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Goodbye to Tim Reader and Graham Warren - and thank you for everything
CPRE Kent last year lost two of its most gifted and passionate supporters – here we pay tribute to men who helped make our organisation what it is today
TIM READER
Tim was one of those increasingly rare countrymen who stayed true to his home turf, spending almost his entire life within a few hundred yards of the family farm of Uptons, between Yalding and Laddingford.
His interest in all aspects of country life and the environment proved invaluable to CPRE Kent, where he was an active member of both the Maidstone district and environment committees for many years. His knowledge of farming was particularly appreciated.
Born in 1946, Tim’s love of the outdoors began early, with school holidays spent helping on the farm, which had such animals as horses, bullocks and dairy cows, while hops were still picked by hand. After school, he studied agriculture at Hadlow College.
Six months travelling and working on farms in Canada broadened his experience before returning to join father Jack and cousin Peter at Uptons.
He accumulated huge knowledge and experience as the fruit and hop industries developed through the 1960s, 70s and 80s, with increasing mechanisation, pest control and developments in cold storage and packaging.
Sadly, in the late 1980s, structural changes in first the hop industry and then fruit led to the farm becoming unviable. This, combined with ill-health, saw Tim retire from active farming after almost 30 years in the job he loved.
He later became a volunteer member of the Upper Medway Drainage Board and served on Yalding Parish Council, where he kept watch on development proposals.
Tim leaves behind wife Ann, to whom he was married for 43 years.
GRAHAM WARREN
With the passing of Graham Warren, CPRE Kent has lost not only one of its most knowledgeable members a but a true gentleman.
Graham’s experience and understanding of the water industry was immeasurable and we were blessed to be able to draw on his vast reservoir of expertise.
Whether it was working as the resident geologist during Channel Tunnel site investigations in the mid-1960s; sharing his skills as a hydrologist in countries such as Iran, Greece and Zambia (where he was principal hydrologist and head of the country’s hydrological survey); or Kent area water resources manager with the Environment Agency, Graham enjoyed a stellar career in his chosen profession.
Just a week after retiring from the EA, Graham was at Ashford Wool Growers, where he bumped into Hilary Moorby, then CPRE Kent chair, who persuaded him to bring his talents to us.
His contribution was immense, writing influential papers on Kent’s water crisis, appearing as an expert witness on both hydrology and geology at planning inquiries and taking on a fracking brief that covered much of southern England. And he was never going to escape the job of chairing our environment committee!
Graham leaves wife Patricia, who he married in 1964, having met her at a jazz club four years earlier, and son Simon.
Graham’s advice was telling in the protection of so much of Kent, but for a moment of reflection, you might like to walk in West Wood, Lyminge, the destruction of which by a proposed ‘holiday village’ he helped thwart. There could perhaps be no finer tribute.
Wednesday, December 29, 2021
- A number of important documents have yet to emerge. For example, a rigorous transport plan and a finalised air-quality assessment. The latter is critical given that allocations at Teynham will feed extra traffic into AQMAs.
- There seems to be no coherent plan for infrastructure delivery – a key component of the plan given the allocations being proposed near the already crowded Junction 7.
- There seems to have been little or no cooperation with neighbouring boroughs or even parish councils within Swale itself.
The removal of a second consultation might have been understandable if this final version of the plan were similar to that being talked about at the beginning of the consultation process. It is, however, radically different in the following ways:
- There has been a major shift in the balance of housing allocations, away from the west of the borough over to the east, especially around the historic town of Faversham. This is a move that raises many concerns.
- A new large allocation, with accompanying A2 bypass, has appeared around Teynham and Lynsted, to which we are objecting.
- Housing allocations in the AONB around Neames Forstal that were judged “unsuitable” by the council’s own officers have now appeared as part of the housing numbers.
- Most of the housing allocations being proposed are on greenfield sites, many of them on Grade 1 agricultural land – a point to which we are strongly objecting.
Concerns about the rush to submit the plan
The haste with which the plan is being prepared is especially worrying given the concentration of housing in Faversham. If the town is to take a large amount of new housing, it is imperative that the policies concerning the area are carefully worked out to preserve, as far as possible, the unique nature of the town. The rush to submit the plan is likely to prove detrimental.
As Swale does not have a five-year land housing supply, it is open to speculative development proposals, many of which would run counter to the ideas contained in the current plan. Some are already appearing. This is a common situation, and one that, doubtless, is a reason behind Swale’s haste.
Our overriding fear, however, is that this emphasis on haste is ultimately going to prove counterproductive. This is because it is our view that the plan, in its current form, is unlikely to pass independent examination. We are urging Swale to listen to and act upon the comments being made about the plan and to return the plan to the council with appropriate modifications before submitting it to the Secretary of State.
Essentially, this means treating the current consultation not as the final one but as the ‘lost’ second consultation.
The consultation ends on Friday 30 April and we strongly urge residents to make their opinions known if they have not already done so.
Further information
