The footpath off the High Street is closed 9.15pm to 6am on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights until August 2029. Breaching the order costs £100.

The footpath running from Churchyard Passage to Ashford High Street will stay locked on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights for another three years. Ashford Borough Council signed a renewed Public Spaces Protection Order on Friday 14 August 2026, and it took effect the same day.

The order runs for three years, to 14 August 2029, unless it is extended again (Ashford Borough Council, Gating of Churchyard Passage, signed 14 August 2026).

When the passage is shut

The order restricts the public right of way over the footpath at these times:

  • 9.15pm Thursday to 6am Friday
  • 9.15pm Friday to 6am Saturday
  • 9.15pm Saturday to 6am Sunday

At every other hour of the week the passage is open as normal. The council’s alternative route for pedestrians, marked on the map attached to the order, is along Tufton Street into Bank Street and then into the pedestrianised High Street.

The order was made under section 59 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. The council states in the order that it is satisfied the statutory test is met, namely that “anti-social behaviour has occurred in the area and has had a detrimental effect on the quality of those in the locality”. It is signed by the council’s Community Safety and Wellbeing Manager.

The penalty, and the deadline to challenge it

Anyone who fails to comply without reasonable excuse commits an offence. The order sets the punishment as a fixed penalty notice of £100, or on summary conviction a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale. The council’s own guidance puts level 3 at up to £1,000 (Ashford Borough Council PSPO page).

There is a challenge route, and it has a hard deadline. Under the order, any challenge must be made in the High Court within six weeks of the order being made, which means by Friday 25 September 2026. Two further limits apply:

  • Only an “interested person” can challenge, defined in the order as someone who lives in, regularly works in or visits the restricted area.
  • There are two permitted grounds: that the council had no power to make the order or to include particular prohibitions, or that a requirement of the legislation, such as consultation, was not complied with.

The High Court can uphold the order, quash it, vary it, or suspend it while it decides.

How the decision was taken

This was not a committee vote. The decision record names the Deputy Chief Executive as decision maker, records the status as “Recommendations Approved”, and states that it was not a key decision and not subject to call-in. The stated purpose was “to support the continuation of the PSPO in Churchyard Passage”, and the two options considered were simply renewing the order or not renewing it.

The council can do this because authority to authorise Public Spaces Protection Orders has been delegated to all Heads of Service and to the Community Safety and Wellbeing Manager, under minute number 94/07/16. The decision was taken on 14 August and published on the council’s website on 18 August 2026 (decision record).

Five orders now in force across the borough

Churchyard Passage is one of five Public Spaces Protection Orders currently running in Ashford borough. Each lasts three years from the date it was made.

Public Spaces Protection Orders in force in Ashford borough and when each expires Five orders. Henley Fields runs to 20 October 2026. Conningbrook Lakes to 12 June 2027. Ashford Urban to 26 January 2029. Singleton Lake to 1 April 2029. Gating of Churchyard Passage to 14 August 2029. Ashford's five active PSPOs, and when each one runs out Expiry date of each order in force, as listed by Ashford Borough Council on 22 August 2026. Henley Fieldsexpires 20 Oct 2026 Conningbrook Lakesexpires 12 Jun 2027 Ashford Urbanexpires 26 Jan 2029 Singleton Lakeexpires 1 Apr 2029 Churchyard Passageexpires 14 Aug 2029 today Source: Ashford Borough Council, Public Spaces Protection Orders. Graphic by The Ashford Times
  • Gating of Churchyard Passage, 14 August 2026 to 14 August 2029
  • Singleton Lake, 1 April 2026 to 1 April 2029
  • Ashford Urban, 26 January 2026 to 26 January 2029
  • Conningbrook Lakes, 12 June 2024 to 12 June 2027
  • Henley Fields, 20 October 2023 to 20 October 2026

The one to watch is Henley Fields, which expires on 20 October 2026. On the pattern of the four others, a renewal would be preceded by a public consultation, so that is the next opportunity for residents to have a say on one of these orders.

A sixth order, the gating of the Coney Bear site, was discharged and ceased on 13 December 2025.

What it means for you

If you walk home through the town centre late on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday, the passage is not a route you can rely on after 9.15pm, and the diversion is a short one out via Tufton Street and Bank Street. There is nothing discretionary about it: the gate closes and using the footpath anyway is an offence carrying a £100 fixed penalty.

If you live in, work in or regularly visit the passage and you object to the renewal, the only route now is the High Court, and the window closes on 25 September 2026. The consultation stage has already been and gone.

More on the council and the town centre: Ashford planning news, roadworks and travel and things to do in Ashford.

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