SEVERAL hundred jobs would be created if the Swedish retailer Ikea establishes a store in Ashford.

There is widespread speculation that the furniture giant is eyeing up the east Kent town.

While the company refuses to be drawn on specific areas where it was interested in opening stores, a spokesman confirmed this week that the company was in discussion with 'several councils’ over potential sites.

Typically, an Ikea store creates between four and five hundred jobs.

Jo James, vice chairman of the Ashford Chamber of Commerce, said: “When you look at the [government’s] growth agenda for Ashford, it would make sense and would be good for them but also good for shoppers.”

A leading retail expert has predicted it is a question of when not if in relation to a new IKEA store.

Dr Fragkiskos Filippaios, a lecturer in International Business and the deputy director of the MBA Programme at Kent Business School at the University of Kent, said: “If you consider Ashford’s strategic location between London and Dover, it could attract customers not just from London but France.

"With increasing income levels, the growth in population and more Londoners moving out to the south east, it would be a surprise if in the next couple of years we did not see an IKEA outlet in the region.”

He added: “What IKEA sells is a lifestyle culture and since Ashford is an area under so much development and will be a place where there are a lot more commuters, Ashford is the obvious choice.”

He predicted Ashford council would be keen to see a store because of its capacity to boost the economy.

However, it would need to consider carefully the environmental impact and the huge number of customers who would come from outside the immediate area. “That being said, it would be mainly positive and would be a significant jobs boost for the town.”