Council's move to International House

The council’s planned move from our Civic Centre base in Tannery Lane to nearby International House is now complete.

There is a strong financial rationale for moving to International House. We own both buildings and they are significant maintenance costs expected at the Civic Centre over the next few years, due to the age of the building. 

The move has taken place in stages. Phase 1 of the relocation involved moving our reception area and office staff over, which was completed by the end of last year. For residents, this means our customer services reception is now found at International House, opposite the station. 

Please note, now phase 2 of the move, including the Civic Suite (Council Chamber, Mayor’s Parlour and Committee Rooms), has been completed the building is now closed and the council no longer uses it.

New home

Our new address now we have moved to International House is Dover Place, Ashford, TN23 1HU.

International House is a short five-minute walk away from the Civic Centre, please use the following safe walking route past Ashford International Station to access our reception via the zebra crossing.

Meetings on the move

All council meetings (including those that the public can attend in person), will now take place at International House. 

To see how you can access meetings at International House, please watch the video below:

Our move from the Civic Centre in Tannery Lane has taken place in phases, with moving our Council Chamber, Committee Rooms and Mayor’s Parlour, being completed this month. 

To find out what council meetings take place visit our Modern Gov website. 

You can also view most meetings live via our YouTube channel.

What will happen to the old Civic Centre site?

The third and final part of the project, potential future uses of the Civic Centre site will be explored further, and more details will be announced in due course.

It is likely to involve building much needed local homes for the local community. 

We will be appointing architects and technical consultants to prepare a planning application for the former Civic Centre and Suite, which we expect to submit in early spring. 

If the planning application receives approval, a contractor will carry out the conversion work on behalf of the council. 

The homes produced would be provided to local families through the Council’s housing register. This is one of 33 construction projects that Ashford Borough Council is pursuing in a bid to deliver around 1,000 new council homes for the people of Ashford borough.