Only a few decades ago, Greenhithe and Stone were small residential villages sat on the estuary of the Thames in the Dartford Area. However, the Thames regeneration project in the 2000s brought new transportation networks as well as Bluewater Shopping Centre. The area’s new reputation as a key shopping hotspot has substantially boosted the local economy which still sustains a community feel due to good schools and the Victorian brickwork homes that line the residential streets.

The area’s proximity to the waterfront has always been a source of its economic and social growth. Originally the waterfront was used to build wharfs that shipped corn, wood and other commodities. Its larger cargos of chalk and lime also produced the impetus for the later growth of the cement industry particularly around the Stone area. Interestingly, it had a brief stint as a Victorian tourist spot. Peaceful for much of the 20th century, it experienced vast growth in the noughties due to the Thames Regeneration program. This introduced the High Speed 1 Ebbsfleet International Station as well as the Bluewater shopping complex, which is the fourth biggest mall in the UK.

The neighbourhood was also home to the Thames Marine Officer Training School that opened in Greenhithe in 1871. It trained students to become officers on merchant ships throughout the 19th century on the HMS Worcester and the Cutty Sark.

A key issue that is currently concerning locals is the level of congestion specifically around the strategic route of the A226 which enables access to other important links including the A2 and Dartford Crossing.

To alleviate some of the housing pressures the area is facing, the council approved the Ingress Park masterplan, a mixed use brownfield project which aims to develop 1,150 dwellings, as well as 3,500 sqm of office and retail accommodation. The project also intends to build a new primary school and the Grade II listed Ingress Abbey has already been restored. In 2019, developer Crest Nicholson released 30 contemporary apartments at Oarman’s House, located in the Ingress Park development site. The same developer is also in charge of the construction of 400 mixed-tenure apartments and 40,000 sq.ft of retail, leisure and community facilities.