Ashford Borough Council - Infrastructure
Connections By Road
Ashford is centrally located within Kent and provides exceptional road access to the region and beyond. Ashford has 2 motorway junctions on the M20 and easy access to the M2, which provide easy access to continental Europe through the Channel Tunnel and via The Port of Dover and just over an hours drive to central London.
| Dover | 22 miles | 31 mins |
| Canterbury | 14.2 miles | 29 mins |
| Tunbridge Wells | 32.2 miles | 58 mins |
| Maidstone | 20.4 miles | 28 mins |
| Lille | 121 miles | 2 hours 46 mins |
| Brussels | 174 miles | 3 hours 37 mins |
| Central London | 55.1 miles |
1 hour 20 mins |
Distance to Central London: Up to 50 miles (Up to 1.5 hour)
Distance to Birmingham: Up to 200 miles (Up to 3 hours)
Distance to Bristol: Up to 200 miles (Up to 3 hours)
Distance to Leeds: Up to 300 miles (Up to 5 hours)
Distance to Leicester: Up to 200 miles (Up to 3 hours)
Distance to Liverpool: Up to 300 miles (Up to 5 hours)
Distance to Manchester: Up to 300 miles (Up to 5 hours)
Distance to Sheffield: Up to 300 miles (Up to 4 hours)
Distance to Oxford: Up to 150 miles (Up to 2.5 hours)
Distance to Cambridge: Up to 150 miles (Up to 2 hours)
Connections By Rail
HS1 and Eurostar...
Ashford is served by the High Speed 1 - a super-fast service connecting Ashford to London St Pancras in just 37 minutes. Eurostar operates a direct passenger service from Ashford to Paris, Lille and Brussels, with connections across Europe. Freight and passenger traffic passes through the Folkestone Eurotunnel departure point to Calais in 35 minutes.
Domestic Train Journey Times:
- London 37mins
- Leicester 1hr 54
- Nottingham 2hr 31
- Birmingham 2hr 48
- Sheffield 2hr 56
- Manchester 3hr 29
- Newcastle 3hr 54
- Edinburgh 5hr 24
European Train Journey Times:
- Paris 2hrs
- Lille 57mins
- Brussels 1hr 45
More information about the Eurostar...
Hours to Central London: Up to 1Connections By Air
Ashford offers ready access to London’s two main airports - Heathrow and Gatwick. London Ashford Airport (Lydd) and Kent International Airport (Manston) are both improving their excellent facilities by investing in phased multi-million pound redevelopment programmes.
Closest Airport: Gatwick AirportDistance to London Gatwick: Up to 75 miles (Up to 1.5 hour)
Distance to London Heathrow: Up to 100 miles (Up to 2 hours)
Connections By Freight Ports
The Port of Dover is within easy reach of Ashford – some 30 minutes. The world's busiest roll-on, roll-off ferry terminal, Dover handles up to 2.3 million freight vehicles per year. The Port is set to expand further with a commitment from Dover Harbour Board to invest £200 million as part of their long-term development plan for the area.
Ashford is ideally placed for access to the ports of Medway, London, Southampton and Felixstowe all within easy reach. Ashford is also within 15 miles of the Eurotunnel terminal at Folkestone, providing access to the European market.
Distance to Dover: Up to 50 miles (Up to 1 hour)Distance to Medway: Up to 50 miles (Up to 1 hour)
Broadband / ICT Facilities
Ashford is recognised by the South East England Development Agency as a leading town in the provision of next generation broadband access.
- Following the Virgin Media 50mbs trials, Ashford is now hosting Virgin Media`s 200mbs trials for Superfast Broadband services.
- Ashford is also in negotiation with telecommunications providers and developers in establishing superfast fibre broadband to premises in all new developments in the town.
- Ashford`s competitive marketplace is due to competition between major providers with three main Points of Presence, Virgin Media, Openreach and Global Crossing.
