Tom Burke is best known for playing a troubled private detective haunted by his past in hit crime series Strike.
But the 44-year-old is now trying to solve what he believes is a real-life conundrum: helping Ashford town centre overcome an “identity crisis”.
TV and film actor Tom Burke, pictured outside Matches Sports Bar at Elwick Place, is concerned about the future of Ashford town centre
The film and TV actor, who grew up near Tenterden and now lives just outside Ashford, insists he is “not trying to be a hero” but says he cares deeply about the town he spent a lot of his childhood in.
He first got involved in local campaigning last year when anxious traders were trying to save part of Park Mall shopping centre from being flattened.
A petition was signed by thousands of residents but the bid ultimately failed when site owner Ashford Borough Council (ABC) green-lit the demolition, and work is now set to start next month.
Burke has not given up, though, and has appeared in online campaigns again in recent weeks after leaked documents revealed ABC’s plans for the Elwick Place leisure complex – a move that is seeing Matches Sports Bar effectively kicked out of its current unit.
“Most actors are invited to have an opinion on national and international politics at some stage, whereas I wanted to engage in something locally,” Burke told KentOnline in the town centre this week.
Burke, right, with former Park Mall traders Matthew Abercrombie, of Vapeology, and founder of Baby Art Studios, David Hebditch. The trio were behind the Park Mall campaign last year. Picture: The Bridger Network/Matthew J. Bridger
“I suppose the Park Mall situation started it, but I didn’t know how I’d launch it without just saying what I think until traders started reaching out about their experiences, which in a way was a relief.
“I get that a section of Park Mall had to go, but they could have kept the vast amount of shops.”
Burke feels the Park Mall and Elwick Place projects could lead to the high street becoming “isolated” and independent businesses ceasing trading altogether.
ABC is planning a “residential-led, mixed-use development” on the former shopping centre, but an interim 200-space car park will open on the site later this year while those longer-term plans are developed.
Meanwhile, at Elwick Place, ABC has signed a deal with operator The Big Picture to offer a “family-oriented” attraction including a new bowling alley, simulators, arcade games, bar and diner and indoor mini-golf.
Demolition of Park Mall shopping centre and neighbouring Edinburgh Road car park is due to begin next month
The authority will have to pay £900,000 to Matches in order to buy back the bar’s lease – a move that has sparked anger in the town in recent weeks.
Matches – which ABC describes as “out of step” with its plans – will close next Sunday after bosses refused the council’s offer to move from their current home under The Ashford Cinema to another unit beneath Travelodge.
Burke – who has also starred in The Musketeers, War and Peace and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – feels Ashford “could be like Canterbury” but questions the thinking behind the Elwick Place move.
“It’s like ABC is trying to build a big show home, which, although may help the cinema, is not for local people,” he says.
“From my experience, Matches was one of the most commercially and ethnically diverse places you go to and it’s like ABC is not used to a success story.
“Ashford has been thrust into an identity crisis.”
Matches has been at Elwick Place since 2021, but will leave the complex next week
The son of two actors, Burke says he would regularly visit Ashford cattle market growing up – on the site where the £75m Elwick Place complex opened in 2018.
“I would go to the cattle market every Sunday and buy a bacon pastry and these weird hybrid toy figures,” he remembers.
“It had such an energy about it and that’s why I think it’s worth fighting for the town centre as I don’t believe it’s finished.”
Burke, a two-time British Independent Film Awards nominee who scooped an Ian Charleson Award for his theatre work in 2008, regularly shops in the town centre and says he “gets a lot of adrenaline” from his campaigning work.
“It actually makes me more nervous than a first night [on stage],” he says.
“Of course I would like nothing more than to be proved wrong and that’s why I worry it could all be for nothing.”
Burke plays private detective Cormoran Strike in hit BBC crime drama Strike. Picture: BBC
Burke – whose godfather is the late Alan Rickman – is currently shooting an as-yet-untitled film in Ireland headed up by Oscar-nominated director Lenny Abrahamson.
He has played detective Cormoran Strike in the hit BBC of the same name since 2017, and a new series is due to be released later this year.
But he says he will continue his work in Ashford as he feels the council is “isolating its own town centre”.
“It really began with the [opening of] the Designer Outlet which is quite removed from the town centre,” he says.
“It is a fascinating tented-design, but it’s self-contained and doesn’t show any of Ashford’s history.
“A lot of money has gone into it, but it’s more a monument to Home Counties middle-class aspiration than anything else.”
Burke says ABC’s decision to shut Park Mall shopping centre was what sparked his ongoing campaigning
Burke thinks the new activities planned for Elwick Place – including shuffleboard and an arcade – could “all be dotted along the high street instead”.
“Elwick Place has been sold on its all-day experience as its chief characteristic positive,” he says.
“But again these are reasons for people not to see the high street and the real Ashford.
“So I hope there’s a certain amount we can do without the council’s help, but of course it would be great to have them on our side.
“I think it’s quite a complex issue and I don’t think they realise how complex it is.”
Elwick Place first opened in Ashford in 2018, but has been hit by a number of closures
The documents leaked earlier this month show how ABC thinks Matches would be “out of step” with its shift towards a “family-orientated leisure offer” at Elwick Place as the bar “can become quite lively”.
But Burke has taken a dim view of that wording.
“So many people of every generation have commented on what a safe place Matches was for families,” he says.
“To me, these are euphemisms for a working-class culture that sets them [ABC] on edge for whatever reason.
“I suspect it’s because they are somewhat cocooned in their various lives.”
In response, ABC, which is run by an Ashford Independents/Green Party coalition, says it “recognises” there is “strong interest” in the future of Elwick Place and Park Mall.
Burke outside Ashford Borough Council’s former Civic Centre base last summer as he fought to save part of Park Mall shopping centre
“They are separate sites with different challenges and histories,” a spokesman said.
“In the case of Park Mall, the council has been clear that the site is not financially sustainable in its current form, with significant ongoing losses and rising maintenance costs.
“Aspirations have been in place for many years for the redevelopment of the shopping centre as part of the plans to regenerate the town centre.
“The decision to proceed with redevelopment was taken after detailed assessment, public debate and consideration of alternatives, and is aimed at supporting long-term town centre regeneration rather than leaving the site to continue to decline.”
The spokesman added how the authority’s approach to Elwick Place “has been consistent for many years in making this the leisure and entertainment centre for the town centre”.
Park Mall shopping centre has been closed since January 9
The council has run the six-screen cinema at the site since the Cineworld-owned Picturehouse chain pulled out of the complex in 2024.
But The Big Picture is now preparing to take over the running of the cinema as part of the new plans.
“We took over the cinema with the intention always being that this would be operated in the short-term with the intention of building up patronage and seeking a longer-term operator to take on this operation,” the ABC spokesman said.
“The recently announced plans for Elwick Place with The Big Picture looks to deliver these aspirations that the council have been clear about over a number of years and responds to public responses to bring in commercial activity to this key destination in driving town centre regeneration.
“As plans progress, we will continue to share updates openly and through the usual public and council channels.”
The spokesman says Burke’s claim that Elwick Place will be a “show home” is “baseless”.
ABC’s plan for the Park Mall and Edinburgh Road sites includes a temporary 200-space car park on the former Park Mall car park site
“Elwick Place is for everyone and is used every day by local residents and visitors, and the intention is to continue offering a mix of activities and venues that appeal to a broad range of people,” he said.
“The Ashford Cinema is for the community, used by people of all walks of life.
“Many local community groups have made use of the spacious foyer to hold events and activities.
“We do not recognise the suggestion that Elwick Place is only for a narrow audience, and we will continue to work with partners to ensure it remains welcoming and relevant to the local community.
“Elwick Place and the traditional high street serve different but complementary roles within the town centre.
“Elwick Place was designed as an entertainment-led destination, bringing leisure, food and evening activity into the town centre, while the high street continues to be focused on retail, services and independent businesses.
“The council’s approach is not about isolating Elwick Place, but about strengthening the overall offer across the town centre.”
Burke is worried about the future of Ashford high streetMany businesses have moved in and out of Elwick Place since 2018
Earlier this month, ABC revealed plans to turn part of the former Mecca Bingo hall in the Lower High Street into a 200-capacity theatre.
The idea has gained support from former Skins actor Alexander Arnold, but Burke feels the authority is “more likely to succeed with a bigger one”.
The existing main auditorium is not included in the current scheme, but “significant asbestos removal” is due to take place to allow that section to be used in the future, potentially upping capacity.
The move has been welcomed by many in the town, but Burke says he would “ask what it is people want to talk about” if he was in charge of ABC.
ABC is planning to open a 200-capacity theatre in the former Mecca Bingo building in the Lower High Street. Picture: Haworth TompkinsBurke first shared his opposition to ABC’s plans for Park Mall last summer
“I still love parts of Ashford, but feel like it’s got so much worse – it’s now almost like the canary in the coal mine in the austerity period,” he says.
“People have said they feel heard because of me but it shouldn’t be me.
“I feel a great sense of honour to act and play roles that I do, but I’m not trying to be a hero here.
“I am enjoying almost going to battle.”