Funding allocated to Ashford Garden Community

A cluster of major developments in Ashford have been included in a national government housing building initiative and allocated £150,000 funding to support their delivery.

The South of Ashford Garden Community, which includes the Chilmington, Court Lodge and Kingsnorth Green developments, have been named as one of 19 garden villages announced by the government which will receive a share of a £3m fund to help with the next stage of their development.

Construction at Chilmington is underway while sites at Court Lodge and Kingsnorth Green are allocated for development in the Local Plan to 2030, and planning applications for these sites are due to be considered by the planning committee in the coming months.

The creation of well-planned and designed, locally-led garden communities makes a critical contribution to the government’s ambitions both to build 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s, and to provide a stable pipeline of homes for the future.

These places have the potential to become vibrant new communities where people can live and work, and to create a legacy that will be enjoyed and valued by future generations.

The government believes they set a new standard for planning and delivering new settlements at scale that can support a local area’s housing and economic growth ambitions and recognises that delivering them carries costs that go beyond the typical remit of local authorities.

Minister of State for Housing Kit Malthouse MP said: “Building the homes the country need is vital to the nation’s success – but they need to be homes that will become part of thriving communities; places where the generations who come after us want to live.

“I am confident that South of Ashford Garden Community will do just that, and I congratulate Ashford Borough Council for stepping up to the mark, demonstrating real determination which helps deliver our ambition of 300,000 new homes a year from the mid-2020s.”

The Garden Communities Programme demonstrates how local partners and central government can work together innovatively to transform local communities.

The support will be focused on enabling the creation of Garden Communities that are beautiful and sustainable; that are supported by the right infrastructure; and that benefit new and existing communities alike.

Cllr Neil Shorter, portfolio holder for planning and development said: “We are pleased to receive this funding from the government, which will help us to make sure these developments are sustainable and complement each other as they come forward.

“As well as the funding support, we will receive advice from Homes England and cross-government brokerage to resolve strategic policy barriers to delivery. We look forward to discussing this in more detail with them in due course and considering how the funding can be put to best use.”