Dear Subscriber,

December 2009

We would like to wish you the very best for Christmas and the New Year.

As always, it has been a busy year for the Kent Downs and we look forward to working with the many organisations and individuals whose efforts are essential to help enhance landscapes and life in the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Kent Downs make a stand at Kent International Gateway Public Inquiry

A huge amount of time and effort has been put into representing the Kent Downs AONB at the Kent International Gateway Public Inquiry. The Inquiry focuses on the proposal to build an extremely large (112 Ha) road rail interchange just next to Bearsted, immediately on the boundary of the Kent Downs. The Kent Downs Executive and partnership are very concerned about the harmful impact this would have on the setting and views from the AONB. Ever since the Kent Downs was designated, the wonderful views that are offered from the escarpment have been a vital component of what makes this landscape special. We believe that such a significant industrial development right on the doorstep would be extremely detrimental to the enjoyment of the landscape. We are not alone in our opposition, Maidstone Borough Council have opposed this as have Kent County Council and Natural England, more recently SEEDA have withdrawn their support. Unsurprisingly there is also strong local opposition and the Stop KIG and Local Parish Councils have also fought the application. It is the first time that the Kent Downs AONB has appeared at such a significant public inquiry and we hope that our efforts will be reflected in the Secretary of State’s decision, which can be expected in the early summer of next year.

New bid submitted for the Cliffs and Downs of Dover and Folkestone

The Kent Downs AONB Unit has been working hard with many partners to submit a Heritage Lottery Fund Landscape Partnership Scheme. If we are successful there will be in the region of £1.5m new funding to improve the landscape and wildlife in this important area, there will also be investment in the management of the Second World War heritage, and improving access to the landscape and the celebration of it. This is an exciting project and new funding is much needed in this area. We should hear whether the bid has been successful in May or June of 2010.

National AONB Conference to come to Kent in 2010

It has been agreed that the National Association of Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty annual conference will be hosted by the Kent Downs AONB. This is a prestigious four day national event when we will be able to show case the activities of the Kent Downs. There will be field trips to our partner organisations in France. We will be focusing on the benefit that this conference could bring to Kent so we will be working hard to make sure that the food is sourced locally, that the venue operates in an environmentally sustainable way and that Kent gets the profile it deserves from this important event. The dates are 12th – 15th July 2010 – more details will be announced soon.

The Orchid is back in the Spring

Fans of The Orchid newspaper can look forward to a bumper edition in March 2010! This issue will focus on woodland – everything from managing and coppicing woodland to using wood as a fuel. If you would like to submit copy or perhaps take out an advert please contact Frances Clayton as soon as possible, the copy deadline will be the end of January 2010. Don’t forget that all the previous copies of The Orchid can be viewed on our website, why not take a look back at the stories and issues tackled over the last 9 years !

KDRAS becomes KiRAS!

In October the Kent Downs Rural Advice Service widened its scope to cover the whole of Kent with funding from Kent County Council Rural Board. As a result the Advice Service has become the Kent Integrated Rural Advice Service (KiRAS).

Training for planners and local authority staff

Over the next four months the renamed KiRAS will provide the opportunity for local planning authority staff to learn about the Farm Diversification Toolkit.  Jenny Bate, the Project Coordinator, will be contacting local planning authorities to offer one to two hour workshops giving hands on experience of the ‘Toolkit’. A previous workshop , organised by the AONB Unit, provided  training for ‘Young Planners’ with the help of SE Planning Aid in June this year and will now be made available to all. This is a useful way to gain CPD points. If you would like us to put on a workshop at a time convenient to you contact Jenny on 10303 815170 or email: jenny.bate@kentdowns.org.uk

Farmers and landholders are not being left out

After a successful joint training workshop with Business Link in November the next ‘Grow and Develop your Farm Business’ workshop is to be held on January 19th 2010. To find out more and book a place on this FREE workshop go to www.growyourfarmbusiness.co.uk

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Toolkit update - give us your thoughts!

The Farm Diversification Toolkit is currently being updated – have a look at the Farm Diversification Toolkit on www.kentdowns.org.uk  under publications and give us your thoughts on how to make it even more useful by filling in the quick and simple questionnaire at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/STLJM9V

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Traditional Orchard Inventory

The People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) has put together an inventory of traditional orchards which is now available from Natural England if you have a GIS software package. It isalso be available on www.magic.gov.uk . However, they need help ‘ground-truthing’, that is, going out and confirming that all old orchards are on the map and in the right places!

Bovril's Great Outdoors Revival!

Bovril will award prizes to small projects that look to improve the outdoor places. This can be anything from repairing fences to planting trees to tidying up a derelict area. You must nominate the project and then get people to visit the website and vote. The most popular ideas will receive a share of £100,000. For more information go to the Bovril’s Great Outdoors Revival website.

Marshland and Ponds - Exchange Visit with Nord Pas de Calais

In October a wetland exchange visit took place in France in the Nord Pas de Calais as part of the ‘Landscape and Nature for All’ Interreg project. UK and French partners attended a presentation of innovative school-focused educational activities by one of the project partners, Nord Nature Chico Mendes, and visited marshland and pond habitats to learn about different survey methodologies and pond creation techniques. If you would like more information about the LNA project or the next exchange visit please contact Catherine Brady at the AONB Unit.

The LNA project is funded by the European Regional Development Fund as part of the Interreg IVA France (Channel) – England Programme.
 

Working to Save the Duke of Burgundy

Works to open glades, widen rides and coppice are underway on Woodland Trust and Forestry Commission land at Denge Woods, near Canterbury. All work aims to create much needed habitat for the Duke of Burgundy and help prevent this beautiful butterfly from becoming extinct in Kent.Work is funded by a successful bid by Butterfly Conservation to Biffaward, and is being complemented by Butterfly Conservation volunteers who have helped remove conifer from Bonsai Bank, one of the core area for this butterfly within the woods.
For more information on Butterfly Conservation’s Denge Woods Project please visit www.dengewoods.org

Calling all budding photographers

The Mid Kent Downs Countryside Partnership needs your photographs to create a Conservation Calendar which will feature views from across the project area coupled with advice relevant to the particular featured month. This will be a permanent resource and a major element of our soon to be launched website. There are also plans to produce hard copies too. The best photos we are sent will feature in the calendar so get snapping and please send any pictures to midkentdowns@kentdowns.org.uk

'Creating Areas for Nature' Resource Park

The Kent Biodiversity Action Plan team have developed a resource pack for people who are seeking to create and enhance natural areas. There is great online advice giving help on subjects ranging from tool use to habitat creation as well as one of the very best links pages currently available.

School Children Walk the Kent Downs

The development of the Landscape Education Project gave children from Bodsham Primary School the opportunity to spend a day discovering their village's heritage in the heart of the Kent Downs. A walk traversing the hills and valleys of Bodsham, through ancient woodland and chalk grassland, the children experienced a day of creative learning linked to their National Curriculum objectives. Old maps of Bodsham revealed how the landscape had changed including the loss of ancient woodland. Some of the subjects covered were story telling, tree hugging to identify our veteran trees, a game and literacy activity which enhanced the day's message.

With the participation of Eastling, Bodsham and Lympne schools in the first six months, a further six schools have booked for this school year. We are now well on the way to achieving our target of working with 24 schools in both rural and deprived areas.

Kent Downs Highly Commended at the World Travel Market Awards

Announced on 11th November at the World Travel Market in London’s ExCel centre the Kent Downs AONB was the only highly commended global best destination in the Responsible Tourism Awards, only pipped at the post by Cape Town. This means that the Kent Downs AONB is recognised by the awards as the global No 2 for responsible tourism destination.Nick Jo hannsen, Director of the Kent Downs AONB Unit said “We are absolutely delighted by this result which reflects the hard work of the AONB Unit, the AONB partnership and in particular our former tourism officer Sarah Loftus, and, of course the many excellent tourism businesses which operate across the Kent Downs. There was a very high level of competition in this years awards, with 600 organisations nominated for 13 Categories. Our category, best destination, had 62 nominations world wide; we came second and were the only ‘highly commended’ destination. As a member of our Joint Advisory Committee said, this is real David and Goliath stuff. We are a small Unit and to achieve such a high award is excellent for us and for the excellent businesses operation in the Kent Downs.Looked at another way, given this is a global award we can claim to be the No 1 best destination in Europe for responsible tourism”.