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A landmark housing development is set to provide 46 much-needed affordable new homes in the heart of Ashford.

The Mayor of Ashford Councillor Allen Wells officially opened Latitude Walk, in Godinton Road, at a special completion ceremony on Wednesday 1 September.

The development has transformed an important area of the town and features a striking circular turret and a distinctive selection of external materials designed to relate to the nearby County Square shopping centre and the remodelled Elwick Road.  It will provide a mix of part buy/part rent as well as homes for affordable rent.

Perfectly positioned for commuters the scheme is less than a ten minute walk from Ashford International railway station and also has easy access to the M20.  Journey times to central London on this high speed rail link are just 37 minutes.

The scheme has been made possible with investment of around £3.5m from the HCA through its affordable housing and Property and Regeneration programmes and Affinity Sutton and Moat were selected as developers following an exacting design competition.

Developed jointly by affordable housing providers Affinity Sutton and Moat the scheme will provide 13 one-bedroom apartments, 13 two-bedroom apartments and four three-bedroom family maisonettes. Affinity Sutton and Moat each own and manage 23 of the homes respectively and there are 30 homes available on a part buy part rent basis along with 16 affordable homes for rent.

All of the homes have achieved the Government’s Eco Home Very Good standard and include features such as low energy light bulbs, sustainable sourcing of materials, recycling boxes, provision for cycle storage, and an amenity decking area.  The scheme has also gone some way to designing out crime achieving a Secured by Design status.

Tracy Evans, Head of Housing (South) for Affinity Sutton, said:  "Latitude Walk is a good example of close working between two major housing associations, the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and Ashford Borough Council.  The development has transformed a key area and delivered highly desirable, quality homes in a central location."

Steve Nunn; Executive Director: Development & New Business at Moat, said: "We are thrilled to have worked in partnership to deliver these high quality and much needed homes for local people in Ashford. We hope that residents who have moved into them enjoy their new homes for many years to come."

In March 2001 the Government identified Ashford as one of four key growth areas in the South East with the capacity to provide an additional 31,000 homes and 28,000 jobs by 2031.

Simon Bandy, Area Manager at the HCA, added: "It’s great to see this development complete and ready for people to move in – and I am sure that local residents will warmly welcome today’s news."

"I’m delighted that we have been able to play our part in this development through our investment, and I would like to congratulate all of the partners who have worked together to make Latitude Walk a reality."

Councillor Neil Bell, Portfolio Holder for Housing for Ashford Borough Council said: "We welcome this fantastic iconic development which brings much needed affordable housing into our town centre and sets the bar for future town centre projects."

"As well as offering local people the chance of a great new home it complements other new buildings such as the County Square extension and adds real value to the ongoing work by the council and its partners to regenerate the centre of Ashford."