Dartford and Gravesend form the Kent end of the Thames Gateway, about thirteen miles north of Wrotham up the A20 and M25. Dartford holds the Queen Elizabeth II bridge and the tunnels that carry the M25 across the Thames, and the business and distribution parks that cluster round them at Crossways, The Bridge and Littlebrook. Bluewater at Greenhithe is one of the largest shopping centres in the country.
Ebbsfleet Garden City, around Ebbsfleet International station, is one of the largest new settlements in the South East and a construction site of a scale the county has rarely seen. Gravesend and Northfleet to its east carry the riverside industry of the estuary, the Port of London Authority’s pilot station, and a long history of cement and paper manufacturing that is now being redeveloped.
The HSE enforces at the construction sites, the riverside industry and the port operations; Dartford Borough Council and Gravesham Borough Council cover offices, retail, warehousing and hospitality. Kent Fire and Rescue Service covers both boroughs.