Just west of the nearby Maidstone beneath the Leybourne Lakes Country Park, sits the market town of West Malling, Kent. Overlooking the Kentish North Downs, West Malling has grown significantly in recent years and now occupies semi-rural status - flanked by the greenery of the North Downs, yet urbanised enough to operate as a self-sufficient community. West Mallings’ greatest pull is its diversity; particularly diversity in the housing stock - to which grand mansion properties in the Kings Hill locale are listed side-by-side to modest suburban builds and bungalows!

West Malling has a storied recorded past stretching back to the medieval period; however archaeological evidence suggests pre-Roman settlement in the area of West Malling. The Romans did definitely settle in this area also; highlighted by the nearby Roman road (which now stretches along part of the A20!). The Saxons, it is believed, were the first to settle in the area in great numbers. The name, supposedly, comes from the original owner of the land, which would translate to ‘Mealla’s People’. However another theory is that the name West Malling comes from the word ‘Meolling’ - meaning ‘the rising of water springs’. The settlement was first recorded in 945 AD - predating the Norman conquest of Britain by over 120 years! As one might expect with a settlement of this age; there are many historic buildings throughout West Malling, including the Norman keep St Leonard’s Tower and the 1090 Malling Abbey!

Given its historic background and legacy buildings, you might expect to find the occasional oddity within West Malling’s built environment - and you’d be correct. In fact, underneath West Malling’s historic high street are a network of tunnels! There is a tunnel that starts with the Malling Abbey and stretches out to Leybourne Castle! Archaeological evidence suggests that potentially these drains formed part of a medieval, potentially Saxon, proto-sewage system!

Given West Mallings’ preserved historic roots, it’s unsurprising that the market town fits within a conservation area. The local parish council of West Malling frequently opposes and rejects planning permissions that encroach upon the local character of West Malling; particularly those that disregard the green belt that surrounds the village. Tonbridge and Malling borough council are currently preparing their new local plan scheme, and therefore it is hard to say how much development will be focused on the West Malling locale. However, borough-wide the council is hoping to construct over 14,000 new homes by the year 2041!