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Borough of Ashford | |
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Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Constituent country | England |
Region | South East England |
Non-metropolitan county | Kent |
Status | Non-metropolitan district, Borough |
Admin HQ | Ashford |
Incorporated | 1 April 1974 |
Government | |
• Type | Non-metropolitan district council |
• Body | Ashford Borough Council |
• Leadership | Leader & Cabinet (Conservative) |
• MPs | Damian Green |
Area | |
• Total | 224.18 sq mi (580.62 km2) |
• Rank | 75th (of 314) |
Population (2021) | |
• Total | 132,747 |
• Rank | 174th (of 314) |
• Density | 590/sq mi (230/km2) |
• Ethnicity | 88.1% White 5.8% Asian 2.6% Black 2.2% Mixed Race 1.3% Other |
Time zone | UTC0 (GMT) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
ONS code | 29UB (ONS) E07000105 (GSS) |
OS grid reference | TR005425 |
The Borough of Ashford is a local government district with borough status in Kent, England. It borders five other Kent districts, as well as East Sussex to the south-west. Ashford Borough Council's main offices are in the town of Ashford. The borough was formed on 1 April 1974, by the merger of the then Borough of Tenterden with Ashford urban district as well as the Rural Districts of East Ashford, West Ashford and Tenterden. Covering 58,000 hectares, it is the largest district by area in Kent.
The Borough is divided into 39 civil parishes, centred on the villages as well as the town of Tenterden. [1]
From the 1960s onwards Ashford has experienced phases of rapid urban growth, creating new suburbs such as Stanhope and, more recently, Singleton. Today's urban growth is partially shaped by the de facto corridors [2] created by the M20 motorway, the High Speed 1 line and several other rail lines which converge on the town's railway station.
Ashford Borough Council | |
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Type | |
Type | |
History | |
Founded | 1 April 1974 |
Leadership | |
Tracey Kerly since 2016 | |
Structure | |
Seats | 47 councillors |
Political groups |
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Elections | |
First past the post | |
Last election | 4 May 2023 |
Next election | 6 May 2027 |
Meeting place | |
Civic Centre, Tannery Lane, Ashford, TN23 1PL | |
Website | |
www |
There are 43 electoral wards in the Borough; 18 of those cover Ashford town, broadly defined. [4] The Conservative party has held control of the council for much of its history, apart from periods when no party had a majority, and has had a majority since the 2003 election. The council's make-up can change quickly because it is elected as a whole (not one-third at a time) every four years. After the election in 2011 the council was made up as follows: [5]
As of June 2016 there were 42 civil parishes within Ashford District, including Tenterden which is the only town council. Ashford being unparished.
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In 1961, the populations of the districts which make up the present borough were: Ashford U.D. : 28,000, East Ashford R.D. : 10,610, West Ashford R.D. :10,734, and the Borough of Tenterden : 7,626 giving a total of 56,970. Forty years later the population had almost doubled: the 2001 census recorded a population of 102,661. Ashford Borough Council predicts that the population will reach 141,100 by the year 2021. [6]
The 2011 census reported Ashford as having:
The area's economy, once strongly dominated by agriculture and associated activities such as brewing and food production as well as some quarrying of ragstone and brick manufacture, evolved into a centre for rail engineering in the 19th century, and is now primarily light industrial and commercial, with the notable exception of Hitachi's rail depot. The borough's local plan ("Local Plan to 2030") continues to plan for new housing in and around the town, such as the development at Finberry. [6]
From the historic town centre, roads radiate out in the following directions: NW to Charing and Maidstone and SE to Hythe and Folkestone (A20/M20 in each direction); south to Hamstreet, Lydd and Romney Marsh and then westwards to Hastings (A2070); SW to Tenterden and NE to Wye and Canterbury (A28) and finally north to Ashford's historic port at Faversham (A251).
There are more than 400 listed buildings in the district. This includes 33 churches listed in the highest grading in the national listing system (Grade I) as well as many oast houses and pubs dating from the 17th and 18th centuries, along with some even earlier buildings such as the Black Horse at Pluckley built in the 1470s as a dry-moated farmhouse by the Dering family (see also: Little Chart).
Well-known examples of Grade I listed buildings include: the Archbishop's palace at Charing, Chilham Castle and Godinton House, as well as more domestic examples such as the row of 17th century Flemish weavers' cottages which stretches the full length of the south side of Biddenden High Street.
See also the listings: Grade I listed buildings in Ashford (borough) .
Beyond the town of Ashford, most of the borough's land area is rural, with fields, woodland and fruit orchards. Much of the woodland is coppiced. [7] Changes in rural land use over the past century mirror those in the rest of the present County. [8] The north-east of the borough, including the villages of Wye and Chilham, is within the Kent Downs AONB, whilst the south-west, including Rolvenden and the Isle of Oxney, is part of the High Weald AONB. In addition to these national landscape areas, the borough has many smaller Local Nature Reserves such as Hothfield Common.
Wye is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Wye with Hinxhill, in the Ashford district, in Kent, England, 5 miles (8.0 km) from Ashford and 12 miles (19 km) from Canterbury. It is the main settlement in the parish of Wye with Hinxhill. Hop varieties including Wye Challenger were bred at Wye College and named for the village.
The A20 is a major road in south-east England, carrying traffic from London to Dover in Kent. Parts of the route date back to turnpikes established in the early part of the 18th century. The line of the road throughout Kent runs closely in parallel with the M20 motorway.
The Borough of Dartford is a local government district in the north-west of the county of Kent, England. Its council is based in the town of Dartford. It is part of the contiguous London urban area. It borders the borough of Gravesham to the east, Sevenoaks District to the south, the London Borough of Bexley to the west, and the Thurrock unitary authority in Essex to the north, across the River Thames. The borough was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the Municipal Borough of Dartford, the Swanscombe Urban District, and part of the Dartford Rural District. According to the 2011 Census, its population was 97,365.
Ashford is a town in the Ashford district, in the county of Kent, England. It lies on the River Great Stour at the southern or scarp edge of the North Downs, about 61 miles (98 km) southeast of central London and 15 miles (24 km) northwest of Folkestone by road. At the 2021 census, it had a population of 83,213. The name comes from the Old English æscet, indicating a ford near a clump of ash trees. It has been a market town since the Middle Ages, and a regular market continues to be held.
Folkestone and Hythe is a local government district in Kent, England, in the south-east of the county. Its council is based in the town of Folkestone. The authority was renamed from Shepway in April 2018, and therefore has the same name as the Folkestone and Hythe parliamentary constituency, although a somewhat narrower area is covered by the district.
Tenterden is a town in the Borough of Ashford in Kent, England.
Bearsted is a village and civil parish with railway station in mid-Kent, England, two miles (3.2 km) east of Maidstone town centre.
Hollingbourne is a village and civil parish in the borough of Maidstone in Kent, England. The parish is located on the southward slope of the North Downs to the east of the county town, Maidstone. The parish population is around 900 and has three conservation areas: Upper Street in the village centre and the outlying hamlets of Broad Street and Eyhorne Street.
The British Rail Class 375 Electrostar is an electric multiple unit train that was built by Bombardier Transportation at Derby Litchurch Lane Works, from 1999 to 2005. The class form part of the Electrostar family of units, which also includes classes 357, 376, 377, 378, 379 and 387, is the most numerous type of EMU introduced since the privatisation of British Rail.
Appledore is a village and civil parish in the Ashford District of Kent, England. The village centre is on the northern edge of the Romney Marsh, 12 miles (19 km) south-west of Ashford town. The northerly part of this village is Appledore Heath.
Chilham railway station is a railway station in Chilham, Kent. It is on the Ashford to Ramsgate line between Ashford International and Canterbury West. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by Southeastern.
Ashford is a constituency in Kent created in 1885 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1997 by Damian Green, a Conservative who served as First Secretary of State between 11 June and 20 December 2017.
Ashford Borough Council is the local authority for the Borough of Ashford in Kent, England. The council is elected every four years. Since the last boundary changes in 2019, 47 councillors have been elected from 39 wards.
The Ashford–Ramsgate line is a railway that runs through Kent from Ashford to Ramsgate via Canterbury West. Its route mostly follows the course of the River Great Stour.
The Stour Valley Walk is a recreational walking route that follows the River Stour, through the Low Weald and Kent Downs, from its source at Lenham to its estuary at Pegwell Bay.
High Halden is a village and civil parish in the Ashford District of Kent, England. The village is on the A28 road between Ashford and Tenterden, 3 miles (5 km) north of the latter town. The Tenterden suburb of St. Michaels is included.
Ashford is a town in Kent, England, which lies on several major transport routes.
Tenterden Town Hall is a municipal building in the High Street in Tenterden, Kent, England. The structure, which is the meeting place of Tenterden Town Council, is a Grade II listed building.