News Release
New nature reserve for Maidstone
Maidstone has a new local nature
reserve.
Boxley Warren, located one a half miles
outside Maidstone, was once a notorious hotspot for fly tipping,
with burnt out cars, unwanted furniture, tyres and other rubbish
strewn across the landscape, but now it has been transformed into a
haven for rare and beautiful wildlife.
| The transformation of Boxley Warren |
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The achievement was celebrated at the opening
of the reserve, with Dr Jim Flegg OBE, presenter of Meridian’s
Country Ways. Dr Flegg is a keen ornithologist and author,
and once director of the world renowned East Malling Research
Station. He was joined by those who helped in the transformation of
the site, including Kent Wildlife Trust, Kent Downs Area of
Outstanding Natural Beauty Unit and Maidstone Borough Council.
The inspirational story began in 1997 when
Boxley Warren was heavily fly tipped. Historic monuments such
as the Neolithic White Horse Stone and Pilgrim’s Way were damaged
and there was significant loss to extensive downland and yew
woodland. Cabinet Member for Environment, Cllr Tony Harwood,
remembers the dismal scene: “The Pilgrim’s Way resembled the road
from Basra with columns of smouldering and burned-out vehicles, and
hedgerows, trees and fences were left scorched and damaged. Off
road vehicles wore tracks through thin soils into the chalk and
were visible as vivid white scars from distant views.”
A massive clear up operation was undertaken,
and included the introduction of ditches and new hedgerows to
prevent vehicle access. Habitat improvements, such as the
removal of invasive sycamore woodland, were also completed.
However, the problems returned, with
significant damage to fencing and hedgerows due to vehicles being
torched and further off road activity. So Maidstone Borough
Council successfully gained an extinguishment of vehicular access
rights on the historic Pilgrim’s Way.
Hundreds of cuttings were taken from the
remaining handful of rare wild box trees, and planted in fenced
compounds within the site. These are now thriving and
supporting a host of invertebrates, specific to this rare native
tree.
In 2007 a revitalised and rehabilitated Boxley
Warren was designated by Maidstone Borough Council as a Natural
England Local Nature Reserve, and today it is a thriving haven for
rare wildlife including ground pine, stinking hellebore, adders and
buzzards.
The story of such a strong recovery by the
landscape and wildlife brings hope to other similar degraded areas
across the UK. Cabinet Member for Leisure and Culture, Cllr Dan
Daley, said: “This exciting re-transformation from man-made pigsty
to its natural paradise is due to vision, hard work, determination
and action on the part of many working in partnership. The
aim must now be to preserve its special nature for all to
enjoy.”
Date:
10 March 2008
Reference:
ARL/080302