Guarded by 24/7 security, a crime-hit site that was once a thriving part of the Kent farming community has sat abandoned for years.

But following a recent deal agreed by Ashford Borough Council, the town's historic Kent Wool Growers plot is now finally set for a new lease of life, as Liane Castle reports…

Overgrown trees and weeds have started poking through shells of the derelict buildings which once housed Kent Wool Growers, a farming co-operative that spent almost 100 years in Tannery Lane.

The remaining windows have been smashed, graffiti tags have been sprayed onto broken doors and pigeons nest in the holes on broken roofs.

The 2.9-acre site, next to the town's Royal Mail sorting office, has fallen into disrepair and has become a magnet for anti-social behaviour ever since the business closed its doors in 2017.

What was the main shop building is now in a very sorry state after a huge fire, believed to have been started deliberately, ripped through the site in 2019, further adding to its decline.

A smaller blaze was started at the site in March this year which was also treated as suspicious.

Security and guard dogs now monitor the site 24 hours a day in a bid to stamp out trouble and protect what is left.

The company, which was set up in 1920, launched with 73 members and expanded to support more than 4,000.

But it fell into administration when it suffered a downturn in both retail and account sales, putting pressure on its cashflow.

It meant the once-bustling hub which sold an array of farming supplies, and also featured a gun shop and a clothing store, quickly became deserted.

Former employee Daniel Lewis, from Stanford, said: “Kent Wool Growers was tucked away down there, not everyone knew it was there but you would guarantee they would go home with something.

“It was servicing about 20,000 farms across the south-east.

“There is a lot of history there.”

A year after it closed, the site was sold to London-based regeneration specialists U+I for £3m.

It put forward controversial plans to build more than 250 flats including a huge 14-storey block which were approved in 2019.

The large fire broke out months later but, thankfully, the Grade II*-listed Whist House in the corner of the site close to ABC’s Civic Centre was unharmed.

However, its poor condition means it is now covered in scaffolding and surrounded by litter.

But there is still hope for the building’s future as redevelopment is still on the cards.

U+I never progressed with its approved plans but earlier this month ABC revealed it had bought the site for an undisclosed sum.

The authority says it will put forward new proposals which will include flats, townhouses and a community hub, but on a smaller scale to those previously approved.

Bosses say the scheme could include a number of one, two and three-bedroom apartments and four-bedroom townhouses, however the precise number of homes is yet to be confirmed.

All the existing buildings will be knocked down to make way for the development except Whist House, which is earmarked for a community building of some kind.

That move has pleased Ashford historian Steve Salter, who says the site as a whole was historically known as the Tanyard and dates back as far back as the 17th century.

“It used to be a tannery,” he said.

“The trade of ‘tanning’ which is the use of animal skins and hides to make leather and up until the 1960s there were several more buildings on the land which existed during the tanning era.

“The old tanning sheds were demolished so the only notable building left on site is Whist House which is star-listed.

“It was a private house and at one point it was owned by one the family who ran the wool growers.

“The house had some outbuildings which you can still see evidence of as you go over the left-hand side and it had a Victorian glass house attached to it.

“The site has a big historical presence and I’m glad they're keeping Whist House under the plans.”

In 2018, sculptor Alex Chinneck turned the former Brundett House office block at the front of the site into a zip.

The work was commissioned by U+I which also asked the artist to design an eye-catching crossing over the river to the Stour Centre.

The crossing was designed to look like a loop-the-loop bridge over the water, forming an access point.

But while ABC does plan to build at least one bridge over the river, it is not yet clear if the loop design will be kept as part of the redevelopment.

The authority, which is now run by an Ashford Independents/Green Party coalition, is not revealing how much it paid for the site, but has been asked to disclose the information under a Freedom of Information request submitted by KentOnline.

Bosses say further design work is being carried out on the scheme before a public consultation is held in early 2024.

A planning application is expected to follow later that year.

ABC's Civic Centre, just a stone's throw from the Kent Wool Growers plot, could be converted into social housing as the authority is looking to move to the nearby International House.

A public consultation on the proposed move closed earlier this month, and ABC is due to discuss the switch at its cabinet meeting on Thursday.