A £9.7million highway depot in Ashford opens tomorrow.

The Ashford Highway Depot in Javelin Way will be officially opened by Kent County Council chief executive Peter Gilroy, KCC cabinet member for highways Cllr Keith Ferrin and KCC chairman Cllr Peter Lake.

Kent Highways Services (KHS) says the new building will improve the way KHS works and will deliver a better service to the county.

It will enable KHS staff and other partners within the Kent Highways Alliance to work under the same roof for the first time, improving communication between teams and will reduce the time it takes to plan, co-ordinate and carry out projects.

The depot will mean road crews no longer have to collect work schedules and materials from different places.

Cllr Ferrin said: “This is a major investment that will give us the facilities to deliver a more efficient and joined-up service to Kent and will equip us to continue to deliver a high standard in the future.

“We will start to see a difference in the way we work very quickly and the self-sufficiency of this building will bring long-term benefits by reducing our running costs.”

The opening of the new depot, which will become a base for up to 300 staff, means that the Canterbury office will be closed.