This neighbourhood, nestled between the villages of Bexley and Stone, has a quintessential suburban town feel to it, with a large proportion of semi- detached housing, boasting modest gardens and the odd driveway. With the number of highly rated schools that this area has to offer, serving children from nursery to secondary school age, it’s no surprise that this neighbourhood proves to be particularly attractive to those with families. And with the proximate location of Dartford station, with trains taking around 40 minutes to central London, this neighbourhood proves to be a hit with those looking to commute. One of the particular draws of this area is its proximity to a number of green open spaces, including Central Park and Dartford Golf Club. This neighbourhood is also particularly well-served by those interested in theatre and the arts, due to a large number of arts-based schools/clubs, including The Edge Dance and Theatre School, Stagecoach Performing Arts, DAODS Heathfields Hall, and The Knight’s Academy of Dance. What’s more, there is also a large shopping centre with a whole range of chain/independent shops and restaurants.

After the 16th century, this neighbourhood began to develop away from its agrarian foundation of traditional beer and ale brewing, towards a much more industrial focus. Lime-burning and chalk-mining were two important industries that emerged within Dartford, alongside the cleaning of wool, in a process known as fulling. This particular industry was heavily reliant on water, not only for the cleaning but also for the powering of large machinery, hence this neighbourhood was well suited due to its situation next to the Thames. The paper industry was also significant in Dartford as a paper mill was opened here in 1588, which was later followed by an iron maker. This rich and early industrial history was a very strong foundation for the later industrial developments (mustard factory, further paper mills, military aircraft manufacturers, and the pharmaceutical industry), which brought with them growth and prosperity to the town.

The English composer Ivor Gurney spent the last 15 years of his life in this area. Another notable face is the Strictly Come Dancing judge, Len Goodman, who runs a ballroom dance school in this neighbourhood.

One of the main disadvantages of this neighbourhood is its proximity to the A282, leading to the Dartford Crossing. As this is one of the only ways to cross the Thames in this area, the road is liable to heavy congestion, especially lorries. This can make accessing the neighbourhood more difficult around peak times, but many of the residents here don’t mind this fact as the road itself offers fantastic access to the surrounding areas of Kent, Essex, and London.

The borough of Dartford has developed a £12 million investment programme for the town centre area, with funding being provided by the Homes and Community Agency and Local Growth Fund. Divided into several phases, each development stage will focus on a specific area in the town centre, with a range of works including urban beautification, accessibility improvements and high street frontage enhancements. The coming phase will cover Instone Road and Highfield Road and include work on junctions to maintain accessible gateways to the town centre. In 2020, Dartford Council also approved a £75 million regeneration scheme, the Westgate cultural quarter project, but the scheme was later scrapped due to the Covid-19 pandemic and post-pandemic economic complications and uncertainties. The scheme would have provided 120 new homes, a multi-screen cinema, a health and wellbeing centre and a string of restaurants and bars.