THE issue is especially pronounced if businesses want to ensure they have easy access to a skilled and diverse workforce, as well as an excellent location. Ashford is one of the fastest-growing towns between London and the continent – with high speed rail links, competitive house prices, stunning countryside and a growing commercial heart.
Once a fairly static market town, Ashford has benefited from substantial public and private sector investments in recent years, helping the borough to grow into a vibrant, exciting and sustainable place to live, work and do business. This is especially so considering the town’s excellent location and transport infrastructure – with both road and rail ensuring that Ashford is the new hub for business in the South East, a gateway to the continent and an emerging economy for the region.
The opening of Britain’s first high-speed, domestic rail service in 2009 has made Ashford an even more attractive place to do business: with London a mere 37 minutes away. Lille takes a little longer, at 56 minutes and Paris, just two hours. As a gateway to Europe, with low property prices, a skilled workforce and enviable standard of living, the Borough offers one of the most competitive investment propositions in the UK. And with more space for your money in town and in the near-by villages, Ashford is already a big hit with commuters. Indeed, as well as the unparalleled rail service, the town has a strong road network and future plans include improvements to the capacity and access to junctions 9 and 10 of the M20, improved town centre road junctions, remodelling the former town centre ring road and better traffic management.
Yet even though London is now much closer, property costs are still very competitive: with office rents around 68% lower than in London, 65% lower than Paris and 21% less than in other towns in the South East. From corporate headquarters to start-up premises, Ashford offers a wide range of workspace for all types of business, with office rents at around £172 per sqm, compared to £551 in the City. And with average salaries 20% less than in London, and 10% lower than the rest of the South East, Ashford provides another significant cost advantage. The Council’s Economic Development Team has reported that some companies relocating to Kent from London have saved 40% on their overall operating costs, and are keen to emphasise that being a commutable distance to London, there is the potential to minimise disruption to services and the costs of redundancy and staff relocations.
And despite the economic downturn, investment in the town has continued apace: with residential, commercial, retail, transport and leisure developments all in progress, alongside an ambitious £2.5billion development strategy that will create 31,000 new homes and 28,000 new jobs by 2031.
The town itself offers a thriving and diverse local community, which combines modern shopping malls, pedestrianised streets and stunning heritage, along with several leisure facilities and a growing arts community. The last few years have seen a number of improvements and additions - the opening of the multi-million pound remodelled Stour Leisure Centre, completion of the first phase of development at Eureka Business Park, a £65m extension of County Square Shopping Centre and the transformation of the former ring road into a series of attractive pedestrian-friendly streets, including a ‘shared space’ area.
This ongoing programme of improvements and competitive property prices has been credited for attracting a number of new and high-profile businesses to the town, including Waitrose, Smiths Medical, and Hitachi. Yet despite this recent success, the local Council are determined to do more and, having secured over £40m of Government money, are looking to further programmes of improvement. In the next few years, Ashford will have a redeveloped railway station forecourt, a new library, wedding venue and community building, as well as a vibrant arts programme at the historic St. Mary’s Church, and a 16 acre commercial quarter in the heart of the town.
Speaking to Locations4Business, Andrew Osbourne, Manager of the Council’s Economic Development Team said: “We are keen to welcome new businesses and investors of all sizes to the borough, and help and advice is available for those in need of support or assistance. Our advisers are available for companies throughout all stages of their relocation lifecycle and beyond.”
For further information on investment opportunities in Ashford, see our Ashford Borough Council pages.
