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Is Kent still Garden of England? Tunbridge Wells, Ashford and Maidstone named among UK's greenest locations
20:33, 16 June 2022
updated: 21:18, 16 June 2022
Is Kent still the Garden of England? It is according to a study of the greenest parts of the UK which has placed three towns in the top 10.
Tunbridge Wells took the top spot, while Maidstone and Ashford were also up there.
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The study was undertaken by Exubia – a company that specialises in the addition of plant life to interior decor – and looked at elements that were considered the most important to the ideal 'garden city' (or town).
This includes a number of categories such as average garden size, air quality, and total percentage of city covered by forest.
With all the factors considered, Tunbridge Wells beat 110 other locations to top the list.
Researchers pointed to a large average garden size – an impressive 635 metres squared – and a total of 22.2% forest coverage as reasons behind its placement.
Kent also hit second spot, with Ashford claiming the silver prize above Winchester and St Albans.
While it ranked lower than its West Kent rival in terms of average garden size (coming in at 582 metres squared), it had better air quality (One kiloton of CO2 per kilometre squared) and a shorter average distance to parks and playing fields (350m compared to Tunbridge Wells' 361).
Maidstone also made it into the top 10, placing ninth above Warwick, but below Guildford, Windsor, Carlisle and Chichester.
While it scored highly against the other 101 locations, it scored lower than the other two on all categories, coming in with almost half of Ashford's air quality and an average garden size of just 448 metres squared.