An outline application has been approved for a £1.5bn development at Chilmington Green, in Ashford, Kent which will see the creation of up to 5,750 homes and over 1,000 jobs within the next 20 years.
Chilmington Green, which will be divided into three neighbourhoods, including tree-lined streets, a spacious layout with high-quality public spaces and a strong local community managing an impressive range of local facilities.
It will feature major areas of open space, schools, sports and community facilities and its own high street as well as shops, healthcare and substantial business capacity.
Cllr Gerry Clarkson, Ashford Borough Council's Leader, said: "This is the single biggest application that many of us will ever see in our lifetimes. We now await the detail, which is critical to the success of the whole project. Phase one has to be right and must set the tone for the development. Our emphasis is on high quality standards, enough parking and outstanding public realm works.
"We are determined to make sure that future residents of Chilmington Green will be proud to live there, work there and grow their families there. It offers the borough tremendous benefits and is just one part of our overall plans for the future."
The scheme has already attracted substantial funding, including £9.3m from the South East Local Enterprise Partnership for a strategic improvement to the A28 Chart Road in Ashford, which will also improve access to the proposed development.
Cllr David Robey, Ashford Borough Council's portfolio holder for development, said: "Increasingly we hear about developments adopting garden city ideas but Chilmington Green goes much further. The innovative Quality Charter we have signed with the developers of the site and the radical proposals for community management of many millions of pounds of assets in the area make this a very special project indeed and, we hope, a model for the future.
"By creating a place designed with quality in mind and a community empowered to manage and look after it, we can leave a lasting legacy that everyone can be proud of in years to come."
Chilmington Green is in a prime location to the south-west of Ashford town centre, which has unrivalled road, rail, air and sea links.
