Chipping Hampton - Kent, UK City of Contrasts

[lancededcena 7]

Hello! Here is my ongoing project with a fictional British city! Chipping Hampton, the City of Contrasts!

Background Information

Spoiler

Chipping Hampton is a large town in Central Kent. It borders Maidstone to the north west, Ashford in the east, Tonbridge and Paddock Wood (coming soon) in the east and the Colt Valley (coming soon) in the south.

The city is divided in to suburbs or parishes, Town Centre (Central Chipping Hampton), South Shields, Ware, Newhaven, Marden, Mottspur, Keysham, Dewhurst, Headcorn, Kingsway and Staplehurst which make up the Greater Chipping Hampton Area. It has a population of 204,432, making it the second most populated urban area in Kent, behind Medway. It is governed by Chipping Hampton Borough Council as well as Kent County Council.

Chipping Hampton once started as a hamlet. In 1752, A wealthy Russian family settled near the hamlet, which was later seized by the government and given to the royal family. In 1812, a palace with fields, now known as Chipping Hampton Park, was built at the centre of the hamlet. An expedition, called the Chipping Hampton fliers, a kite and hot air balloon event was first held in 1892 and still continues to this day.

In 1948, the government wanted to transform Chipping Hampton, which was just a medium sized town at that point, in to a fully fledged new town. Major planning took place to link the eleven villages to make a large city. The town rapidly grew west to reach Marden, north to reach Keysham and south to reach Staplehurst and Dewhurst. From this point it became a commuter hotspot for people traveling in and out of London. In 1968, a plan was made to make the Parkwood development, similar to Thamesmead in design and architecture, unfortunately, it was deprived. The town grew rapidly east in 1990 to Newhaven which was more successful and between 1990 and 2005, eastern Chipping Hampton was completely transformed, having received little attention during the population boom years in Chipping Hampton.

Today, it is now a major fast growing town in Kent with new and interesting buildings such as the Luxorian Shopping Centre, a shopping centre to replace the old car and bus terminal, built in the 60's. The Kent House, which is a theater in the Town Centre, the Newhaven EXPO Centre, a expo centre in Newhaven, the Kent Modern Art Gallery, a £1.5 billion art gallery in Newhaven and the Chipping Hampton Football Stadium, which hosts the local Chipping Hampton FC. However, the Silverwind Casino was a failure, with residents complaining about it's unusual shape and ugliness.

Part 1, Chipping Hampton Town Centre, South Shields and Parkwood

Spoiler

Roundabout when High Street meets up with Western Town Road and Devon Road in Mottspur.

Silverwind Casino. Residents complain about it's unusual shape and ugliness contrasting with the town centre.

High Street shops. An Arriva bus pulls up to the High Street Bus Stop A

Lovetts Walk, the High Street connects with it at the right.

The Chipping Hampton Fire and Resuce station in Paisley Street.

The Chipping Hampton town hall and borough hall at Harrison Street.

Harrison Street, the Silverwind Casino is at the background, the town hall is at the foreground.

Jewellery Quarter. This connects up with Harrington Road to Jewellery Square, built in the 70s.

Jewellery Square at Harrington Road. These sets of shops were built in the 70s, so was the shark and lizard sculpture.

The original Chipping Hampton church, surviving around 50s to 80s shops, the third oldest structure in Chipping Hampton town centre.

Jewellery Quarter. These sets of shops were built in the 70s, along with Jewellery Square.

Paisley Street. Hughburg Street connects Paisley Street with the High Street and Park Road.

Neasden Walk around the town hall.

Another set of high street shops. The intersection is Hughburg Street crossing to Park Road.

Anerley Road shops. Silverwind Casino is at the background

Maise Street shops. To the left is the original Chipping Hampton public park, before the fields was sold back to Kent County Council.

The Southmead Public Park. Here is the seating area where people can sit and eat. To the background is the Luxorian Shopping Centre, opened in 2009.

The Southmead Playground, the seating area is located at the back. The NCP car park is at the background, opened in the 70s.

More High Street Shops

Imperial War Museum Chipping Hampton, here they house some weapons used during Chipping Hampton's time as a royal garrison and palace.

The Kent House, this is a theater which also hosts offices, a replacement for the Regal Theater.

Park Road, the IWM Chipping Hampton is at the left. The Chipping Hampton park is at the right.

Park Road. This road is very busy as it is a major bus interchange and it also holds the bus depot.

Eastern Town Centre, this whole section is dedicated to residential with buildings dating back to the 1900s.

Pottersbrook Building, originaly called Chipping Hampton Building. This was the home for Kent County Council before they decided to move to Maidstone. It now holds some offices, but could see a demolition in the near future. It was built in the 60s.

Eastern Town Centre, Park Road connects with Eastern Town Road at a multi layer roundabout. A shopping centre was added in the 90s due to residents complaining about the lack of shops in the Eastern Town Centre.

Park Road going towards Parkwood Development, a failed 60s experiment with the vision of the future in mind.

Park Road viewed from the Pottersbrook Building. The Chipping Hampton Park is at the left, with a circus event taking place. The Newhaven development is at the right with Eastern Avenue at the right, seperating the Town Centre and Parkwood with the Newhaven development.

Parkwood Shopping Centre. This building could see a demolition due to a lack of customers.

The multi layer roundabout. This connects Newhaven Road, Park Road, Keysham Road, Eastern Avenue and Northern Avenue to one section, making this roundabout extremely busy during peak times. As this is a Sunday, it is quiet for this roundabout. We can see a contrast between old (Parkwood) and new (Newhaven).

The Chipping Hampton Library, built in Parkwood, at the Northern end of the Park. It is built in a inconvenient place, it replaced a disused car park and was built in 2005.

North Chipping Hampton General, this hospital, with West Chipping Hampton General and South Chipping Hampton General make up the major general hospitals in the area.

Parkwood train station. An old branch line was built to link Parkwood with the British Rail network in 1970. This has uttlerly failed and had been replaced with a Tesco supermarket in the 90s and all the track was removed, leaving the Maidstone East to Chipping Hampton line closest to North Chipping Hampton with stations in Headcorn, Newhaven and Keysham.

 

The famous hot air balloon rides at Chipping Hampton. These rides are at the park and is open between 7AM to 5PM in Fridays and weekends. There are kite flying sessions in the park as well.

 

The Chipping Hampton Library. At the left is the car park and the Parkwood development, at the right is the Northern Park entrance with badminton and tennis courts.

 

The Chipping Hampton Royal Palace, this has now become a museum, dedicating the life of people who once occupied and owned this palace.

 

A First World War memorial of a soldier at the park.

 

Serpent Lake, Parkwood is at the back.

 

The Chipping Hampton Park, in comparison with the rest of the town centre and Parkwood.

 

Marden Road roundabout. This roundabout connects with Southway, Western Avenue, Staplehurst Road, Marden Road, Mortcaple Road, Vinners Street and Buxley Road

 

South Shields, the Regal Theatre is at the left. Southway passes through South Shields and Town Centre.

 

Western Chipping Hampton General, this hospital, with Northern Chipping Hampton General and South Chipping Hampton General make up the major general hospitals in the area.

 

South Shields, Regal Theatre is at the left with the station at the back.

 

Regal Theatre, the predecessor of the Kent House. It is a Grade Two listed building and was built in the 1920s, to entertain the royals and the wealthy familes at the area. It is in the risk of being demolished by the council but due to its listing, it couldn't be.

 

South Shields Secondary School at Merston Road. The station is at the back.

 

South Shields viewed above Dewhurst Road.

 

Dewhurst Road. The South Eastern Mainline is below the railway bridge.

 

Ware. This used to be an industrial estate, but has been converted to housing in the 1930s. The Newhaven EXPO Centre is at the back with some chemical processing plants at the back also. The Newhaven Development is at the left. The South Eastern Mainline and Headcorn is at the right.

 

Grid like housing at Ware.

 

Station Road, Dewhurst Road bridge is at the left.

 

Mortcaple Road. Another processing plant is at the back.

 

Housing near the station. The station is placed inconveniently and away from the town centre.

 

The Chemical Processing Plant near Mortcaple Road

 

South Eastern Mainline viewed from Mortcaple Railway Bridge.

 

Higgams Plaza. This plaza was built in the 1970s, during the population boom. A local sculptor was hired to sculpt the structure.

 

The Chipping Hampton Station. This station was once a mansion of a rich Russian family, but it has been seized by the government during the Crimean War. It was brought by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway in 1866, serving Chipping Hampton, which was just only a small town at the time. However in the 1952, the original station was given a massive upgrade and refurbishment, to bring it to modern standards. The shattered stained glass at the front was replaced with a brand new one. It's artwork and architecture has been mostly restored during the years. It has become Grade I listed in 1987. It transferred ownership from Southeastern to Network Rail in 2012.

 

It is served by Southeastern, South Eastern Mainline, which goes from London Victoria to services in Kent, it is also served by the Maidstone to Chipping Hampton line and the Medway Valley Line from Strood to Ashford or Chipping Hampton.

 

Platforms 1 - 4. The train at the left is for Margate. The train at the right is for London Victoria.

 

Passengers leaving from a Ramsgate bound service. The train at the far end is a service to Strood via Paddock Wood.

 

Abandoned Platform 7, used for stopping services at the Medway Valley lines. It now uses Platform 6 and 7 with a loop crossing the Newhaven sidings instead.

 

A street outside of the station

 

Eastern Avenue crossing Eastern Town Centre. An Arriva bus from Keysham is driving back to the Town Centre.

 

[boformer 3,169]

I like it. I would just get some graphical mods:

Daylight Classic
Softer Shadows