There have been some big transport-related announcements affecting Ashford over the past few weeks, I thought it a good idea to send you all an update.
Transport matters are never far away from the headlines for us, and I am delighted Ashford will benefit from the whole range of recent announcements which will make a significant difference both to those who live in Ashford and those who travel in and around the town. No one should be in any doubt that the recent announcements covering Government spending on roads and other infrastructure add up to one of the most significant advances for Ashford in twenty years. Not since the arrival of international rail services has the area had such a boost from outside.
At the end of June we heard that Southeastern are considering a service stopping only once between Ashford and London using the traditional route (I refuse to use the terminology “Classic route” favoured by Southeastern because I think it’s ridiculous!). This would clearly make a big beneficial difference, taking about 15 minutes off the time.
I was once told that the time taken between Ashford and London had increased by about this amount since the 1950s, just because of all the extra stops now needed to cope with extra commuters. This was true until the high-speed line opened, but in any case it would be great to have an alternative semi-fast service.
Probably the biggest long-term effect will be created by the arrival of the full version of the new motorway Junction 10A on the M20. Many people in Mersham and Sevington were nervous about the effect of the proposed interim solution on their villages, and it is clear that moving in one step to a full solution gives much better protection to the wider local area.
Junction 10A will need a careful assessment of the local road network to avoid the creation of rat runs in Mersham and Sevington. The Parish Council and other organisations have collected detailed suggestions about what needs to be done to protect the village character of the area, and these will need to be looked at carefully.
It is also important that the planned timetables for building Junction 10A and the improved A28 are hit, because otherwise we will be in the position we have seen too often before when new housing is built without the necessary supporting infrastructure. Building work is due to start in 2016.
Underlying these announcements is a renewed confidence at national level that Ashford can throw off that old cliché about being a “nearly town”. Indeed this confidence is also international, as the American owners of the Outlet Centre are planning to double its size. This also shows that the new confidence has spread to the private sector as well as the public.
We should also remember that the need for the Junction comes not only because it unlocks job-creating developments in Sevington, but because the existing Junction 10 is overloaded. Having another nearby junction will avoid the problems many of us have feared of ambulances not being able to reach the William Harvey hospital in time because of the sheer weight of traffic around Junction 10.
When I first became Ashford’s MP in 1997 Junction 10A was said to be seven years away. It became a grim joke for me that as time went on remained seven years away, a constant feature as Ashford itself grew and changed fast. Now we can say with confidence that it will be built by 2018.
Some of the other changes will be on a smaller scale, but are equally necessary to maintaining the quality of life in and around the town. The dualling of the A28 out of Ashford is for once a case of infrastructure decisions coming before the building of the houses they are designed to service. However, even with these very welcome announcements, it does not mean that all the issues have been resolved, and further work needs to be done locally so that we can gain the full benefits of our successful lobbying for these transport projects. Of course nothing is ever perfect, and there are significant challenges that we face before the town is in the shape we would like to see, especially in the centre. But we are now in a much better position than we have been in recent years to make some big steps forward.
