ASHFORD could become the home of a multi-million pound college campus catering for as many as 5,000 students under ambitious plans just unveiled.

The Kent and Medway Learning and Skills Council says a “multi-versity” campus - providing sixth form education, vocational and graduate training - could be the answer to the region’s well-documented skills gap and provide the workforce necessary to fill thousands of new jobs.

The Kent Messenger Group revealed last year how the idea of a campus shared by schools, colleges and universities had already been discussed privately by council chiefs.

Now the LSC, which is responsible for organising all post-16 education in the county, has publicly declared its backing for the idea.

Trevor Sandford, of the LSC, said major opportunities could open up as a result of the campus and help reverse the county’s poor staying-on rates in post-16 education.

“Research has shown that there is already an urgent need to improve the local skills base and new growth in Ashford is expected to increase student numbers in 16-19 training and education by around 1,000 over the next ten years,” he said.

An estimated 6,800 jobs will be created in Ashford and Shepway each year between now and 2010, according to an analysis conducted by the LSC.

But even that could be an under-estimate as that does not take into account the Government’s growth agenda for Ashford and Kent, which will see thousands of new homes built.

The LSC believes there will be a huge unmet demand for construction workers and those in the transport industry if investment is not made in improving vocational training.

Ashford council chiefs are backing the idea of a campus, saying it could turn Ashford into a university town.

Chief executive David Hill said: “Our strong view is that it ought to be in the centre and near the railway station. If we get a campus of this sort, it will regenerate the town. We have a huge swathe of potential sites on both sides of the railway line.”

The LSC will be consulting on its proposals in the coming months. Funding for any new facility could come from a variety of sources but the LSC believes a for building work could start by 2007 if there is agreement to its plans.