“We need people to support our town centres, not sit online and bemoan how rubbish it is while they wait for their Amazon parcel to arrive.”
The statement from the communications office at Ashford Borough Council (ABC) came after plans for a Christmas market at the town’s Designer Outlet sparked much online debate.
Some frustrated residents believed the proposal – put forward by the owners of the McArthurGlen site, not the local authority – was further evidence that councilors were giving up on the high street.
But ABC bosses are fighting back and say they are currently spending £3m on the town center as they are determined to invest as much as possible.
“I have read these comments with interest,” wrote council leader Cllr Noel Ovenden (Ashford Independents) as residents shared their thoughts on the market plans on our Facebook page.
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“I wonder how many people attended the downtown Christmas markets last year?
“It closed early because there wasn’t enough business to support the traders.
“As a city, we need to not only talk the talk, but also walk the walk.”
Cllr Ovenden, who represents Wye, has been in charge of the office since the Conservatives lost the local elections last May.
The Ashford Independents formed a coalition with the Greens in a partnership, which meant the Conservatives were not in the top job for the first time in more than 20 years.
But a number of stores have closed in the city in recent months, with Wilko leaving Park Mall and County Square and losing Peacocks, the Body Shop and Waterstones, the latter, albeit temporarily.
In contrast, Designer Outlet enjoyed its busiest year ever in 2023 and is currently at 97% capacity and boasts over 100 stores.
“When the drawer was built [in 2000]we were in a very different place to where we are now,” said Cllr Ovenden.
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“At the time, the outlet was very complementary to what was going on in our town.
“Back then we didn’t buy everything online and the outlet is quite unique in the country in that there are only a handful of places of its type.
“So you could say we’re lucky to have one, but you could also say the outlet is a direct competitor to the city.
“It’s there and we’ve got it and there are still planning considerations that prevent certain things from happening in the shop to support our town centre.”
When the Outlet underwent a £90m expansion in 2019, the ABC unveiled a list of restaurants that cannot open there in a bid to protect the town centre.
It included Wetherspoon and Mitchells and Butlers, but Five Guys and Nando’s, which were also blacklisted, have since been allowed to open.
“We don’t want to see the outlet completely take over the town,” said Cllr Ovenden.
“We now have a huge variety of places to eat in the city that weren’t there before.
“I am still interested in us investing as much as possible in the city, where it is within our competence.”
While plans to redevelop Park Mall and the former Mecca Bingo hall are currently on hold, the ABC has taken control of the former Picturehouse cinema in Elwick Place under the watch of Cllr Ovenden.
The authority, which already owned the building, took over the six-screen site in April, renaming it ‘The Ashford Cinema’ and saving 26 jobs.
“We are very, very happy for people to visit the cinema to come into the town,” said Cllr Ovenden.
“If people want a cinema there, want it to be part of our city, they have to visit it.
“It has to go the extra mile, to believe in your own city, to come and visit, to come and spend money, to come and support the people who are there.”
The ABC says its £3m investment in the town center covers a four-year period between 2022 and 2025 and includes projects such as the Ashford UnFramed mural festival, which last year saw artwork around the high street and neighboring roads.
But when KentOnline spoke to shoppers in the town this week, the mood was even.
Holly Heaton, who moved to Ashford in 2016, said there were “empty shops left, right and centre”.
“The funding is not going to the right places and the town center doesn’t look nice, it doesn’t attract people, so I think the council needs to do something to improve it,” she said.
“When I first moved here from Essex I was told it was all green space but now the area is full of houses.
Longtime Ashford resident Patricia Smith agreed that stores are closing “everywhere you look.”
“There are more stores at the outlet than here downtown,” she said.
“Every week you look and there’s a store gone.
“It’s not like it was when I first moved here in 1991 – we had Woolworths and all the other shops but they’ve gradually left the town.
“They definitely need to take another look at what they’re spending money on. Downtown is dead.”
Other shoppers pointed to the loss of the Eurostar, which has not stopped in the city since the first Covid lockdown.
Almost 60,000 people have signed a petition calling for its return, but the company says its Ashford station will “remain closed throughout 2024 and 2025”.
A big question mark also hangs over the future of County Square, with an extension to the closure-hit center which previously included Debenhams earmarked for residential redevelopment under plans unveiled by the site’s owners.
But most shoppers KentOnline spoke to at the Outlet this week said that whatever happens to the town center they will always choose to visit the marquee, even though its parking charges were increased earlier this year.
Sarah Skelton, from Hythe, said: “The outlet has a better selection of shops and you know what shops are there.
“Many shops have closed in the city.
“If we come to Ashford we go to the outlet because it has a better atmosphere – it’s much nicer than the town centre.”
Katie Heather, from Sittingbourne, shared a similar view, saying she preferred the outlet feel.
“If I come to Ashford, I always come to the store,” she said.
“I don’t even always buy anything – it’s just nice to walk in and have a coffee every once in a while. It also has really good discounts.”
However, Alan and Chris Jackman, from Folkestone, said they rarely visit the store and were only there earlier this week to return something.
“We would actually choose to go shopping downtown because it’s better for us,” they said.
“Prices are better and we prefer shops. It is much more expensive in the outlet and there are few restaurants – Pizza Express is quite expensive in our opinion.
“We feel the shops are too selective, but it’s lovely to walk around and it has a lovely atmosphere, especially at Christmas.”
Earlier this month, KentOnline asked outlet manager Peter Heritage what he thought of the mall’s success compared to the city centre.
“We’re a Designer Outlet with designer brands, so I’d like to think we’ll complement what’s downtown,” he said.
“It’s great that we’re successful, but we want the city center to be successful as well.
“It’s also important to know that our customers tend to travel from further afield and around half of our sales come from outside Kent, so we’re bringing people into the area and that will hopefully continue and benefit the town centre.”
In a statement, an ABC spokesperson said the authority “is committed to supporting the town center throughout the year”.
“During the Christmas period we provide support in the form of free parking on selected days, funding and organizing Christmas lights, promoting events and offers through our LoveAshford platforms as well as organizing and coordinating the annual Carnival of the Baubles workshops and events. , which attracts thousands of residents and visitors every year,” he said.
“In 2023, the council has supported the national operator to stage a Christmas market in Ashford town center on Elwick Place and Lower High Street from November to December.
“This market closed earlier than expected and the traders decided to leave early due to the low number of visitors.
“So this year, as part of our work to expand market activity in the town centre, we are looking to support the current monthly Saturday United Makers of Kent Food and Creative Market, which operates in Park Mall and on the high street. more frequent markets during the Christmas period on weekends and also on the day of the trinket carnival on Saturday 23 November.
“This will support this local existing market which brings in local traders and producers to sell their products.
“If successful and supported by local residents, it will also support the work of a cross-party group of councilors who are currently working on options to potentially improve market provision for the town.”
ABC, which increased parking charges in Ashford and Tenterden by 10% last October, has yet to decide on plans for the outlet’s Christmas market.
If approved, nine booths will be set up in the center’s extension from November 18 to December 31.
But Cllr Ovenden says the outlet is “not something I try to think too much about”.
“That’s not my focus, they don’t need my help,” he said.
“They have a way of doing things and they know how to do it.
“I still think despite the pressure it has on some of the retail outlets in the town, it’s a good thing to have in Ashford.