Government funding aids South of Ashford Garden Village initiative
Press release
31stJuly 2019
A cluster of major developments in Ashford, Kent, have been included in a national government housing building initiative and allocated £150,000 funding to support their delivery.
The government has announced that 19 new garden villages will be built across England. The South of Ashford Garden Community will provide 7,250 homes for the scheme.
The community includes the Chilmington, Court Lodge and Kingsnorth Green developments, and will receive a share of the £3m fund to help with the next stage of their development.
Construction at Chilmington is underway while sites at Court Lodge and Kingsnorth Green are allocated for development in the Local Plan to 2030, and planning applications for these sites are due to be considered by the planning committee in the coming months.
The creation of well-planned and designed, locally led garden communities makes a critical contribution to the government's ambitions both to build 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s, and to provide a stable pipeline of homes for the future.
These places are designed to become vibrant new communities where people can live and work, and to create a legacy that will be enjoyed and valued by future generations. The government believes they set a new standard for planning and delivering new settlements at scale that can support a local area's housing and economic growth ambitions and recognises that delivering them carries costs that go beyond the typical remit of local authorities.
Minister of State for Housing Kit Malthouse MP said: "Building the homes the country need is vital to the nation's success - but they need to be homes that will become part of thriving communities; places where the generations who come after us want to live.
"I am confident that South of Ashford Garden Community will do just that, and I congratulate Ashford Borough Council for stepping up to the mark, demonstrating real determination which helps deliver our ambition of 300,000 new homes a year from the mid-2020s."
Cllr Neil Shorter, portfolio holder for planning and development said: "We are pleased to receive this funding from the government, which will help us to make sure these developments are sustainable and complement each other as they come forward.
"As well as the funding support, we will receive advice from Homes England and cross-government brokerage to resolve strategic policy barriers to delivery. We look forward to discussing this in more detail with them in due course and considering how the funding can be put to best use."
ENDS
Notes for editors
An image showing the South of Ashford Garden Community is available
To help meet the need for 300,000 new homes in England every year, garden communities create new housing, infrastructure, jobs and services in sustainable communities.
Since 2015, the Garden Communities programme has supported the development of 29 garden towns and villages across the country.
The main characteristics are:
- a purpose-built new settlement, or large extension to an existing town
- a community with a clear identity and attractive environment
- it provides a mix of homes, including affordable and self-build
- planned by local authorities or private sector in consultation with the local community
As well as building new homes, the communities develop:
- job opportunities
- attractive green space and public realm areas
- transport infrastructure, including roads, buses and cycle routes
- community infrastructure, schools, community and health centres
- a plan for long-term stewardship of community assets
For more information on the Garden Communities Programme visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/garden-communities
For more information, contact:
Jack Seales
Work.experience@zesttheagency.com
01634 671167