Commute from France, overcrowded Kent tells its residents

More than 10,000 families are being offered an alternative to the overheated house prices of the South-east – move to the other side of the English Channel.

Kent County Council is drawing up plans with Eurotunnel to encourage people to buy property in the Calais area and commute daily to work through the Channel Tunnel.

The county has been told it will have to build another 116,000 homes by 2016, putting huge pressure on its green-belt areas and its existing housing stock. If enough people can be persuaded to move to northern France, where property prices are far below those of Kent, Eurotunnel would be able to offer commuter services at affordable prices. A new high-speed link due to open in 2007 will reduce journey times between Calais and central London to about 70 minutes.

Supporters of the scheme believe potential problems, such as organising cross- border taxes and schools, can be easily overcome. They argue that people routinely cross land borders in other parts of the European Union to go to work.

Sandy Bruce-Lockhart, the leader of Tory-controlled Kent County Council, said: "The cost of buying a house in northern France is far cheaper than in Kent. People could work over here while enjoying the quality of life France has to offer.

"It is not just a fanciful idea – people are already doing it. It is just a question of showing people about the benefits. We are facing a development which across Kent will equal a city the size of Nottingham, so we have to explore every idea there is."

Alex King, another Tory councillor in Kent, said: "There are certainly people who commute both ways on a weekly basis at the moment. It is not beyond a leap of imagination to see ways and means, provided there is sufficient capacity in the tunnel, for a much greater number of people to move across."

Eurotunnel said the Pas de Calais area could be attractive to Britons; it offered a good quality of life, with cheaper housing and beautiful scenery. Richard Shirrefs, its chief executive, said: "These ideas need to be accepted by people politically, but people are very interested."

John Prescott, the Deputy Prime Minister, has ruled that 800,000 extra homes have to be built in the South-east over the next 13 years. One of the four areas designated for development is Ashford in Kent, close to the entrance of the tunnel.

Kent County Council has calculated that an investment of £7.5bn in transport, schools and hospitals would be needed to accommodate the influx and that 2,000 acres of countryside would be lost. A huge reservoir would have to be built to meet the increased daily demand for clean water.

The other areas earmarked by Mr Prescott for expansion are Milton Keynes, the Cambridge-Stansted corridor and east London.

The proposal has triggered particularly fierce protests in Kent, whose population has leapt by a quarter in the past 20 years.

Eurotunnel said discussions on the Calais proposals were at a very early stage and could take at least five years to come to fruition.

But a spokesman added: "Kent can see the benefits in terms of the housing proposals and in France they can see the economic benefits that this will bring to them in an area which is considered a fairly deprived region.

"People already commute across land borders so why shouldn't we do it across the Channel? It is still a physical barrier but it is about breaking down the barriers that are still there."

Calais versus Gravesend: what's on offer

By Paul Peachey

CULTURE

Calais has a museum of fine arts and lace with an international reputation. Work by Pablo Picasso hangs in the art gallery. As for Gravesend, "there has been an exhibition in Papa's Ice Cream Parlour", said the tourist information office. "I'm not sure if it's on now, but we do have a library."

CUISINE

Heaped platters of fruits de mer, the smell of steam rising from freshly poached mussels, finished off with a giant waffle dusted with sugar. Gravesend, meanwhile, has lots of pubs.

TRANSPORT

Take the Eurostar from Calais and arrive in London an hour and 40 minutes later, and if you're prepared to pay the £250 return fare, you will get there before the boss. From Gravesend, a peak day return costs £12.10. Although 25 miles from London, the journey to Waterloo takes 50 minutes.

SHOPPING

Calais hypermarkets offer the cheap booze. For the best of the rest, there is foie gras at the Comtesse du Barry, fresh breads at the Boulangérie Fred and clothes at the Place d'Armes. In Gravesend, there are two shopping centres with all the chains. But parking is terrific. And a pedestrianised area offers "alfresco dining, pavement café-style!"

HOUSING

Homes in the Calais area start at about £40,000 but generally need renovation. A family home can be bought for about £80,000, according to Hamilton estate agents. In Gravesend, a two-bedroom house costs about £200,000.

CELEBRITY STATUS

Yvonne Vendroux, who married Charles de Gaulle in 1921, was one of the most famous residents of Calais. Gravesend is the resting place of the Indian princess Pocahontas, brought ashore because she was dying of tuberculosis.

WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT IT

"When I am dead and opened, you shall find Calais lying in my heart" – Mary Tudor, 1558. "A most romantic appearance, and in point of view, health and pleasure, Gravesend will yield to none" – Directory of Watering Places, 1840.