The consultation on Medway’s LocalPlan ends on the 30th May. What you can do to help us, the RSPB and our conservation partners to #SaveLodgeHill can be found here.
Ancient woodland at Lodge Hill
Chattenden Woods and Lodge Hill Site of Special Scientific Interest includes large areas of ancient woodland. While at present none of these are proposed for development, it is likely that having a new population of over 11,000 people living alongside, as well as their pets, litter, light and noise pollution, will have a detrimental impact on the woodland and its wildlife.
Lodge Hill woodland
Spring view of Lodge Hill
There are many mature trees on site, some of which support bat roosts.
As the Ministry of Defence has abandoned the site over the decades it has been reclaimed by nature. Here, some railway sidings have been colonised by ruderal plants, providing good habitat for reptiles. The scrub in the background supports a number of nightingales.
Trees at Lodge Hill
Disused railway tracks at Lodge Hill
Spring greenery at Lodge Hill
Nature encroaches on a road at Lodge Hill
Blue skies over Lodge Hill on a fine spring day.
Everything was obviously much greener compared to our visit in November! Trees, scrub and Dyer’s greenweed encroach on the remaining infrastructure.
As you can see, we had very good weather for our visit.
Volunteer Matt Huggins explores some of the lesser-known but still fascinating animals that grace our woodlands.
When your woodlands are under threat, what can you do to save them?
In this blog we take a closer look at how your donations will help to protect and restore woodland habitat across Kent.
