Latest news with #AshfordBoroughCouncil
BBC News
3 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
Ashford residents asked for views on park redevelopment
Residents in an area of Kent are being asked for their views on future plans for a park to include sports pitches, green spaces and play areas.A masterplan for The Queen's Platinum Jubilee Park, previously known as Discovery Park, in Ashford, has been drafted by the local Borough Council says the park will be for all residents to enjoy. A spokesperson said: "It will be a new, major open space and recreational area which will include sports pitches, indoor sports buildings and play space, as well as areas of informal greenspace and areas for wildlife." The masterplan for the park, which will link Chilmington Green to Court Lodge, says it "will take many years to develop".The Chilmington Green development, approved for up to 5,750 new homes being built in phases, identifies the park as a requirement to meet the recreational and sporting needs of the development, to encourage walking and cycling."The latest figures from the developers suggest that Chilmington Green will not be complete until around 2048, so the park will not be fully realised for decades," the council documents said there was a need to set out what was likely to happen to the park, "to provide a degree of certainty, based on known information". A consultation on residents' views is open until 18 July.A drop-in session will also be held for residents to see the documents and ask questions, with a date to be confirmed.
BBC News
30-04-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Designer Outlet Ashford applies to build temporary Ferris wheel
A temporary Ferris wheel could be installed at Designer Outlet Ashford under new shopping centre has applied for permission to site the wheel, set to have 24 "gondolas", in the shopping centre's car Ashford Borough Council approves the scheme, the amusement ride could operate for up to six months of the year."During the that time the wheel is not operational, it will be de-installed and the car park returned to its existing layout," according to the planning application. The centre has asked for permission to operate the wheel over a five-year said a similar Ferris wheel has "proved to be a popular complementary attraction for shoppers" at a shopping centre in Cheshire under the same ownership.
Daily Mail
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Bake Off star Paul Hollywood's plans to tear down crumbling conservatory at his farmhouse for huge open plan kitchen to film new TV shows
Paul Hollywood hopes to turn home cooking into a money spinner by filming TV cookery shows in a new kitchen extension at his historic farmhouse. The Bake Off judge has applied for listed building consent to demolish a crumbling conservatory to make way for a bigger open plan kitchen diner at his rural retreat. Planning documents describe him as 'a well known TV personality and celebrity chef', and reveal that his proposed 21ft by 16ft kitchen will have enough space for him to be filmed preparing recipes for 'documentaries'. Hollywood, 59, wants it to replace his existing narrow and 'cramped' kitchen which is too small for filming inside his partly timber-framed house which dates back to the 17th century. He is arguing that producing TV shows in his Grade Two listed property will be a 'social benefit to the public' and should help him get consent for the single storey extension. Hollywood and his second wife Melissa, 41, who married in Cyprus in September 2023 have jointly submitted the application to build the new room at their home near Ashford, Kent. They have also applied to construct a log store and a walled kitchen garden with pleached fruit trees and raised beds in between pathways to grow their own vegetables and herbs. Their plans also involve turning their old kitchen into a study, making a dining room into a new sitting room, creating a family room out of the existing sitting room and replacing four Crittall-style windows with more traditional timber alternatives. Hollywood had applied twice last year to build a flat roof extension on his home, set in eight acres in the so-called Garden of England, after buying the property for £875,000 in 2019. But he withdrew both proposals after Ashford Borough Council officials voiced their disapproval and described the proposals as being 'discordant with the historic floor plans and character of the host building'. He and his wife had a re-think and drew up their new plans which differ from the earlier ones because the extension will now be separated from the main part of his house by a linked walkway. It will have 23 square metres of extra floor space compared to the existing 1980s conservatory which is described as structurally unsound, non-historic and in need of replacement. Plans show that the kitchen diner, constructed from Flemish bond bricks and Kent peg roof tiles. will have a central island and three sets of double doors opening on to the patio and garden, helping light to flood in. The report by the couple's agent Lander Planning argues that the new extension will be a 'separate entity' to the main house and 'visually and appropriately proportioned', meaning it does not 'affect the integrity of the heritage asset'. The planning statement says: 'The proposed extension is needed for ad-hoc filming for the house's owner, Paul Hollywood, who is a well-known TV personality and celebrity chef. 'The existing kitchen is not large and is too narrow for filming purposes - the cameras cannot be set up adequately to obtain the required shots. 'The proposed kitchen will, on the other hand, provide a suitable space for these purposes. The space will enable the filming of unique documentary of Paul Hollywood cooking from home. 'This would provide an engaging and enhanced experience for viewers with the chef being in his own familiar environment. 'In summary, the proposed extension has been demonstrated as being necessary to meet the modern-day standards of a larger four bedroomed house, as well as for the ad-hoc filming of documentaries for the applicant who is a TV personality and celebrity chef. 'These factors constitute material considerations which should be attributed great weight in the determination of the application.' The report adds: 'The public benefits of the proposal are that it will provide a kitchen space that is befitting of a property of this size, securing the property's future marketability and thus viability. 'The use of the space for TV cookery shows is a unique factor which would be of social benefit to the public.' The report adds that the new 'open plan cooking and dining space' will have 'considerably more light than the current arrangement' and 'a natural evolution to the existing building'. It adds: 'The existing kitchen is not fit for purpose, being a compact gallery with a narrow walkway between the two parallel countertops. 'The kitchen measures only 2.5m in depth and provides limited work space and storage. The size and layout of the kitchen does not meet the needs of modern-day standards. 'The restrictions of the listing of the property mean that providing a fit-for-purpose kitchen-diner in the main house is not possible without harming the integrity of the historic fabric as this would inevitably involve the demolition of internal walls.' Hollywood's home already boasts stables, an orchard, paddock, a shepherd's nook and a poultry run. The TV star was granted planning permission for a new garage for his collection of cars and motorbikes in December 2019. But he was refused consent for a 40ft by 26ft steel framed storage building in October 2021 after it was deemed to be 'visually harmful' to the setting of the listed building. Hollywood's planning agent cites a number of properties near his home which have had extensions approved. The presenter who has been a judge on The Great British Bake Off since the show launched in 2010 also commissioned a heritage stamen by a historic buildings conservation architect who described his plans as a 'sympathetic addition' to his home. Ashford Council is expected to make a decision on the plans next month and has so far received no objections from neighbours. But the local parish council called for Hollywood's plans to be overseen by the district council's listed building team. It added in a statement: 'We would like to understand the commercial use and what the social benefit is to the parish. 'The applicant speaks of filming within the property, the scale of the filming is not clear. We do not have any objections with the supplied plans.'
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New-homes plan taken out of council's control
Plans for 1,000 homes on the edge of a town have been taken out of a council's hands because it took six years to make a decision, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service. Ashford Borough Council (ABC) said a bid for Court Lodge in Kingsnorth should be scrapped as developers have not given enough detail. But in February, the developers, Hallam Land Management, lodged a "non-determination" appeal with the government's Planning Inspectorate, essentially asking it to decide because ABC had not reached a decision. The company had first submitted plans for homes off Pound Lane in 2018 but pollution issues with the Stodmarsh Nature Reserve near Canterbury delayed the project. Rules set out by Natural England states developers must ensure all schemes in the River Stour catchment area are "nutrient neutral" to protect the internationally important nature reserve. Developers either do this by having an on-site water treatment facility or offsetting the impact by providing mitigation measures elsewhere, such as wetlands. Hallam submitted nutrient-neutrality plans twice after Natural England asked for more details. However, ABC had still to decide on the scheme, and requested further information. Although the project will no longer be decided locally, ABC's planning committee still met on Wednesday to vote on what it would have done with the application if it still had the power. The development is intended to link up with the 5,750-home Chilmington Green estate and 550-home Kingsnorth Green. The three developments between them are intended to form the 7,250-home South of Ashford "Garden Community" under the council's Local Plan to 2030. The committee voted unanimously to say it would have refused planning permission if it had the power. Follow BBC Kent on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@ or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250. Villagers relieved after expansion plans rejected Homes plan given green light despite objections Local Democracy Reporting Service Ashford Borough Council Hallam Land Management
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Deadline for shops to move out of mall extended
The deadline for shops to move out of a mall in Kent which the local council says has been running at a "significant loss" has been extended. Tenants in the Park Mall in Ashford had been given until the end of August to move out by owner Ashford Borough Council (ABC), but they can now stay until 9 January 2026. ABC said this would facilitate a smoother transition for tenants and also allowed them to continue to trade during the festive period. "Several tenants said they needed more time, so we hope this extension will assist tenants in their search for new premises," said ABC chief executive Tracey Kerly. The council, which acquired the leasehold of Park Mall in 2015 as part of its long-term regeneration aspirations for the town centre, said it had attempted to support local traders while also meeting operating costs. However, it said that a continuing decline in the retail sector and the departure of several anchor tenants, combined with escalating maintenance works, had resulted in the centre running at a "significant, unsustainable loss". Ms Kerly added: "We have been actively engaging with all tenants and listening to the feedback." Follow BBC Kent on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@ or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250. Anger expressed over closure of shopping centre Ashford Borough Council
