Northfleet Urban Country Park

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Northfleet Urban Country Park
Kent UK location map.svg
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Northfleet Urban Country Park shown within Kent
OS grid TQ627734
Coordinates 51°26′42″N0°21′07″E / 51.445°N 0.352°E / 51.445; 0.352 Coordinates: 51°26′42″N0°21′07″E / 51.445°N 0.352°E / 51.445; 0.352
Area10.5 hectares (26 acres)
Created1996
Operated by Gravesham Borough Council,
Open7 days a week, dawn until dusk
Website Official website

Northfleet Urban Country Park is in Northfleet, in Kent, England. The site is land encompassed by Springhead Road, Thames Way, west of Vale Road and (on its northern boundary) the railway (the Dartford to London railway). The site is owned by and managed by Gravesham Borough Council.

Northfleet town in the Borough of Gravesham in Kent, England

Northfleet is a town in the Gravesham Borough of Kent. It borders the Dartford Borough. It is immediately west of Gravesend and on a western border has its own railway station about a hundred metres east of Ebbsfleet International railway station.

Kent County of England

Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west. The county also shares borders with Essex along the estuary of the River Thames, and with the French department of Pas-de-Calais through the Channel Tunnel. The county town is Maidstone.

A226 road road which travels in a west-east direction in southeast London and north Kent

The A226 road travels in a west–east direction in southeast London and north Kent, from Crayford in the London Borough of Bexley, through Dartford, Gravesend to Strood. It is about 15.7 miles in length. Before road numbering began in the United Kingdom, the road was part of the major route between London and Dover, the road taken by all traffic heading for mainland Europe. When the Ministry of Transport published its first list of road numbers, however, the building of the A2 had already begun; and the earliest map shows the projected route of that latter road; the previous road being relegated to what is now the A226.

Contents

History

The site was used for orchards / farming until the 1940s, when it (and others along the railway) was used as a chalk pit. This went down to about 8‐10m deep. [1]

Chalk A soft, white, porous sedimentary rock made of calcium carbonate

Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is an ionic salt called calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite shells (coccoliths) shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores. Flint (a type of chert) is very common as bands parallel to the bedding or as nodules embedded in chalk. It is probably derived from sponge spicules or other siliceous organisms as water is expelled upwards during compaction. Flint is often deposited around larger fossils such as Echinoidea which may be silicified (i.e. replaced molecule by molecule by flint).

On 7 May 1957, planning was given for a refuse tip on the site, and on 10 December 1992, landfill gas venting trenches were installed. Gravesend Council permitted the formation of an urban country park containing a lake, woodlands, meadows, wetlands and trim trail, play area and toilets/kiosk/seating area in August 1996. The site was landscaped with the importing of 130,000m3 of cleaned topsoil, to raise the level of the land between two and four metres. New resurfaced footpath and cycle routes were then constructed on the 2 plateaued land. [2]

Landfill gas monitoring is the process by which gases that are collected or released from landfills are electronically monitored. Landfill gas may be measured as it escapes the landfill or may be measured as it is collected and redirected to a power plant or flare.

Later the site was further landscaped by extensive native tree, shrub and wildflower plantings, creating various wildlife habitats including a wetland swale.[ citation needed ]

Swale (landform) low tract of land

A swale is a shady spot, or a sunken or marshy place. In particular, in US usage, it is a shallow channel with gently sloping sides. Such a swale may be either natural or man-made. Artificial swales are often infiltration basins, designed to manage water runoff, filter pollutants, and increase rainwater infiltration.

Location

The park lies to the west of Gravesend and can be accessed on its eastern side from Vale Road and on its western side from Springhead Road.

Related Research Articles

Gravesend Town in Kent, England

Gravesend is an ancient town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross on the south bank of the Thames Estuary and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Rochester, it is the administrative centre of the Borough of Gravesham.

Borough of Dartford Borough & Non-metropolitan district in England

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Gravesham Borough & Non-metropolitan district in England

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Cobham, Kent village in Kent

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Southfleet is a small village and civil parish in the borough of Dartford in Kent, England. The village is located three miles southwest of Gravesend, while the parish includes within its boundaries the hamlets of Betsham and Westwood.

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Ebbsfleet International railway station is a railway station in Ebbsfleet Valley, in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, 10 miles outside the eastern boundary of Greater London, England. It is near Dartford and the Bluewater shopping centre to the west and Gravesend to the east. The station is part of the Thames Gateway urban regeneration, a project of national priority. It stands on the High Speed 1 rail line, around 400 metres south-west of Northfleet railway station and the Stonebridge Road area of Northfleet. The station lies off the A2 trunk road, about 5 mi (8 km) from its junction with the M25 motorway. During the London 2012 Olympics, it served as a primary park-and-rail service as it is very close to the M25 motorway, allowing easy access for over 10 million commuters.

Stonebridge Road stadium

Stonebridge Road is a multi-purpose stadium in Northfleet, Gravesend, Kent, England, also known as Kuflink Stadium for sponsorship reasons. It is primarily used for football matches. Stonebridge Road was constructed in 1905, and was initially the home of Northfleet FC, which merged with Gravesend FC in 1946. It is currently the home ground of Ebbsfleet United FC. Thus, Stonebridge Road has been the home of Ebbsfleet and its predecessor football clubs for over 100 years.

Ebbsfleet Valley new town and redevelopment area in Kent, South East England

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New Barn village in United Kingdom

New Barn is a compact residential area surrounded by open fields which lies four miles southwest of Gravesend in Kent, England. It is in the local government district of Dartford. The villages of New Barn and Longfield are within and give their names to the civil parish of Longfield and New Barn. New Barn is larger in population than Longfield, although has little in the way of services, being a recent development and purely residential in nature

White Horse at Ebbsfleet sculpture by Mark Wallinger

The White Horse at Ebbsfleet, formerly the Ebbsfleet Landmark, colloquially the Angel of the South, was a planned white horse statue to be built in the Ebbsfleet Valley in Kent, England. Designed by Mark Wallinger to faithfully resemble a thoroughbred horse, but at 33 times life size, the colossal sculpture was to be 50 metres (160 ft) high.

Southfleet was a railway station on the Gravesend West Line which served the small village of Southfleet in Kent, England.

Shorne Wood Country Park

Shorne Wood Country Park is in Gravesend, Kent, England. It was once part of a large estate and then later passed to the council to be used as a country park.

Milton Chantry

Milton Chantry is a former chantry chapel in Gravesend, Kent England. It houses the Chantry Heritage Centre, displaying a range of exhibits relating to Gravesend, Northfleet, and the nearby villages. It is within the Fort Gardens and is designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building.

References

  1. ↑ Peachey, Meradin (10 July 2013). "Report into possible cluster of Gastroschisis in Northfleet". gravesham.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 2 September 2012. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
  2. ↑ "Re Northfleet Urban Country Park" (PDF). gravesham.gov.uk. 27 July 2011. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
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