| Kings Hill | |
|
Kings Hill
Kings Hill shown within Kent |
|
| Population | 3,024 (2001 census) |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | TQ591468 |
| District | Tonbridge and Malling |
| Shire county | Kent |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | West Malling |
| Postcode district | ME19 |
| Dialling code | 01732 |
| Police | Kent |
| Fire | Kent |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Tonbridge and Malling |
| List of places: UK • England • Kent | |
Kings Hill is a civil parish in the Borough of Tonbridge and Malling in Kent, England. It is one of several new villages built in Kent since the 1950s (other examples including Vigo and New Ash Green). Development started in 1989 near West Malling, on land previously occupied by RAF West Malling. The plan was for a multi-purpose site of both residential and office/business space. The ultimate aim is to have some 2750 homes and 2 million square feet (186,000 m²) of commercial properties. Kings Hill currently lacks a dedicated church and does not constitute an ecclesiastical parish, instead falling predominantly within the parishes of neighbouring Mereworth and West Malling.
The campus style business park is home to several council offices and company headquarters. Community facilities include a supermarket, a public house, two primary schools, a doctor's surgery, a veterinary surgery, restaurants and a golf club.
Located beside the A228, transport links include bus services to and from West Malling, Maidstone, Chatham and Royal Tunbridge Wells. The nearest railway station is West Malling.
In 2004 the area was named by the Guardian as one of the wealthiest places in Britain in terms of average household income.
Kings Hill has its own cricket club, established in 2006, and a private golf club.
Parts of the 2007 Channel 4 drama series Cape Wrath were shot in the village.[1]
Contents |
The principle development of the site was done by Rouse Kent, commencing on the old West Malling airfield site in 1989. The ultimate aim is to have some 2750 homes and 2 million square feet (186,000 m²) of commercial properties. As of 2010, 2000 homes have been built along with 800,000 square feet (74,000 m2) of business space.[2] The development precipitated a major expansion of the A228 which passes the village.[3] In common with many newer villages and developments, Kings Hill currently lacks a dedicated church and does not constitute an ecclesiastical parish, instead falling predominantly within the parishes of neighbouring Mereworth and West Malling. In 2003 the Diocese of Rochester of the Church of England appointed the first full-time resident minister to meet the pastoral needs of the growing business and residential community. Construction of houses and other buildings is set to continue in Kings Hill as Kent County Council have purchased new land for building. There is talk of another primary school and possibly a secondary school. Another access road may also be needed if the current rate of expansion continues. In May 2010 plans were unveiled for the re-development of the old airfield's derelict control tower (now a listed building) and the surrounding area.[4][5]
Kings Hill has various facilities including an Asda supermarket, a Shepherd Neame public house named "The Spitfire", two primary schools, a doctor's surgery, a veterinary surgery, opticians, pharmacist, restaurants, cafés, bars and a David Lloyd Leisure health club.
Kings Hill has frequent bus services to and from West Malling, Maidstone, Chatham and Tunbridge Wells. The nearest railway station is West Malling, with a regular shuttle bus service (Nu-Venture 123) operating between Kings Hill and the station on Mondays to Fridays. The station links the area to London, Maidstone and Ashford.
A number of major organisations have offices in Kings Hill's business park including:
The development features a number of major sculptures commissioned by the developers. On the roundabout between the business park and the residential area is A different ball game by Kevin Atherton which consists of a 10 ft (3.0 m) diameter reflective ball being pushed in different directions by three life-size bronze figures which were cast from local people. On the A228 roundabout to the north of the business park is a 45 ft (14 m) tall obelisk style sculpture called L'Ambiente created by Enzo Torcoletti. Smaller sculptures on the site include memorials to Group Captain Peter Townsend and Bill Rouse, late chairman of the site's developers.[6]
| Kings Hill compared | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 UK Census | Kings Hill | Tonbridge and Malling borough | England |
| Population | 3,024 | 107,561 | 49,138,831 |
| Foreign born | 6.6% | 4.6% | 9.2% |
| White | 97.3% | 98.3% | 90.9% |
| Asian | 1.3% | 0.7% | 4.6% |
| Black | 0.1% | 0.1% | 2.3% |
| Christian | 77.5% | 76.1% | 71.7% |
| Muslim | 0.4% | 0.3% | 3.1% |
| Hindu | 0.4% | 0.2% | 1.1% |
| No religion | 15.5% | 15% | 14.6% |
| Unemployed | 1.8% | 1.9% | 3.3% |
| Retired | 7.5% | 14.2% | 13.5% |
The 2004 Wealth of the Nation report listed the Kings Hill postcode sector (ME19 4), as having the highest average income and the highest proportion of households earning greater than £100,000 per annum in Great Britain.[7] Although Kings Hill remains conspicuously wealthy it did not appear in the 2006 report.[8]
As of the 2001 UK census, the Kings Hill electoral ward had a population of 3,024. The ethnicity was 97.3% white, 1% mixed race, 1.3% Asian, 0.1% black and 0.3% other. The place of birth of residents was 93.4% United Kingdom, 0.5% Republic of Ireland, 1.8% other Western European countries, and 4.3% elsewhere. Religion was recorded as 77.5% Christian, 0.1% Buddhist, 0.4% Hindu, 0.1% Sikh, 0% Jewish, and 0.4% Muslim. 15.5% were recorded as having no religion, 0.1% had an alternative religion and 5.8% did not state their religion.[9]
The economic activity of residents aged 16–74 was 50.8% in full-time employment, 12.7% in part-time employment, 10% self-employed, 1.8% unemployed, 1.3% students with jobs, 1.5% students without jobs, 7.5% retired, 10.7% looking after home or family, 2.1% permanently sick or disabled and 1.7% economically inactive for other reasons. The industry of employment of residents was 14.5% retail, 12.2% manufacturing, 5% construction, 18.2% real estate, 8.1% health and social work, 5.6% education, 6.9% transport and communications, 6.7% public administration, 2.3% hotels and restaurants, 13.7% finance, 0.5% agriculture and 6.3% other. Compared with national figures, the ward had a relatively high proportion of workers in finance and real estate. There were a relatively low proportion in agriculture, education, construction, hotels and restaurants. Of the ward's residents aged 16–74, 29.1% had a higher education qualification or the equivalent, compared with 19.9% nationwide.[9]
Kings Hill has its own cricket club. Established in 2006 Kings Hill Cricket Club was set up to make use of the new cricket pitch opposite the Discovery School. The club played its inaugural match against Town Malling Cricket Club in September 2006 at the historic Old County Ground, West Malling. Chris Blackham captained the team to their first win against Snodland in early 2007. In January 2008 the club adopted the de Havilland Mosquito aircraft as its badge in memory of the role West Malling airfield played during the Second World War as a night fighter station.[10] The Kings Hill Ground hosted its first game, again versus Town Malling on the 17th of July 2010, with former English international cricketer Derek Underwood on hand to perform the opening ceremony.[11] Kings Hill also has a golf club, founded in 1995, with a course designed by David Williams.[12] Nearby Manor Park Country Park provides more open space and walking trails.
|
|||||||||||