Villagers concerned over potential sale of Woodchurch Windmill currently owned by Ashford Borough Council

Villagers are fighting to save a historic windmill they say is part of the fabric of their community as a council plans to sell it off.

Woodchurch Windmill, near Ashford, suffered thousands of pounds worth of damage during strong winds in 2019 which wrecked its sails.

Residents say no work has been done to repair the Grade II*-listed site under Ashford Borough Council’s (ABC) ownership, and are now fearing for the site’s future after learning of the authority’s plan to dispose of the landmark.

Council bosses say they will not comment on any potential sale until the future of the mill is discussed at a cabinet meeting next month.

But the Friends of Woodchurch Windmill group says it is concerned about the site’s future if sold to a third party.

Group chairman Mel Bailey said: “At the moment, there’s no planning for the future of the windmill, and that’s concerning as it represents our village and the community.

“It’s being treated as any other building, but it’s not. This is a heritage and community asset.

“When it is in good condition and the sails are turning, the amount of money you can take on an open day multiplies because there is a public interest in the mill, but you’ve got to work to maintain it. It doesn’t do it itself.”

Mr Bailey says the group is currently unsure of its involvement in the mill if it fell into the hands of a third party.

Parish councillor Rob Woods added: “I’m struggling to see how the council can abdicate its responsibility – just to leave it to go to rack and ruin seems a total dereliction of its responsibilities.

“Villagers want to see it preferably in the hands of local people and improved.”

A Friends of Woodchurch Windmill member, Gary Hastings, said the windmill “is a flagship of the village”.

“It’s included in any image of Woodchurch; it’s on our sign, it’s on the school badges, it’s part of the whole village and our sense of place,” he said.

The smock windmill was built in 1820 and featured on a set of stamps illustrating similar sites across the UK in 2017.

Concerns over its future come as Kent County Council (KCC) is looking to sell off the eight mills it owns: Chillenden, Cranbrook, Margate, Herne Bay, Meopham, Stelling Minnis, Wittersham and West Kingsdown.

A KCC spokesperson said: “Cabinet member for environment, Robert Thomas, recently decided that ‘KCC should seek to divest itself of the windmills it currently owns by a method that ensures that the windmills have a sustainable future in which they are appropriately cared for and maintained as community assets.’

“We are now meeting with each windmill volunteer group to hear their views on what a sustainable future for the windmills, cared for and maintained as community assets, would look like.”

ABC, which also owns Willesborough Windmill, is set to discuss the future of the Woodchurch site on December 12.