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Oaken Wood: your chance to speak and fight for its survival
If you want to save the ancient woodland of Oaken Wood from destruction, please make your voice known and join the consultation on its future.
The message is clear in the wake of Kent County Council’s decision to include the expansion of Hermitage Quarry into the wood at Barming in the draft Kent Minerals and Waste Local Plan, which has now gone out to Regulation 19 consultation.
Were the site to be confirmed in the plan, which is being eyed for the quarrying of Kentish ragstone, at least 41 hectares of ancient woodland would be lost.
CPRE Kent are joining Friends of Oaken Wood, Kent Wildlife Trust and the Woodland Trust in appealing to people to respond to the consultation regarding the legality and soundness of the site’s potential inclusion in the plan.
Thirty-one hectares of Oaken Wood have already been lost to quarrying – now another 41 hectares are threatened, representing a greater sacrifice of ancient woodland than from HS2 and the Lower Thames Crossing combined.
Ancient woodland covers just 2.5 per cent of the UK’s land surface and can’t just simply be recreated. Its soil holds a mycorrhizal network built over centuries – a hidden fungal web that feeds and connects trees – plus a natural seed bank of dormant wildflowers and trees, as well as huge stores of locked-up carbon.
Oaken Wood is classed as a Plantation on Ancient Woodland Site (PAWS): an area continuously wooded since at least 1600AD. It is ecologically invaluable, retaining veteran trees and bluebells and other indicator wildflowers, while it supports declining wildlife in the wider Oaken Wood Local Wildlife Site.
Kentish ragstone is an important rock used in a range of historic buildings and monuments, including Canterbury Cathedral, but CPRE Kent and our allies at Friends of Oaken Wood, Kent Wildlife Trust and the Woodland Trust don’t believe our natural heritage should be sacrificed in the name of our built heritage.
In an admittedly convoluted situation, as explained here, the required ragstone could be quarried at a nearby site safeguarded for that very purpose without the destruction of ancient woodland. A little joined-up thinking would see the ragstone extracted, the housing demanded in a Local Plan delivered and a stretch of ancient woodland saved.
Richard Thompson, senior planner at CPRE Kent, said: “A planning system worthy of the name should protect irreplaceable countryside like Oaken Wood, not treat ancient woodland as the easiest option before every less damaging alternative has been properly explored.”
Nick Trower, of Kent Wildlife Trust, added: “Kentish ragstone has played an important role in conserving some of the country’s most iconic historic buildings and we recognise the importance of maintaining that heritage. However, we should not preserve one aspect of our historic heritage by sacrificing another.
“Oaken Wood presents us with a choice about the legacy we leave for future generations. This irreplaceable habitat must be protected by removing Oaken Wood from the Kent Mineral Sites Plan, ensuring that our natural heritage is valued alongside our built heritage.”
And the Woodland Trust’s Jay Henderson said: “This quarry extension would cause the biggest loss of ancient woodland in England this century. Ancient woodland is irreplaceable and destroying it contradicts both national planning policy and Kent County Council’s own policies, including the Kent Tree Plan, Local Nature Recovery Strategy and Minerals and Waste Plan.
“Oaken Wood is a vital part of Kent’s natural heritage as recognised by [more than] 26,000 residents who have already opposed its destruction. We urge the council to change their mind, remove Oaken Wood from the Mineral Sites Plan and choose a suitable alternative that does not threaten ancient woodland.”
The issue is possibly felt most fervently among local people. As Jen Hickey, of Friends of Oaken Wood, said: “As a parent and local resident, the council’s decision has been heartbreaking. But as a campaigner, there is still cause for hope. It will be an uphill battle, but our community and wildlife cannot afford to lose this green lung. So we’re asking everyone, once again, to please take the time to object to these plans.”
Maidstone Borough Council has formally objected to the potential extension of the quarry into Oaken Wood, citing concerns over the loss of ancient woodland, habitat fragmentation and impacts on biodiversity.
Stuart Jeffery, leader of the council, said: “At a time of climate emergency and biodiversity depletion, our council is doing everything in its power to restore and protect the natural world. Yet this plan by Kent County Council flies directly in the face of those efforts. We cannot fight to bring nature back on one hand while allowing KCC to tear down vital ecosystems with the other.
“This is a critical moment for our environment and we cannot afford to stay silent. I strongly urge every resident to stand with us, engage with this consultation and let KCC know your fierce opposition to these destructive plans.”
If you agree with such sentiments, please engage with the county council’s consultation. Members of the public and organisations alike can challenge whether the draft Kent Minerals and Waste Local Plan is legally compliant and sound, including whether it is positively prepared, justified, effective and consistent with national planning policy.
