This spring the Cobham Ashenbank Management Scheme (CAMS) completed the first phase of the most visible of its projects to date in the Cobham area. Visitors to Cobham Woods know that one of the main detriments to the area for many years has been the abandoned and burnt out cars littering the wood. The illegal use of 4-wheel drive vehicles and motorbikes has been a great problem, causing distress to legitimate visitors.

CAMS developed the Securing Cobham Woods Project with the aim of returning the woods to a quiet, peaceful, and beautiful area that visitors can enjoy. The first phase was to clear the debris and severely restrict motorised access to the woods to prevent its re-occurrence and enable legitimate visitors to enjoy the woods without fear of being disturbed or knocked down.

In addition to funding from the Kent Downs AONB and CAMS, grants were secured from Kent County Council Waste Management, Medway Council, and Costain Skansia Mowlem (CSM) the contractor working on behalf of the Highways Agency on the A2 widening scheme. A team of 30 volunteers from the West Kent Downs Countryside Trust searched the woods mapping the exact location of each abandoned vehicle and the information was passed on to S + P Motors of Sittingbourne who were contracted to remove them. Great care was taken to keep damage to the area to a minimum and a massive total of 95 vehicles were removed from the woods in a week-long operation.

Once the clearance was complete new barriers were erected at the main access points from Strood to ensure that no new vehicles are abandoned. New signs have also been erected at the access points to the area explaining that it is part of the Kent Downs AONB and a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Visitors to the woods are now enjoying the views over the AONB without having them spoiled by rusting cars.

CAMS will begin work on the second phase of the project this winter. Certain areas of the Woods have been subjected to arson attacks in recent years. The resulting damage to the mature trees has created temporary eyesores and the fires also encourage the growth of dense stands of scrub and bracken. These stands are impassable to visitors, reduce the wildlife value of the SSSI, and provide ideal fuel for further arson attacks. The Kent Downs AONB are part-funding the reduction of this scrub and bracken to limit the risk of fire and improve the wildlife habitats in these areas. The project also marks the return of a careful management regime to Cobham Woods, which languished uncared-for in the hands of the Official Receiver for more than a decade.

Alison Nailer