There are gloomy headlines about the economy, mutterings about a recession and house builders are shedding hundreds of jobs.

So can Ashford be confident about its ability to prosper under the Government’s far-reaching plans for the area?

Political editor Paul Francis talks to Judith Armitt, the managing director of Ashford’s Future, which has the task of delivering thousands of new homes and jobs over the next two decades.

---

At the end of this month, developers and private companies will sit down to a breakfast briefing in London to hear why Ashford is the place they should be investing their money in.

The meeting will be hosted by Ashford’s Future, the group overseeing the town’s development and the drive to secure 31,000 homes and 28,000 jobs between now and 2031.

Coming at a time of deepening gloom over the national economy and talk of a recession, the timing might not be perfect but Judith Armitt, managing director of Ashford’s Future, still expects a healthy level of interest.

Under the banner of “Ashford: On The Right Track” the message will be clear: other places might be suffering as the economy falters but Ashford is not about to be derailed.

Is such optimism misplaced? Judith Armitt doesn’t think so but accepts the development of the town is at a key juncture. Key projects designed to transform the area are underway, some have already been completed.

“Wherever regeneration takes place, people will always say that it will take forever. It often does and five years into the [the Government’s] Sustainable Communities Plan, it has got to a critical point but everyone understands what the game is and are ready to play their part.”

With housing a key part of the growth agenda, it might be thought that as major housebuilders lay off staff and property prices tumble, the pace of progress in Ashford will inevtiably have to slow. Armitt insists it is not all bad news.

“No-one is trying to maintain that there isn’t an economic downturn. But we are better placed than most. The arrival of high-speed domestic services in 2009 is one reason for that. House prices are lower in Ashford than many other parts of the south east and because there is so much infrastructure work going on, we are as well placed as anywhere to weather the storm and pick up when things turn around.”

In fact, any hiatus will afford “the opportunity to step back” and to reflect on issues such as whether the design of new estates and homes is up to scratch.

“It really is crucially important that however much we say design has improved and stepped up, we check and make sure things are even bolder. When you start any regeneration programme, you think you are being ambitious but you realise you can never be ambitious enough. You have to set your sights high.”

That might be read as a warning that developers won’t get away with building cheap identi-kit estates.

She contends the introduction of high-speed domestic services to London, bringing journey times down to 37 minutes will be a major catalyst the point at which Ashford’s fortunes will be genuinely transformed.

“When the new service comes, Ashford will start to be considered a real premium place to live and work.” If the projections are met, the town’s population is set to double to 110,000.

She does not expect - as some have predicted - that this development will result in Ashford simply becoming a dormitory town for commuters to the capital.

“There will be a whole new employment market opening up because the service will go to St Pancras. There are already good quality jobs in a series of manufacturing industries and scope to do more in the creative industries.”

She also draws a contrast between Ashford and Ebbsfleet, where the new international station in north Kent opened last year. “What Ashford has got but Ebbsfleet hasn’t yet is that we are building the domestic service on an established community.”

She is cautious when asked if a “big bang” solution is needed to address concerns that while Ashford is seeing plenty of new homes, there is less tangible evidence that new jobs are coming on the scale that is needed. Wouldn’t the arrival of a major employer help?

“I would never say we need to put all our eggs in one basket or say we need to choose one employer and say that is the solution.”

One area of concern about the Government’s growth agenda has always been the costs of associated infrastructure, like roads, schools and leisure facilities. Even here, she is confident that even if developers retrench and become more hard-nosed about what they should contribute, arrangements are in place for up-front funding to come from Government bodies like English Partnership. A scheme for developer tariffs, in which money will be released to meet wider infrastructure costs, is also on the cards. “Developers understand the position very well and are realistic. They are all saying that in a couple of years, we will be through this [the economic downturn].”

If no-one is able to say with any certainty what kind of place Ashford will become, Armitt is certain that within five years it will have a much stronger identity.

“I think people will recognise Ashford as a really distinctive place that stands apart from many of the towns in Kent. It will be a place of real economic vibrancy and change. That will help the rest of Kent.”

A suggestion that Ashford should aim to be seen as “the capital of Kent” is met with a smile.

“I had better not say that but it will be a very special place. We will certainly be punching above our weight.”