Town Centre Improvements
Footfall in Ashford Town Centre, like the rest of the UK, has been affected by a number of issues, particularly the cost-of-living crisis and inflation pressures, the movement to online and out of town shopping, and changing work patterns like hybrid working, which are impacting people’s decisions about spending.
As part of Ashford Borough Council’s ongoing support for Ashford Town Centre, the council continues to provide grants for businesses in the town, supporting those already established and incentivising new businesses to fill empty shops. 
Love Ashford? We do
We also run the Love Ashford website and social media channels, which showcase the latest offers, news and information about what our town centre has to offer residents, shoppers and visitors from further afield.
Additionally, to support footfall, the council continues to organise major events in the town centre with the UnFRAMED Mural Festival last spring, the Ashford Food and Drink Festival in the Summer, Create Music Village in the Autumn and Carnival of the Baubles in Winter.
These events are proving popular, drawing thousands of people to Ashford during these periods and complement some of the other amazing events being organised by community groups such as Ashford’s very first Pride event.
A different kind of offer
Over the past few summers, parts of Ashford Town Centre has looked a little different as temporary new seating, furnishings and bunting decorated upper Bank Street and Middle Row. This pilot scheme delivered some interventions that links to key themes from the Town Centre Reset – integrated play, feature lighting, temporary public realm and outdoor seating.
This short-term regeneration project aimed to encourage active and healthy lifestyles by introducing informal play opportunities, attractive places to meet and dwell and enhancing of public spaces. It was well-received by visitors and businesses, so further projects will be looked at, to try and bring something different to our high street.
Exciting plans for a children's play area in the heart of the town centre are being worked on, providing another reason for families to visit and spend time.
Town Centre Seating
Food and Drink Festival and Mural Trail
Carnival of the Baubles
Carnival of the Baubles image credits: Katy and the Bear
Town centre reset
The Ashford Town Centre Reset is designed to reset the town centre in light of the decline in retail which has been accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic.
The council is working to ensure that the town centre remains relevant following new developments within the town, and still making Ashford a place to live, work, visit and invest in, by enhancing and embracing the areas which give Ashford its character. The key points include:
- improving the links between key destinations such as the station and Newtown Works to the town centre itself, making it easier to walk and cycle between them;
- encouraging independent retailers to the newly revitalised area;
- ensuring that the increasing numbers of people living within the town centre have the infrastructure they need close to their homes;
- build on the community spirit within the town centre, as shown by the success of events like Snowdogs, Illuminites, UnFRAMED Mural Festival and Carnival of the Baubles;
- improving the gateways to the new high street – Elwick Road and Victoria Road.
The Town Centre Reset – including the revitalisation of our High Street - is a key priority in our Corporate Plan. It identifies a number of areas that require improvement and intervention, and these areas have had to be prioritised to focus available resources over the next few years.
In recent years Ashford has seen the introduction of new eateries, a cinema and hotels within the town centre to provide a changing offer, and it will need to continue to evolve in order to provide a destination and focal point that attracts residents to meet, for face to face services, retail and entertainment to be provided and for businesses to thrive.
Using part of the Welcome Back Fund provided by Government to support town centres to recover from the pandemic, the council commissioned Milligan to undertake more detailed research into the town centre and put forward recommendations on areas of focus within the town centre that would help shape new actions over the next three years.
The strategy suggests four key intervention areas which are:
- The T – the key focus for the next few years is prioritised around the junction of Bank Street, High Street and Middle Row by the bandstand as a key connecting point in the heart of the town. Proposed to become an area embracing independent boutique retail and eateries.
- Lower High Street – providing improvements to compliment the proposed development of the former Odeon building. This area will see the development of cultural, community and entrepreneurial space, alongside neighbourhood commercial, utilising the great potential public realm in the Lower High Street area.
- Lower Bank Street – considerations for a more pedestrian sensitive bus and transport area, with improved and upgraded public realm over time.
- Elwick Place – continued focus as the leisure core to the town centre, with the cinema and eateries making this a key entertainment destination during the day and evening.
View the Ashford Town Centre strategy [pdf] 2933KB.
