This article relies largely or entirely on a single source .(April 2023) |
Blue Bell Hill | |
---|---|
The village is located on top of the hill, above High Speed 1's North Downs Tunnel pictured | |
Location within Kent | |
OS grid reference | TQ7462 |
Civil parish | |
District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | CHATHAM |
Postcode district | ME5 |
Dialling code | 01634 |
Police | Kent |
Fire | Kent |
Ambulance | South East Coast |
UK Parliament | |
Blue Bell Hill is a village in the Aylesford parish of the borough of Tonbridge and Malling in Kent, England. It is located halfway between Chatham and Maidstone and lies on top of Blue Bell Hill. The community significantly expanded with the developments of the Walderslade area in the post war years, creating several housing estates around the village.
The village is located to the south of the intersection (junction 3) of the M2 and A229 and is bypassed by the A229. The A229 traces the route of a Roman road between Chatham and Maidstone, and its old route up the hill still exists (Warren Road).
There are extensive regular bus services between the Medway Towns and Maidstone by Arriva, historically Maidstone & District (the 101 and 150 routes) as well as local Bus 142 into Medway There are also numerous commuter coaches travelling into London. A council-owned car park in the village used by commuter coach services was closed in 2023, due to anti-social behaviour and lack of users. [1]
Blue Bell Hill and parts of southern Walderslade are located in the Aylesford parish of Tonbridge and Malling. The rest of Walderslade is in the borough of Medway.
Chatham is a town within the Medway unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Kent, England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Gillingham, Rochester, Strood and Rainham. In 2020 it had a population of 80,596.
Aylesford is a village and civil parish on the River Medway in Kent, England, 4 miles (6 km) northwest of Maidstone.
Medway is a unitary authority area with borough status in the ceremonial county of Kent in South East England. It was formed in 1998 by merging the boroughs of Rochester-upon-Medway and Gillingham, and is administered by Medway Council, which is independent from Kent County Council. The borough had a population of 278,016 in 2019. The borough contains the towns of Chatham, Gillingham, Rainham, Rochester and Strood, which are collectively known as the Medway Towns.
The River Medway is a river in South East England. It rises in the High Weald, West Sussex and flows through Tonbridge, Maidstone and the Medway conurbation in Kent, before emptying into the Thames Estuary near Sheerness, a total distance of 70 miles (113 km). About 13 miles (21 km) of the river lies in East Sussex, with the remainder being in Kent.
Snodland is a town in the borough of Tonbridge and Malling in Kent, England. It lies on the River Medway, between Rochester and Maidstone, and 27 miles (43 km) from central London. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 10,211.
Tonbridge and Malling is a local government district with borough status in Kent, England. The council is based at Kings Hill. The borough also includes the towns of Tonbridge and Snodland along with numerous villages including Aylesford, West Malling and surrounding rural areas.
The A229 is a major road running north–south through Kent from Rochester to Hawkhurst via Maidstone. It is a former Roman road that ran from Rochester to Hastings.
The Medway Valley line is the name given to the railway line linking Strood in the Medway Towns via Maidstone West to Tonbridge. High Speed services also link between Maidstone West, Snodland, Strood and London St Pancras International. The section from Maidstone West to Paddock Wood passes through some of Kent's most picturesque countryside along the narrower sections of the River Medway.
Chatham and Aylesford is a constituency in Kent represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Tris Osborne of the Labour Party.
Walderslade is a large suburb in Kent in Chatham split between the unitary authority of Medway and the boroughs of Maidstone and Tonbridge & Malling in South East England. It was, until 1998, fully part of Kent and is still ceremonially associated via the Lieutenancies Act. It encompasses almost all the ME5 postcode district.
Blue Bell Hill is a chalk hill between Maidstone and Rochester in the English county of Kent. It overlooks the River Medway and is part of the North Downs. Settlements on the hill include the Walderslade suburb of Chatham and the villages of Blue Bell Hill and Kit's Coty. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries much of the hill was quarried for chalk.
The Medway Gap is a topographic feature in Kent, England.
Ditton is a large village and civil parish in the borough of Tonbridge and Malling in Kent, England. The village is 4.6 miles (7.4 km) west-northwest of Maidstone and 1.8 miles (2.9 km) east of West Malling. The parish, which is long and narrow, straddles the A20, with farmland to the south and industry to the north. It lies in the Medway Valley, on the northern edge of the Kent Weald, and adjoins the ancient parishes of Larkfield, Aylesford and Barming. In 2011 it had a population of 4786.
Transportation needs within the county of Kent in South East England has been served by both historical and current transport systems.
Elections to Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council were held on 5 May 2011. The whole borough council were up for election. Parish council elections and the national Alternative Vote referendum were held on the same day.
An election was held on 2 May 2019 to elect all 54 members of Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council. Parish council elections were held on the same day.
Maidstone and Malling is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament. It was created under the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, and was first contested in the 2024 general election.
Media related to Blue Bell Hill (village) at Wikimedia Commons