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Coordinates: 51°26′04″N 0°17′49″E / 51.434322°N 0.297071°E / 51.434322; 0.297071

Ebbsfleet Valley
Ebbsfleet Valley  Ebbsfleet Valley shown within Kent
OS grid reference	TQ597730
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[1]
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 named from the valley of the Ebbsfleet River, which it straddles, with the eastern part of the site in the borough of Gravesham and with the portion west of the river in the borough of Dartford. It is located south west of Gravesend.

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.^[2]

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. It has been confirmed they will be offering speeds of 100Mb/s which will transfer TV, Broadband and Telephone via optical fibre.^[3] In due course, businesses and residents of the area will be offered a new telephone dialling code, 01987, though it will be possible for them to retain or opt for one of the existing codes (01322 or 01474) in accordance with present coding boundaries.^[1]

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^[4][5].

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.^[6]. 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.^{[7][8][9][10]}

References

External links

• BBC - Ebbsfleet Valley
• Ebbsfleet Valley

From Wikitravel

Ebbsfleet Valley is a new town in Kent.

Ebbsfleet was once a small village occupied since the stone age, in 2005 work begun to tranform Ebbsfleet into a modern village. Ebbsfleet Valley village will become important to travellers and local commuters resulting from Ebbsfleet International station which operates Domestic Highspeed trains and International Eurostar trains, and because of the Ebbsfleet United Football Club which has been bought by 30,000 web based fans.

Ebbsfleet International is a railway station located in Ebbsfleet, which provides transports between UK and Europe. Several trains operate each hour direct between Ebbsfleet and Paris, Lille or Brussels.

By 2009 Ebbsfleet was re-developed as part of a regeneration project to host Ebbsfleet International railway station and a modern village Ebbsfleet Valley near the town of Gravesend on the River Thames in the north of the English county of Kent. Together with its neighbouring villages of Northfleet and Gravesend it forms a large urban area known as Gravesham, to the south west of Gravesend town and south east of Dartford.

• From London, take the A2 arterial road from either London or the M25 Orbital motorway.
• From Canterbury, take the M2 and the A2 to Junction for Ebbsfleet International exit.

By train

Ebbsfleet International Station is located on purpose developed land, with onsite car parking for over 9000 vehicles.

Eurostar provide all services which terminus in th UK. Mainland European services are handled by France's SNCF and Belgium's SNCB in each respective country.

Domestic trains are operated by SouthEastern From London St Pancras to Ebbsfleet (typical journey time 15 - 17 minutes). By 2010 trains from Ashford International and Stratford International will also serve Ebbsfleet, although for alternative London stations it may be necessary to change at Ebbsfleet. As of 2009 the new high-speed trains on the St Pancras International - Ebbsfleet route will have a full timetable.

Get around

Local Fastrack[1] buses are operated by Arriva [2].

• Ebbsfleet Landmark [3] - Project commissioned and announced in May 2007 by the art foundation in England. Five internationally acclaimed artists drafted proposals for a landmark at Ebbsfleet; Daniel Buren, Richard Deacon, Christopher Le Brun, Mark Wallinger and Rachel Whiteread.

Once complete, the plans may see a 40-50m high landmark, one of the biggest artworks standing in the UK.

Do

Bluewater [4] is a local shopping center, offering retail and leisure activities, with over 330 stores, 40 cafes, bars and restaurants plus a 13-screen cinema.

Eat

Bluewater is a local shopping center with late opening bars and restaurants.

Sleep

Various hotels are available in the local vicinity, Ebbsfleet Valley have plans for new hotels, amenities and shops.