A new business district on a massive 16-acre site is planned for Ashford.

The new site, next to Ashford International Station, will mostly have a 590,000 sq ft for offices plus 26,000 sq ft retail and leisure outlets and 150 flats.

Blueprints for the site, known as Ashford’s commercial quarter, have been unveiled by SEEDA (South East England Development Agency) and Ashford’s Future.

The scheme is designed to capitalise on the high-speed rail links to London and Europe.

Judith Armitt, pictured, managing director of the development group Ashford’s Future, said the expanding town centre was vital to support the forecasted growth of the borough over the next couple of decades.

She said: "Ashford is the perfect location for doing business in the UK and the 37-minute rail service to London is a tremendous opportunity for us to attract more inward investment."

She added that a masterplan for the commercial quarter site was expected to be completed by October.

Ashford’s Future and SEEDA will then begin discussions with potential development partners in the private sectors.

This project follows the publication of the Ashford town centre area action plan in April, which divided the town into six zones including this business area.

The high speed link from to London St Pancras, began in preview form last month and provides a full service from December.

It is the first such domestic service for Britain and also puts Ashford within easier reach of major cities in the North and Midlands.

Taking the train from the town to Leicester will take just 1 hr 54 min, while it will be 2 hr 31 min to Nottingham and just under three hours to Sheffield.

With Eurostar Lille can be reached in less than an hour, Brussels in 1 hr 29 min and Paris in 1 hr 52 min.

Ashford’s Future says that the town is the fastest-growing between London and Europe, with plans to create 28,000 jobs and build 31,000 homes over the next two decades.