A £250m film studios plan set to transform an abandoned railway works has been approved by a council.

The Ashford International Studios scheme, which could be used by the likes of Netflix and Amazon, has been given the green light following an Ashford Borough Council planning meeting tonight.

Set to be built on the disused Newtown rail works close to the Designer Outlet, the scheme is estimated to add £100 million a year to Ashford's economy as well as more than 2,000 full-time jobs.

The studio plan will also feature production facilities, serviced and independent apartments, a multi-storey car park and an 18-storey hotel, which is set to become Ashford's tallest building.

Tonight's proceedings - which saw councillors discussing the plans from their homes - were live-streamed on YouTube.

Kicking off the meeting, a representation was made by Jeremy Rainbird of The Creative District Improvement Company, which is behind the scheme with developer Quinn Estates and funding partner U+I.

Mr Rainbird supported the council officer's recommendation to approve, saying: "I'd like to thank you for working so proactively to deliver this meeting and ensure a decision can be made on our proposals in these exceptional and unprecedented circumstances.

"With your support we can collectively start to rebuild and create the industry, jobs and momentum that can deliver an exciting new era for Ashford – building on the investment already made in the town.

"Approving this application will mean that tomorrow when I telephone Eoin Egan, the director of studio and production operations for Netflix, and John Eddy, director of worldwide production real estate for Amazon - both amongst those who are vying for our production space - I can say the Ashford International Studios have been given the green light with overwhelming support and excitement and that the studios will be open for business in 2022."

This view contrasted that of the South Willesborough and Newtown Community Council, which opposed the application due to concerns regarding overspill parking, lack of affordable housing, possible harm to residents' signal satellite reception and access.

Another sticking point was the community space which - despite being doubled in size through negotiation to 91.7 sq m - was still seen as lacking.

To combat this, and to negate their view that they had been largely left out of negotiations, it was recommended they should be included in later meetings regarding the community space and impact on surrounding amenities.

Councillors then began their discussion about the plan's merits and defects.

They questioned whether the design of the 18-storey hotel was particularly distinctive, and whether it complied with policy for "landmark buildings" to be unique or exceptional.

Cllr Bernard Hayes (Con) stated that: "The main sheds have definitely lost a significant amount of their historical integrity by the nature of their conversions."

He also noted the report which says the tower has a distinctive design coherent with its surroundings, to which he responded: "I'm afraid I couldn't disagree more with this statement.

"It's incredibly devoid of any merit - it actually reminds me of a rocket on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral and is definitely out-of-keeping with the Newtown area."

The design of the tower led Cllr Diccon Spain (Lab) to motion for deferral with the hope that the applicant could come up with something better.

He said: "With such a dominant building that will be there for decades if not hundreds of years, I'm particularly thinking about the tower that will be visible for miles around. I don't believe that tower and the hotel are distinctive in design.

"They remind me of the standard tower blocks from the 1950s."

However Cllr William Howard (Con) seconded fellow Tory Cllr Neil Shorter's motion to approve the scheme after noting the amended plans were much improved and the sloped roof was architecturally similar to another town landmark - the Curious Brewery.

In the end, three motions were tabled - that of Cllrs Shorter and Howard, a deferral motion from Cllrs Spain and Cllr George Sparks and a separate motion to approve with altered conditions from Cllrs Brendan Chilton and Cllr Spain.

The original motion to approve was supported by 12 committee members, abstained by two, and opposed by three.

A promotional video for the project

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