Over the last few years, Kent has become a desired area for commuters because of its attractive property prices and short commuting time. One town in the county, which used to be known as ‘unfashionable’, is now becoming sought after by Londoners who want a taste of country life.

Edenbridge, in Kent, is the town which prospective homeowners are eying up as property prices in neighbouring areas rise close to London levels. Also enticing for those looking to live outside the city, but carry on working there, is the short train journey to the capital from Edenbridge’s two stations.

Their two stations, Edenbridge and Edenbridge Town, are serviced by Southern Rail and their routes can take you to London Bridge in only 44 minutes! You can also drive 15 minutes to the neighbouring town, Oxted, where trains go to Victoria as well, taking 33 minutes. But, if you’re looking for cheap house prices, Edenbridge is becoming the more economical option over Oxted and other Kent commuter towns.

Homes in Edenbridge cost an average of £426,254, in comparison, Oxted, which is only a fifteen-minute drive away, has an average house price of £761,036. This makes Oxted £334k more expensive to buy property in than Edenbridge. Another neighbouring town, 23 minutes’ drive from Edenbridge, is Sevenoaks.

It has also become popular with commuters and averages a house price of £764,564. The house prices in towns close to Edenbridge mean that they are actually averaging at more expensive than property sold in South London, £604,606. It is no wonder that the cheap prices are attracting Londoners to Edenbridge over its surrounding towns.

James Hopkins, founder of Alexander James Estate agents, Edenbridge, explained why commuters might now be looking to move to the Kent town. He said: “Edenbridge has become a popular location for buyers of all types from the first-time buyer to the downsizers. The town has a real diversity in terms of style of homes from the simple terrace house to the large, detached home.

“House prices have been historically low compared to our local neighbours in Oxted and we have seen a large influx of buyers who can’t afford the current house prices in Oxted move to Edenbridge.” It wasn’t just the house prices that James said were attracting city dwellers. He said that Edenbridge boasts good local amenities, transport links and a strong community spirit.”

Edenbridge hasn’t always been considered a nice place to live. In the past, the town has been considered to be ‘unfashionable’, made up of depositories for factories and former council estates. But, it seems to have made a resurgence, hence the recent interest from commuters. Now, it’s not just house prices Londoners are being allured by.

James explained and said: “In Edenbridge we have the luxury of two railway stations, Lidl, and even a Waitrose that rivals the closet branch in Oxted. Living in Edenbridge also gives you easy accessibility to other nearby towns such as Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells and Sevenoaks.

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To mark Alzheimer’s awareness month, staff and residents at a care home in Hurst Green were treated to a visit from therapy pets.

A bunny called Wednesday, a bearded dragon called Morg, and some of their friends visited Windmill Manor care home in Oxted, Surrey, and caused a great deal of excitement.

All of the residents enjoyed the visit and petted the animals who seemed to appreciate meeting them.

A spokesman for Wild Science, a provider of animal handling sessions, said: “The animals have had a wonderful morning. I don’t think they have ever had so much attention.

“It was lovely to see the residents getting so much pleasure from the visit. I think it is fair to say Wednesday and Morg have a new fan club.”

Ellie Lyons, general manager, added: “All our residents are fascinated by animals so we were delighted that you were able to visit.

“It was brilliant to be able to ask Barbara questions about working with the animals and what it is like to look after them. We loved hearing all about their different personalities.”

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Passengers travelling on the line from South Croydon to Uckfield can look forward to travelling safely over the Oxted Viaduct for decades to come after a £10.5m upgrade.

Engineers have been working around the clock to repair and strengthen the Victorian structure since summer 2020.

Katie Frost, Network Rail’s Sussex route director, which also covers Surrey and South London, said: “The Oxted Viaduct is one of the most iconic railway structures in the south of England. Working on it and protecting such an important part of railway heritage has been a real honour.

“It also remains a vital piece of the operational railway today, so while it was great to protect our heritage, it was also essential to keep lines open and trains running safely and reliably.

“A massive thank you to our railway neighbours who have had to put up with noise from our work over the past few years.”

Twelve roller bearings, which support the viaduct’s weight and allow the bridge to expand in the heat of summer and contract in the cold of winter, have been replaced. This element of the work involved lifting the viaduct’s supporting columns, each weighing up to 175 tonnes, before sliding the bearings into place.

Repairs have been made to the brickwork on the supporting columns and arches. Steelwork has been cleaned back to the bare metal, treated, and then repainted using 12,000 litres of protective paint. The old timber bridge deck was also replaced with new easier to maintain materials.

Oxted Viaduct was built in 1881 and the bridge carries two railway lines over the A25 road and the River Eden on the line running from South Croydon to Uckfield.

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