GEOGRAPHY has made Kent the best business location in the UK, according to Kent County Council leader Sir Sandy Bruce-Lockhart.

Underlining a point he has made many times before, Sir Sandy Bruce-Lockhart said the county was in the right place at the right time, between London and the markets of Europe along a vital transport corridor.

All this means raising the county's game in terms of design and has led to the appointment of the county's first design champion, Piers Gough, the outspoken architect, presenter of Channel Four's The Shock of the Old and chairman of the RIBA Architecture Awards.

Sir Sandy said: "What is going to matter about Kent is the quality of houses that we build and the quality of development. From the county council's perspective, the challenge is simply the challenge of quality."

Too often in the past, housing had been built without any concern for community. New developments needed open spaces, a café on the square, a strong sense of place and to give people "a sense of local Kentish identity".

Explaining why Kent needed a design champion, he said: "London and Edinburgh have design champions.

“Piers Gough will take on this role in Kent and help us encourage new clients to champion good design and produce memorable buildings that are relevant to Kent.

"We want Kent to be a place where the outstanding architecture of the past is cherished and where every new building contributes to a legacy of outstanding architecture for the future.

"We must create places that are distinctive and which reflect Kent's traditions and

identity; and we must design attractive houses, neighbourhood centres and

public open spaces where people really want to live."

David Hill has been chief executive of Ashford council for two years and a local resident for 25.

He accepted that some past developments were below standard. "We've got to do better this rime round," he said.

Ashford had to achieve tangible benefits from the building of 30,000 new homes, improvements in infrastructure quality, a better town centre and more "connectivity" between different parts of the town.