from the agenda of a September 24 meeting of the Planning Committee.

The plan was tweaked following the deferral, with gold ‘fins’ added to the main building’s roof to make it stand out more in the skyline.

The number of apartments was also reduced by seven as a result of the lowering of the Beaver Road-side block.

Serving the residents will be a 200-space car park, which the council report deems sufficient.

It states: “This equates to a parking ratio of 0.9 spaces per unit. The spaces will be unallocated and therefore their use will be flexible. Reviewing local Census 2011 car ownership data confirms that within the vicinity of the site, average car ownership is 0.86 per dwelling. Therefore it is considered that the proposed provision will be adequate to meet the demands of the site.”

With the development being sited next to a busy junction, the report adds: “Whilst it is acknowledged that these junctions operate over capacity at the current time, it is not considered that the development proposals will significantly impact the operation of the local road network.”

Balancing the loss of HomePlus - which has since reopened in New Rents - with the development, the report states: “This mixed use proposal will create 516sq m of commercial floorspace at ground floor level and 796sq m of floorspace as part of the proposed rooftop restaurant proposal and a potentially significant number of new jobs.”

In total, 45 of the flats will be fully accessible by lifts.

Due to the council’s policy that no developments in the town centre need affordable housing, the report confirms “there are no affordable ‘new build properties’”.

However a sum of £144,200 is being contributed by the developer towards off-site affordable housing.

The report concluded: “The site is not specifically allocated for development in the adopted Local Plan, but as a previously developed brownfield site in a highly sustainable location in Ashford town centre, the principle of the redevelopment of the site for a residential-led mixed use scheme is supported.

“I consider the layout to be efficient on this heavily constrained site and I am content that it will maximise the amount of development in a logical and comfortable manner in keeping with the surroundings. The scale of the tower and overall form of the development is entirely appropriate for this urban site and will help positively enclose and define two key routes to the town centre.”

The planning committee met last night (Wednesday) to decide whether or not to follow the recommendation. For more information visit planning.ashford.gov.uk

The proposed view from Ashford International station

How the 16-storey ‘Ashford Shard’ development could look