The parish contains the settlements of Ashley, Ashley Heath, St Ives and St Leonards, which have merged to form a single urban area.

[2] The parish was named after two small hamlets of St Ives and St Leonards, which were both gradually being developed in an area that had been largely undeveloped heath and woodland until the early twentieth century.

[3] The parish was transferred from Hampshire to Dorset in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972.

[4] The three formerly separate settlements of Ashley Heath, St Ives and St Leonards have now coalesced into a single built-up area, which the Office for National Statistics calls Ashley Heath.

The parish council meets at the village hall on Braeside Road in St Leonards.