Ashford News
The latest Ashford news: planning decisions, council and crime updates, business and community stories, each linked back to its official source.
Top story
Mid Kent Council Decision Withdrawn: Ashford Stays to 2029
Ministers withdrew the Mid Kent Council decision on 29 October. Any new council now starts April 2029 at the earliest, and a Kent mayor is possible in 2028.
More stories
House prices
Ashford House Prices Fall £2,645 in First Drop Since 2025
The average Ashford home fell to £340,991 in August, £2,645 down on a year earlier and the borough's first annual fall since March 2025. Flats fell 3.1%.
Parking
Ashford Parking Charges Frozen Until 2028 by Full Council
Every Ashford and Tenterden parking charge is frozen until 2028, so on-street stays £1.30 an hour, not £2. Councillors scrapped the February rises on 15 October.
Ashford Borough Council
Ashford Town Council Paused by 25 Votes to 1
Work on an Ashford Town Council for April 2027 is paused after a 25 to 1 vote on 15 October. Councillors also backed HMO planning controls across the borough.
Planning
Ashford Planning Appeals: 10 of 34 Lost, 32 Homes Allowed
Inspectors overturned 10 of Ashford's 34 refusals from January to June, including 32 homes at Bethersden and a drive-thru coffee shop at Sevington.
Planning
Kennington Road 180 Homes Approved for a Third Time
Ashford's Planning Committee backed up to 180 homes off Kennington Road, Willesborough, on 21 October, despite a failed flood test. A section 106 deal comes next.
Police
Rolvenden A28 Crash: Police Appeal After Motorcyclist Dies
A motorcyclist in his 50s died after a crash with a car on the A28 Hastings Road at Rolvenden on 10 October. Kent Police wants witnesses and dashcam footage.
Community
Bethersden Pub The George Opens Accessible Pétanque Pitch
The George, Bethersden's community-owned pub, has built a pétanque pitch in its beer garden for all ages and players with a disability, and plans a Kent league team.
Business
HMRC Petitions to Wind Up Ashford, Kent Truck Stop Operator
HMRC has petitioned to wind up GSE Truckstop Developments, its fifth petition this year against the truck stop operator or a GSE company. Heard 11 November.
Ashford International
Ashford International Trains: PM to Ask Transport Secretary
Andy Burnham told MPs on 12 October he would ask the Transport Secretary to look into Ashford's international trains. What that does and does not commit to.
Sport
Ashford's Kent Lions: £6,500 New Kit, Old Strips to Zimbabwe
Bellway Kent has paid £6,500 for new matchday kit for all 130 Kent Lions Disability FC players, and the club's old strips have gone to a school in Zimbabwe.
Tenterden
Tenterden Parking Petition Debated as Charges Freeze to 2028
Tenterden's 1,644-signature petition was debated on 15 October as councillors froze parking charges until 2028 and made Bridewell Lane free after 3pm.
Ashford Borough Council
Ashford Town Council Pause Motion: Passed 25 to 1
Cllr Feacey's motion to pause the Ashford Town Council due on 1 April 2027 passed 25 to 1 on 15 October. The plan, the precept range and the HMO motion explained.
Food hygiene
Ashford Food Hygiene: All 24 September Inspections Scored 5
All 24 September food hygiene ratings in Ashford borough are 5s, and 89.4% of rated premises hold a 5, second in Kent. Two Tenterden-area places got a 2.
Tenterden
Tenterden Leisure Centre's £2.6m Refurb Is Finished: What's New
Tenterden Leisure Centre's £2.6m refurb is complete: new PlayZone soft play from £4.50 and pool water play. Prices, rules and half-term sessions inside.
Community
Ashford Hero Awards 2027: Nominate by 2 December
Nominations for the Ashford Hero Awards 2027 close on 2 December. There are 14 awards, and winners are named at the Stour Centre on Friday 15 January.
Parking
Ashford Parking: Charges Frozen to 2028, No February Rise
Full Council froze every Ashford and Tenterden parking charge until 2028 on 15 October, so the 8% February rise is off and on-street parking stays £1.30 an hour.
Town centre
Ashford Odeon Theatre Now £8.36m, Opening Summer 2028
The former Odeon theatre scheme is now £8.363m, up from £7.5m. Full Council approved the extra £6.813m on 15 October, and the venue would open in summer 2028.
Ashford Borough Council
Ashford Council Housing Staff Win 3 Kent Housing Awards
Ashford Borough Council won or shared three Kent Housing Group awards, more than any other organisation, including Team of the Year for its homelessness service.
Ashford town centre
Free Toilets in Ashford Town Centre: 9 Places, No Purchase
Nine Ashford town centre venues let anyone use their toilets free, with no need to buy anything. New stickers on bins now point the way. Full list and hours.
What's on
Harry Potter Day, Victoria Park Ashford: Sat 10 October
Harry Potter Day is back at Victoria Park on Saturday 10 October, 10am to 2pm, with a Chamber of Secrets trail and prizes. Parking is tight, so plan the trip.
Business
Ashford Cinema Becomes Loop on 27 November, 30 New Jobs
Loop opens at the Ashford Cinema on Friday 27 November with nine bowling lanes, darts, golf bays, karaoke and a bar. What is confirmed, and who owns it.
Kent Police
M20 Ashford Crash: One Dead, Kent Police Seek Dashcam
A car left the coastbound M20 between junctions 8 and 9 at 5.56am on Wednesday and caught fire. Its one occupant died. Kent Police want dashcam footage.
Ashford Borough Council
Ashford Council Sickness Bill £852,650, Target Missed
Staff sickness cost Ashford council an estimated £852,650 in 2025/26, and 9.25 days lost per employee missed its new 9-day target. Mental ill health led.
House prices
Ashford House Prices Up £4,674 but Below Jan 2023
The average Ashford home reached £347,562 in July, up £4,674 in a year. It is still £550 short of its January 2023 value, and 7th of 13 in Kent for growth.
Kent Police
Ashford Assault: Four Arrested, All Released on Bail
A man in his 30s has life-changing injuries after a reported assault on Lower High Street. Kent Police arrested four people and bailed all of them.
Parking
Ashford Parking: Cabinet Defers £2 Overnight Charge
Cabinet put off the January price rises to its 8 October meeting, and took the 'free after 3' decision back off officers. Elwick Place still changes on 1 November.
Planning
Ashford Housing Land Supply Falls to 3.16 Years
Ashford built 75% of the homes it needed over three years, so its land supply is now 3.16 years. Wednesday: 15 homes at St Michaels, Tenterden, go to committee.
Council
Mid Kent Council Paused, Ashford Votes in May 2027
Ministers paused, then on 29 October withdrew, the Mid Kent merger that would have abolished Ashford Borough Council in 2028. May 2027 polls go ahead.
Town centre
Ashford Odeon: £7.5m Theatre Plans on Show This Friday
Designs for a theatre inside the former Odeon go on show at County Square on Friday 18 September, 10am to 4pm, the last look before the planning application.
Parking
Ashford Parking: £2 Overnight Charge Planned From January
Ashford council car parks would charge £2 overnight and £1.40 an hour from 1 January 2027, and four free parking offers would go. Cabinet decides on Thursday.
Ashford town centre
Park Mall Car Park Opens in November, Second Exit to Follow
Ashford's temporary Park Mall car park is due to open in November 2026 via St George's Square, with a shorter second exit to the High Street built afterwards.
Parking
Elwick Place Parking: Free After 3pm Kept Past 1 November
Full Council voted on 15 October to keep Elwick Place free after 3pm until Edinburgh Road car park opens, though the council's own page still says 1 November.
Planning
Ashford Local Plan: Your 2025 Objection No Longer Counts
Comments on the scrapped Local Plan 2042 do not carry over. Ashford's scoping consultation closes at 5pm on 23 September, and so does Call for Sites.
Ashford International
Virgin's Approved Deal Has No Ashford Stop, ORR Papers Say
The rail regulator approved Virgin's cross-Channel deal on 13 August. Its own decision letter says the trains will call only at St Pancras, through to 2040.
Tenterden
Tenterden Greenway Gets £150,000 Resurfacing From October
Tenterden's only cycle route gets 650 metres of new surface from October, funded by the Active Travel Fund. It will be shut for about four weeks.
Transport
Finberry Bus: B-line Could Reach the Estate in 2027
Stagecoach is preparing to extend the B-line into Finberry in 2027, once two stretches of road are adopted and ANPR cameras go up on the link road.
Business
Ashford Cinema Golf Bays Open 4 September, £28 a Bay
Two TrackMan golf bays open at The Ashford Cinema on 4 September, from £28 for 55 minutes for four. The cinema is a company the borough council owns.
House prices
Ashford House Prices Up Just £960 in a Year, 12th in Kent
The borough average reached £344,332 in June, up 0.3%. Only Tunbridge Wells did worse in Kent, where prices rose 2.1%. The full split by property type.
Council
Ashford Churchyard Passage Gated at Night Until 2029
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.
Planning
Ashford Planning Committee: Six Decisions Due 19 August
The council leader's own self-build, an HMO in a listed town centre building and 34 flats on Elwick Road go before Ashford's Planning Committee on Wednesday.
Housing
Ashford Temporary Housing: £2.85m to Add 41 Homes
Ashford has approved £2.85m to buy and build 41 temporary accommodation units, as households in temporary housing fell from about 290 last autumn to about 180.
Council
Mid Kent Council: the 2028 Ashford Merger, Now Withdrawn
Ashford was to be abolished on 1 April 2028 for a 60-councillor Mid Kent Council. Ministers withdrew that decision on 29 October 2026; any change now waits to 2029.
Business
Best Bar None Ashford: five venues accredited in 2026
The Ashford Club, County Hotel, Hollywood Bowl, Ashford Truck Stop and Singleton Barn are accredited. What the badge actually checks, and what it does not.
Business
Heritage Live promoter GCE Live enters administration
Administrators were appointed to the Tenterden festival promoter on 27 July, weeks after its Heritage Live concerts were cancelled. How to get a refund.
Regeneration
Ashford Odeon: operator search starts for new arts venue
The former cinema's strip-out finishes in September, when a planning application and public exhibition follow. The hunt for an operator has started.