The original Span-built properties in New Ash Green, with the earliest houses on the left and the original Span office and shop on the right

New Ash Green is a village in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It is located 8 miles south west of Gravesend.

History

Building of the village began in 1967, with Span as the developer and Eric Lyons as 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.[2] The village is arranged in twenty four neighbourhoods.[3] Punch Croft and Over Minnis are some of the original Span-designed sections.

The development soon ran into difficulties. Originally, the Greater London Council was 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,[4] sold the project to Bovis in 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

The village has rugby and football clubs, while Ash Green Sports Centre includes a gym and badminton, tennis and squash courts.[5] There are also shops, parks, a primary school, a special needs school and a fire station.

In the 2000's, the shopping centre became run-down due to lack of maintenance from overseas absentee landlords. In spite of plans being put forward in 2008 to redesign the village's shops,[6] the need for renovation continued, and in 2023 the centre was bought by new owners who promised a "much-needed enhancement" of the centre.[7]

Transport

Rail

The nearest National Rail station to New Ash Green is Longfield,[8] located 2.3 miles (3.7 km) away.

Buses

New Ash Green is served by Arriva Kent Thameside route 489. It connects it with Gravesend & Longfield.

References

  1. ^ "Location of Tonbridge". parliament.uk. July 2024. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  2. ^ "About New Ash Green". New Ash Green. 31 July 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ History of the village and architects: website by SPAN
  5. ^ "Ash Green Sports Centre". Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  6. ^ Plans to revamp village News Shopper 4 June 2008[permanent dead link‍]
  7. ^ "New owners of New Ash Green Shopping Centre promise much needed enhancements". Kent Online. 31 July 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  8. ^ "Let's move to New Ash Green, Kent: there's no hiding from the neighbours here". the Guardian. 27 September 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2022.

Media related to New Ash Green at Wikimedia Commons British Pathé News / New Village (1968)


51°22′N 0°18′E / 51.367°N 0.300°E / 51.367; 0.300

Allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Ash_Green
No tags for this post.