Richard Morris, the UK chief executive of shared-office company Regus, quickly warmed to the business case for opening a new location in the heart of Ashford.

“It has got medium-term prospects in terms of the economy and plans to grow the population,” he said after the opening of its new hub of 50 bookable offices in the Panorama building, a former office block turned into swanky apartments and retail space.

“We always look at what local government wants to do and we were impressed with what Ashford council was able to articulate about its vision for the town for the future.

“We met with the council to see how they are planning to redevelop parts of the town centre, which is very exciting.”

Regus is the latest in a series of companies which found Ashford’s high speed links catching their eye.

“Any town with that level of connectivity to London is attractive to us,” added Mr Morris, who hopes the sparkling new offices will become a base for entrepreneurs splitting their week between London and their hometown.

“Every town within 37 minutes of London either has a Regus or we are planning a location. Ashford forms part of that solid group of towns which benefit from being well connected to the capital.”

Planning teams at Ashford council will tell you their business case is built on much more than their access to high speed rail.

“Perseverance is what springs to mind with Ashford,” said Richard Alderton, council head of planning and development.

“If you knock long enough and loud enough at the gate you are sure to wake up somebody. A lot of people have been sceptical for a long time about development in Ashford and now that has changed.”

Central to Ashford’s growth has been its so-called Big Eight projects. The measures, designed to stimulate growth, outline the schemes the council think are most important to improve the economy in the area.

These include a new 10a junction of the M20, building a town-centre cinema and leisure plaza, upgrading signalling at Ashford International Station and building a new community at Chilmington Green, including 5,750 houses.

The council also wants to create a new Commercial Quarter, featuring 590,000 sq ft of office space, and has bought International House, a block near the train station, which it wants to be the centrepiece for the development.

Its former chief executive John Bunnett, who left for Brett Group in November, also oversaw the purchase of the Park Mall shopping centre in the town centre.

“Ashford are a long way ahead of other councils doing this,” said Mark Quinn, director of Quinn Estates, which is part of a joint-venture to build new offices near the station in the Commercial Quarter.

“The team have been incredibly shrewd. International House is one of the highest yielding office buildings in Kent and they stole Park Mall. It is a real benefit to tax payers in Ashford.”

Mr Alderton added: “The government is not giving local authorities grant support in the way it did. They want us to find ways to raise income by using our imagination. The acquisition of land around the station is one way.

“Park Mall and the Commercial Quarter have a strategic purpose. We bought at a price which can cover our costs and long-term, who knows?

“There may be a retail opportunity there and then it changes from a regeneration asset to a financial asset, where we can develop something stronger for Ashford in the future.

“These two investments are definitely for the long term and we are lucky to have had a chief executive with a private sector background who knew how to drive ahead a good deal.”

Ashford MP Damian Green said: “It is to the credit of Ashford to have this golden age of investment in big plans and projects.

“It has been slow progress but things are happening now. It is a moment to seize for Ashford and extremely exciting for the future.”

Another one of the council’s Big Eight projects is creating a new Ashford College campus, due to open fully in September next year after an investment from Hadlow Group.

The company, which runs the college of the same name near Tonbridge, took over the institution in August 2014 after its former owner K College went into administration, spending £65 million in a deal its finance director described as the biggest in further education corporate history.

A new campus had been mooted as far back as the early 1990s but had never attracted the investment until Hadlow raised £21 million for the project within nine months of acquiring the site.

It would not have gone to the trouble if it had not felt the town was able to attract students.

Finance director Mark Lumsdon-Taylor said: “If you don’t fix what is around the college then what reason do the students have to stay in Ashford when they could have a great experience at college in Canterbury?

“Hadlow were swayed once the council showed them their plans for Big Eight projects.”
Plans to double the size of Ashford Designer Outlet – another of the Big Eight – have been approved but with strict conditions.

Ashford council’s head of planning Richard Alderton said: “It’s probably the strongest legal agreement of its kind in the country because we want to make sure the new offer that comes to the outlet is not what could come to the town centre.

“The pitch has been for top end operators – the Guccis of this world – to attract people down from London, the Far East and Eastern Europe.

“This is an opportunity to catch some of that market and put Ashford formally on the map.”

The cost of renting commercial space in London is one of the big reasons companies are moving from the capital to Kent.

Mark Quinn, director of Quinn Estates, said his company is in talks with three major banks about locating their staff to the first phase of the Commercial Quarter development in Ashford.

He said one potential occupant based in central London had been paying £48 per square foot a month in rent and is facing an increase in its bill to more than £80. In Ashford, they can rent space at £23 per square foot.

He said: “They can base staff who do not need to be in London here and they can also live in a nicer place. You need to be a millionaire to live in a flat in Kings Cross but not so here.”

The first phase of the Commercial Quarter, a six-storey 65,000 sq ft office, which will be built in a joint venture with fellow developer George Wilson, will have 220 carparking spaces.

It will be capable of employing 426 people, with another 55 employed in retail space in the building, generating £1.2 million a year in business rates.

Overall, Mr Quinn said the Commercial Quarter will have 600,000 sq ft of office and retail premises, supporting 4,500 jobs and generating £11 million in business rates annually.

He insisted Ashford, rather than nearer Ebbsfleet, remains a stronger attraction for businesses looking to leave London on the high speed line.

Mr Quinn, whose company has been named a finalist at the RESI Awards in the Small Developer of the Year category, said: “Ebbsfleet is a brilliant location but residential values will defeat office values for developers. It is not all about how close a place is to London. People need good schools, countryside and shopping facilities.

“In Ashford you have Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on your doorstep and 3.5 million people shop at the McArthurGlen Designer Outlet. What more do you want? Ashford has got the whole package.

“Does Ebbsfleet have that? Some it does and some it doesn’t.”

The Big Eight projects

The Commercial Quarter – a new 590,000 sq ft office campus next to Ashford International Station

Elwick Place – a town centre cinema with places to eat and drink around a new square and meeting place

Expansion of Ashford Designer Outlet.

Ashford International College campus

Junction 10a – providing a new motorway junction to support expansion and improvements

Jasmin Vardimon International Dance Academy – to develop the company’s existing offer in Ashford

Ashford International signalling – allowing access for new intercontinental trains to stop at Ashford

Chilmington Green – a new community with 5,750 houses and space for businesses, retail, schools and open space