Changing Ashford

The past fifty years have seen many important changes for Ashford. It was once a quaint and sleepy market town, but for many people recent developments have changed it beyond all recognition. It would be unfair to say that this Kentish town has changed for the worse because it is now one of the fastest-growing key towns in the South-East, and still retains much of its historical character. The developments of the last half-century, especially those in the 1970s, divided local opinion. Large construction projects such as the infamous Ringway, the building of Charter House and the development of Hempsted Street for the Tufton Shopping Centre (later County Square) produced mixed feelings in the town. The 1970s were indeed a controversial time for Ashford but it is now bracing itself for more redevelopment due to be completed by 2005. Changing Ashford is a trip down memory lane featuring over 200 (many previously unpublished) local views from a collection that has been built up over the last seventeen years.