Ebbsfleet Valley

This article is about the new town in North Kent. For the hamlet near Ramsgate where Hengist and Augustine landed, see Ebbsfleet, Thanet.

Ebbsfleet Valley
Ebbsfleet Valley  Ebbsfleet Valley shown within Kent
OS grid reference	TQ597730
Civil parish	Swanscombe and Greenhithe
District	Dartford
	Gravesham
Shire county	Kent
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	SWANSCOMBE
Postcode district	DA10
Dialling code	01987
Police	Kent
Fire	Kent
Ambulance	South East Coast
EU Parliament	South East England
List of places: UK • England • Kent

Ebbsfleet Valley is a new town and redevelopment area in Kent, South East England; and part of the Thames Gateway. It is located south west of Gravesend.

It is named after the valley of the Ebbsfleet River, which it straddles. The eastern part of the site is in the borough of Gravesham and the portion west of the river in the borough of Dartford.

Redevelopment

Much of the land is brownfield and was formerly used by industry; having been previously owned by the APCM, Blue Circle and most recently by Lafarge. The new community is planned to have a population of 40,000. Ebbsfleet International railway station was opened in November 2007 and provides services to Continental Europe on High Speed 1. Domestic services to St Pancras railway station in central London are operated by Southeastern.

There will be a trial by BT of a fibre network in the Ebbsfleet valley, potentially offering the highest speed internet connection to home users in the United Kingdom, with the exception of Ashford in Kent. It has been confirmed they will be offering speeds of 100Mb/s which will transfer TV, Broadband and Telephone via optical fibre. Businesses and residents of the area will be given a new telephone dialling code, 01987, though the small number of users who already have numbers allocated from the neighbouring codes (01322 or 01474) will be able to retain them.

Archaeology

The Ebbsfleet River is of great historical importance in English history and prehistory, and much archaeological excavation has taken place here over the years. Quarrying here has revealed signs of extensive occupation some 100,000 years ago: flint knapping was carried out here, the remains of a straight-tusked elephant have been found. Distinctive pottery from the Neolithic age has been discovered; such pots give their name to an important sub-culture of the period.

Belgic Britons, in the late Iron Age have left behind traces of their culture. Prior to the construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link in this area, archaeological work undertaken at Ebbsfleet found an Anglo-Saxon mill. The river, which is fed by eight natural springs at Springhead (Latin: Vagniacis), was held sacred by the Celts who settled in the area around 100 BC. They were followed by the Romans; their Watling Street passes through the site, and a villa has been excavated.

Civic identity

The football team Gravesend and Northfleet FC changed their name to Ebbsfleet United F.C. in the summer of 2007. Another move to promote a sense of identity in the new town is a planned landmark, which when built will be 50 metres high (twice as high as the Angel of the North) and is intended to be visible from road, rail and air. This sculpture, informally known as the Angel of the South, is currently being commissioned.

External links

• ICON Magazine - Ebbsfleet Valley
• BBC - Ebbsfleet Valley
• Ebbsfleet Valley