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Dear Subscriber
Welcome
to this edition of the Kent Downs AONB eBulletin.
Visit us at the Kent Show!
This
year we will be joining the Why Farming Matters stand at the Kent Show,
which will be held on the 16th, 17th and 18th July. If you
would like to find out more about landscape
enhancement projects, farm and rural business diversification, horse land
management, using our design guides, using the Land Managers Pack and the
AONB Management Plan you can book in for a one to one session at the
show where we will have experts and resources available to help you.
Please book by calling Gill Bell
at the Kent Downs AONB Unit on 01303 815170 otherwise
please just drop by to see us at the show.
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Children
experience 'walk on the wild
side'
 Kent schools have
taken steps for their children to become intrepid explorers and experience
a day in the Kent Downs countryside. Five schools so far this year, have
participated in the Kent Downs Landscape Education Project looking at the
formation of the Kent Downs landscape and linking it to their chosen
curriculum subjects. With creative learning 250 seven to eleven year
old children have studied subjects from settlements to Tudors, from
sculpture to WW2 whilst brushing up on their mapping and
classification/habitat skills.
With
the senses tantalised, the wind in their hair and
fantastic views these children have created poems and stunning works of art
using local materials found on their journeys. Join us for next years walks
and discover the countryside which inspired these children. pippa.palmar@kentdowns.org.uk.
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White Cliffs
Landscape Partnership Scheme Gets Go-Ahead
 Working with
partners around Dover and Folkestone we have secured £1.6m from the Heritage
Lottery Fund to develop and deliver an exciting scheme which will see over
£2.2m of investment in the Cliffs, chalk grassland and inland landscapes
near Dover
and Folkestone. This is excellent news making the
Kent Downs AONB, to our knowledge, the only protected landscape with two
such Landscape Partnership Schemes. There is still development work to do
before work starts on the ground and we will shortly be recruiting a
‘development stage’ manager to prepare the detailed second stage of the bid
and then work with partners to deliver a five year programme
of activity.For more details on the White Cliffs
Landscape Partnership Scheme please contact Nick
Johannsen.
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Marine Matters
The
marine bill brought with it a new focus on the marine environment. The Kent
Downs AONB includes one of the nations most iconic and most valued
seascapes in the Dover Straight. Over the coming year the new Marine
Management Organisation will be starting the
process of understanding the complex array of interests in the marine area
and will also start to develop marine plans. We don’t yet know when the
Dover Straight will have a plan prepared but the AONB Unit will be working
closely with the MMO to try to ensure full recognition of the importance of
our Heritage Coasts.
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Sustainable
Development Fund
 The fund has
proved to be very successful again this year, with a good range of
applications coming in. This years projects include the installation of
photovoltaic panels at Petham School,
replanting of grape vines at Elham Valley Vineyard and the creation of a
range of new walking routes around Selling. For further details please
contact tim.owen@kentdowns.org.uk.
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Medway Mosaics
Medway
Mosaics is a new project launched by the Valley of Visions
to discover the historic gems and local mysteries from local villages and
surrounding fields, woods, tracks and paths. When all the information
is gathered it will be pieced together into a lasting document of how the
parishes are today. The launch event at the Friars in April was fully
booked and was covered by the Kent and Medway Messenger newspapers. . A
wide range of training has been organised to help
provide skills to our volunteers and the sessions that have already been held
have been a huge success. Recording days are also being arranged to help
people get to grips with the recording forms whilst leaning more about the
heritage on their doorsteps. For more information on how to get involved
with Medway Mosaics or for a full list of courses please go to www.valleyofvisions.org.uk.
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Undergrounding of
Overhead Cables
 The undergrounding of overhead electricity cables project
continues, funding from the power regulator Ofgem has been approved for the next five years.
Schemes previously approved have now mostly been completed,
the most recent scheme at Belmont
Park will be finished
any time now. We are keen to make the most of the funding available for
this and are therefore looking for potential new schemes. The type of
cables and poles we are looking at are normally 11kV and 33kV cables on
wood poles in open countryside and not National Grid or other steel towers.
For further details please contact tim.owen@kentdowns.org.uk.
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Interreg Woodland Exchange
In May
2010 a woodland exchange visit took place as
part of the ‘Landscape and Nature for All’ Interreg project. The visit focused on
woodland protected species, on ancient woods and woodland archaeology.
The two day visit included presentations from the Forestry
Commission and Butterfly Conservation. The people attending had the
opportunity to visit some of the woodland sites to see examples of the works undertaken.If
you would like more information about the project or the next exchange
visit please contact Catherine Brady at the AONB Unit or visit the Kent
Downs AONB website http://www.kentdowns.org.uk/interreg.html
. The project is funded by the European Regional Development Fund as part
of the Interreg IVA France (Channel) – England Programme.
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Community Trails
 As part of our
Valley of Visions Landscape Partnership Scheme three communities in the
Medway Gap: Snodland, Burham
& Wouldham, have launched
their community trails. The project aims to encourage people to
explore, enjoy and learn about their local area and surrounding
countryside. The grant, provided by Valley of Visions,
has been used to undertake physical improvements to the trail and to
enhance user enjoyment by producing a trail leaflet. Work with the
second phase of communities of Halling, Strood, Aylesford & Halling is well underway to complete the suite of seven
community trails.
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Land Management
for Horses in the Kent
Downs
 Following a lot of work we have prepared what we
hope will be helpful guidance for land managers and policy makers
to support good practice in land
management for horses in the Kent Downs AONB. The work is now at a
stage where we want to hear your views as to how horse owners and land
managers can help to conserve and enhance the nationally important
landscapes of the Kent Downs AONB. For further information contact Frances
Clayton. To find out more about how healthy pastures can support healthy
horses and contribute poitively to landscape and
wildlife quality come along to a workshop
on 29th July at Woodchurch nr Ashford. The
workshop will include a site visit to the first and only organic livery
stables in the UK. To
book a place please contact Flora Locale on 01672 515723.
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Back to Grass
 Some 15 hectares
of previously open chalk grassland was restored to something like its
former glory in the late winter. Having gradually succumbed to the advance
of scrub and young grassland, heavy machinery was used to remove over 700 tonnes of vegetation from the downs above Snodland in the Medway Gap. VoV
worked closely with landowners Lafarge Cement to carry out the work and
follow up fencing work to enable grazing is currently being undertaken. The
project is one of the largest chalk grassland restoration projects in the
county and contributes towards VoV’s aspiration
for a continuous stretch of this habitat in the valley known as the ‘Medway
Arc’. Visit the VoV website at http://www.valleyofvisions.org.uk to
learn more.
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Flytipping
Dumping
of rubbish and waste in remote rural locations is a big problem and is one
of the top issues raised by communities when we ask what actions they
thought we should take. Working in partnership with The Clean Kent
Campaign, we have funding available to help prevent tipping on these
regularly abused areas. The Target Hardening Fund is available to land
owners to help prevent fly-tippers from using rural lay-bys, fields, and
field entrances and public rights of way. We are encouraging the use of
natural methods i.e. planting and ditching, rather than the more
traditional urban approaches to the problem. For more information and
application details please contact tim.owen@kentdowns.org.uk
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Landscape
Enhancement Projects
 As part of the Interreg funded Landscape and Nature for All projects
(LNA) that enhance the landscape of the Kent
Downs, projects that follow the recommendations set out in our
Landscape Design Handbook are encouraged. This could be hedge planting,
chalk grassland restoration or fencing for example, with up to 50% of
project costs being supported. The LNA project is funded by the European
Regional Development Fund as part of the Interreg
IVA France (Channel) – England Programme. For
further details please contact tim.owen@kentdowns.org.uk
01303 815170
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Diversification
and Custodianship of Heritage Buildings
Help
in fulfilling the aims and objectives of the Kent Downs, in particular
through the management of the farmed landscape and heritage buildings can
be found through a suite of guidance documents available on
the Kent Downs website at www.kentdowns.org.uk
.Under the publications heading you can access the ‘Kent Downs Management
Plan’, the ‘Kent Downs Landscape Design Handbook’, the newly revised ‘Farm
Diversification Toolkit’, and the soon to be released Kent ‘Farmstead
Design Guidance’.
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The Kent Downs
Rural Advice Service toolkit helps again
 In late April an
office suite was opened at Lenham where the farm owners celebrated the
conversion of redundant stables. The owner acknowledged the help of the
Kent Downs Rural Advice Service which provided an 'Action
Plan' at the early stages of the
planning process. This is an excellent example of how diversification and
use of redundant farm buildings can be used to support the viability of a
farm and traditional farming practices whilst providing employment,
supporting rural regeneration and conserving and enhancing rural built
heritage.
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There's More To See on our Website
 If you would like
to see or hear more about the Kent Downs AONB please visit
our website at www.kentdowns.org.uk.
We've recently added a short
film promoting the landscape and there is much more information too. If you
are thinking of visiting the AONB try the 40
Places section for ideas of inspirational places.
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