New Ash Green
| New Ash Green | |
|---|---|
 The Row, New Ash Green's shopping area, in 2012 | |
  New Ash Green Location withinKent | |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LONGFIELD |
| Postcode district | DA3 |
| Police | Kent |
| Fire | Kent |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| UK Parliament | |
New Ash Greenis a village in theSevenoaks DistrictofKent,England.It is located 8 miles south west ofGravesend.
History
[edit]Building of the village began in 1967, withSpanas the developer andEric Lyonsas the designer. The architectural design of New Ash Green was innovative for its time, and its original concept was intended as a prototype for a new way of living in the latter twentieth century. The first buildings were created to be airy, pleasant and modern. There was generous landscaping and cars were separated from pedestrians in the streets and in the shopping precinct.[1]The village is arranged in twenty four neighbourhoods.[2]Punch Croft and Over Minnis are some of the original Span-designed sections.
The development soon ran into difficulties. Originally, theGreater London Councilwas going to buy 450 of the properties for renting. This idea was dropped when the leadership of the GLC went into Conservative hands. This reduced the financial viability of the development and of the planned social mix of residents. Another problem in the early years was that some lenders were sceptical about the unconventional design of the properties and would not give mortgages.
Span, the original developer,[3]sold the project toBovisin 1971 for £2.65 million. Bovis increased the size of the development, increasing density and giving less attention to design or provision of public space.
Facilities
[edit]New Ash Green is a quiet residential area. It has a rugby club, épée fencing and air pistol shooting indoor, tennis club, football club, Ash Green Sports Centre including a gym, shops, children's parks, a primary school, a fire station, aspecial needs schooland many more public buildings.
The shopping centre became run-down due to lack of maintenance from overseasabsentee landlords.Plans were put forward in 2008 to redesign the village's shops.[4]
Transport
[edit]Rail
[edit]The nearestNational Railstation to New Ash Green isLongfield,[5]located 2.3 miles away.
Buses
[edit]New Ash Green is served byArriva Kent Thamesideroute 489. It connects it withGravesend&Longfield.
References
[edit]- ^"About New Ash Green".New Ash Green.31 July 2016.Retrieved15 November2022.
- ^Friends of New Ash Green Village Centre (FONAGVC) Website of the Friends of the New Ash Green Village Centre:includes history of the development of the village
- ^History of the village and architects: website by SPAN
- ^Plans to revamp villageNews Shopper 4 June 2008[permanent dead link]
- ^"Let's move to New Ash Green, Kent: there's no hiding from the neighbours here".the Guardian.27 September 2019.Retrieved15 November2022.
External links
[edit]
Media related toNew Ash Greenat Wikimedia Commons
British Pathé News / New Village (1968)
