Ashford council leader Cllr Gerry Clarkson hopes a new gas beacon will help rekindle civic pride and banish the term ‘Trashford’ to the dustbin of history.

Ashford Borough Council has granted itself planning permission to install the new gas-fuelled beacon at the North Park in Tannery Lane.

It will stand 15ft high and will be placed at the end of the park nearest to the old flour mills, to become a focal points for ceremonies such as the Queen’s birthday or other civic celebrations.

Speaking at this month's council planning committee meeting, Cllr Dara Farrell (Lab) questioned the location of the beacon and the expense, saying the money could have been better spent in schools to teach children about Remembrance and other events.

There had been some criticism of the council last year because of a lack of a beacon for a focal point during the Queen’s 90th birthday celebrations.

There was a temporary beacon set up in the centre of town in 2012 in order to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

But Cllr Clarkson said: “I think it is appropriate in North Park. It is not out of the way for celebrating and it is not there for only one event. We had a children’s funfair there last weekend.

“Hopefully this beacon will be there for 100 years or more. I have been here for a decade and when I arrived Ashford was called Trashford.

“I think that’s awful. We have got to get civic pride back in any way. It was good to get the bandstand and the other important thing is the beacon.

“If we do things, we should do it well, if that means spending a few shillings more we shouldn’t be half-hearted about it.”

The council is now formally procuring the work, which will go out to tender in the coming weeks. A spokesman said the authority will then have a good idea of the cost of the proposal.