Can't agree on the Prince's Parade Ray. Always looked like a bit of under-utilised scrubland to me?
As for Otterpool, I'm just glad I live nowhere near! My canal marina is near Rugby so I regularly chug through/past Houlton
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2022/sep/18/houlton-new-town-review-rugby-urban-and-civic-david-lock
I'll bet a pound to a penny that Rowan Moore, the Guardian Architectural correspondent doesn't file his copy from a Barret/Persimmon/TaylorWimpey home!
Breeding boxes for displaced Midlanders?
At least the 'new towns' of the sixties like Stevenage, Crawley, Hemel Hempstead, Harlow, Hatfield, Basildon, Bracknell, and Milton Keynes were built around some sort of a 'town centre' with shops/library/civic centre/ swimming pool etc wheras most new developments seem to be just more urban sprawl - an infinity of metroland without the redeeming feature of the metro - tagged on to the edge of the last bit of urban sprawl while Ocado delivery vans stalk the streets.
Ashford itself (once the fastest growing town in Europe!) seems to be appearing more in the local press with stuff that one normally associates with the LondonBorough of Medway Towns, bus routes being withdrawn in the hours of darkness in some no-go areas. Vibrant and diverse are the two adjectives which spring to mind!
All I can recommend is a visit to the Airport Cafe (probably the best greasy spoon in the world) while it's still there! Ask for the steak and kidney pud.
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g190759-d4954678-Reviews-Airport_Cafe-Ashford_Kent_England.html