A STYLISH new office and housing development is a step closer to reality for Victoria Road, Ashford. The plan is for a hotel, restaurant, offices, studios and apartments to be built on the site just south of the town centre.

Bellway Homes has been chosen to carry the project through and preliminary plans have now been released. Last week, councillors agreed that the design offered good employment opportunities for the town. Other proposals did not sit well alongside the town centre and the designer outlet, officials said.

Development services director John Jory said: "It's a very modern design - it may prove to be very attractive to people when it is drawn out." He told councillors they could expect to see an application for planning permission within 15 months.

Ashford Borough Council and the South East England Development Agency are working together on the project as joint owners of the land.