Ashford's street market will be moving home, after an “eleventh hour” announcement of repair work to the lower High Street.

Kent County Council’s (KCC) Transportation and Highways department gave Ashford Borough Council (ABC) notice on May 24 that they would be undertaking improvement works to the surface in the lower high street immediately after the Diamond Jubilee.

KCC then sent out letters to businesses and market stallholders on May 28, just nine days before the work was due to begin.

Some were concerned over the lack of consultation and sudden announcement, particularly market traders, who were informed that they would have to move.

A temporary home has been found for the market, which operates on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday with a small number of stalls operating on Thursday.

During the five weeks the work is expected to take, the stalls will be pitched in locations in Middle Row, near the bandstand area, in Bank Street and in North Street.

Once the improvement work has been completed, the stalls will move back to their regular location in the lower high street.

A spokesman for ABC said: “While this will involve a degree of upheaval, we have taken every step to try and reduce the inconvenience for both market traders and shopkeepers.”

“We hope the vibrancy of the market will have a positive effect on the number of shoppers in these areas and that everyone will be able to see that they will benefit from the improvements to the lower high street in the long term.

“These arrangements are just an interim measure and we thank everyone in advance for their consideration and patience.”