Just a couple of minutes' walk from one of Kent's busiest railway stations is a leisure complex offering delicious food, local beers and live entertainment.

But there's a problem - hardly anyone seems to know it exists. We sent KentOnline reporter Chantal Weller to shine a light on this hidden gem...

Looking for a night out in London without having to pay extortionate prices for train travel, taxis and hotels? We may have found the perfect spot, right on our doorstep.

Just a couple of minutes' walk from Ashford International station, Coachworks is ideal for anyone travelling to the town by rail.

My partner and I went there by car - and were able to park for free at Dover Place car park. To find Coachworks we followed a line of fairy lights, which looked stunning on a chilly January evening.

But once we got to the venue, there were no other punters in sight. It felt like a bit of a ghost town. I was determined to find out why - because, so far, this looked like one of the coolest venues in Ashford.

We walked into the rustic site which had three containers to get food from, as well as a coffee shop which is open during the day. But, first things first, a drink in the bar was needed.

Named the Hothouse, the bar sits upstairs in a building on the site.

It serves local drinks such as Curious Brewery beers and ales as well as Maidstone gin. Prices were nothing out of the ordinary, with a pint costing about £5 and soft drinks £2.50.

We got our drinks and sat in one of the booths. The venue doesn't have central heating, but there were strong heaters scattered around so I took a seat underneath one. I wasn't cold at all, although it is the sort of venue where you keep your coat on in the winter.

After enjoying a drink in the bar we ventured downstairs to find some food. There were three sites to choose from: Il Pakkero, an Italian; Wild Souls Kitchen which has street food such as burgers, chicken and vegan options; and Khaza which serves south Asian street food.

We decided to go for Il Pakkero as they had a "two pizzas for £20" deal on. After ordering a margarita and the Pakkero pizza which included prosciutto ham, mushrooms and mozzarella, we took a seat back in the bar, got another drink and waited for our food to arrive.

Not many minutes later, two woodfire cooked pizzas arrived and, oh my, did they look good. After snapping a picture of them we got stuck in.

Wow. Probably the best pizza I have ever eaten - and at £20 for two, I was not complaining.

The cheese was melted perfectly and was stringy, the prosciutto ham was lovely, and the crusts were just crispy enough.

Being cooked in a woodfire also infused the flavours of the pizza, making it even better. We were two very happy customers.

The owners of Il Pakkero, Fran and Jac Meli, who moved to Ashford from Italy 15 years ago, also own Wild Souls Kitchen and were kind enough to also bring us some of their BBQ chicken wings. This was another dish which had the wow factor. The chicken was cooked perfectly and the BBQ sauce was rich and zingy, just like it should be.

When we first entered the Hothouse we noticed a ping pong table downstairs, so after our feast we took the opportunity to have a game.

It was so quiet that there was no one else downstairs to watch us playing (badly).

After visiting Coachworks, this really does seem like a hidden gem which more people should know about. I will certainly be going back, especially when there is live music.

It offers something for everyone to enjoy and has lots of quirks. It is like being in Camden in London, without having to fork out for an expensive train fare.

I certainly didn't feel like I was in Ashford. All this venue needs is more people to really bring the atmosphere alive.

So why is it so empty? The Coachworks Scheme, designed by Carl Turner Architects, has been around since 2019, when three buildings were transformed into the community space.

As well as its entertainment offering, the main building has work spaces which can be booked out - an initiative which aims to support start up-businesses.

But those who work at the site say people do not know they are there due to there being no street signs.

Lucy Stoate, operations manager of Coachworks, says the venue offers something for everyone so there should be more signs pointing in their direction.

She said: "It makes us think, why is there no signage at the station? Is tourism not important to Ashford?"

"In the summer, if you come from London you would have no idea where to go when you get off the train.

"Why are we not, as a town, being proactive as oppose to reactive?

"We can't afford to spend the money on getting signs but could afford to contribute towards it."

Ms Stoate says the team has tried several times to speak to Ashford Borough Council (ABC) about the issue, but have gotten nowhere.

"It is exasperating after a while to keep asking for support," she said.

"We have and continue to invest in signage on our leased land but it is my understanding that general signage for the town centre, Dover Place, Elwick Place etc, would need to be erected by the council.

"I am not sure we would be able to just start erecting signs around the town."

The 35-year-old also says there needs to be more events in Dover Place to get them on the map.

She said: "The carnival of the baubles focuses on Ashford High Street - there has also been lots of investment in Elwick Place.

"It would be good to highlight that this is another area of Ashford. We are also the link between the outlet and the town.

"We want people to know this is an area where people can dwell, whether that is socially or for work.

"Dover Place is a great place, which is not like being in Ashford. We welcome anyone and try our best to put on events ourselves, but our reach is only so far."

Fran and Jac Meli, who are offering up such delicious food, say business is good in the summer - but things are much slower in the winter.

"We chose to open at Coachworks because we thought it was a big opportunity," Fran Meli said.

"I like the concept of Coachworks and that it is a meeting point in Ashford, I see a lot of potential in this place and that's why we are staying here. We try not to give up.

"What we make in the summer ties us over for the winter.

"People don't know we have an indoor space too. There is a huge car park opposite us which is free after 6pm. It is perfect."

But Mrs Meli says she would like to see the space used for more community events and says it holds a big opportunity.

"I think I can speak for all the businesses when I say I think the council could involve Coachworks in more activities," she said.

"We have a big space here, we need to let people know we are here.

"We believe it has high potential but we have literally been abandoned by the council. No signage has been put out to help to find us. We feel a bit left out.

"The council has a big opportunity. Ashford is growing, lots of people from London are moving down and there are lots of families.

"We know a lot of people who have moved here and say there is nothing to do, so we want to give them something to do."

Mr Meli added he feels ABC is more focused on housing and the new international studios.

"People could make a day out of it and go to Coachworks, then the studios, then over to Elwick Place," he said.

"When we moved from Italy, the high-speed was just being opened and we saw lots of new things developing, and lots of housing being built.

"But people don't know what to do after work or on their days off.

"If we got more street signs and help about communicating where we are then people have another place to go."

Coachworks was deemed to be a "temporary leisure complex" when it opened almost four years ago.

It was built after ABC granted itself planning permission for the £850,000 development at the start of 2019.

It was said to only have a five-year lifespan as the land was set to become the second phase of the Commercial Quarter in later years.

A spokesman for ABC said: "To suggest that we have somehow failed to recognise the importance of The Coachworks to Ashford and failed to support its successful development is completely untrue. The Coachworks has benefited from extensive and long running support from the authority.

"It is standard practise for advertising and marketing to be the responsibility of every business owner to promote their own services and / or products unless it is otherwise agreed or expressed in their lease agreement.

"Signage on Highways land is a matter for the tenant (Coachworks Ltd) to discuss directly with Kent County Council and not something that officers of Ashford Borough Council should get involved with. This is also the case for Network Rail land."

He added, it is pleasing to know that trading in the summer months is healthy and ABC has promoted Coachworks on its websites and in the Ashford For You magazine.

"The Coachworks is continually offered creative opportunities as host or partners, which they benefit from in a multitude of ways – extra footfall, recognition, venue hire fee, bar income, tenants and much more," he said.

"The Coachworks has featured in our new tourism video and regularly appears across our various social media platforms, which have tens of thousands of followers.

"We agree that The Coachworks is a fantastic venue and a real asset to the town.

"The Council looks forward to the KM coming back for another feature in the summer, when the popularity of The Coachworks can really be appreciated. Hidden gem no more we believe…"