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Built in the 1930s, this former water-softening plant at Newnham appears to be a rare survivor. It forms part of a water treatment site constructed for Mid Kent Water plc, which also includes a pumphouse dating from 1937 and a pair of semi-detached houses, built to accommodate staff. The pumphouse is well maintained and still in use. The water-softening plant, however, was abandoned in the forties only a decade after it was constructed; it closed during the Second World War and re-opened in 1946 but it soon closed finally for numerous reasons, including difficulties in sludge disposal and high operational and chemical costs.