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Countryside sites
The Medway
Council Ranger Team is responsible for other natural sites,
scattered throughout Medway, to benefit wildlife and residents.
Some of these areas are so important to wildlife that they have
been designated as:
Local wildlife sites
Designated by Kent Wildlife Trust for
their importance to the conservation of wildlife in Kent and
Medway, they may support threatened habitats, such as chalk
grassland or ancient woodland, or may be important for the wild
plants or animals which are present; and/or
Local nature reserves
Designated by Local Authorities with approval from Natural
England, the government body for the natural environment, they
are places with wildlife or geological features of special local
interest. They offer people opportunities to study or learn about
nature or simply to enjoy it.
The countryside sites do not have the visitor facilities the
country parks possess but give an excellent introduction to the
natural environment and wildlife, acting as important links between
the local communities that surround them and the wider
countryside.
A summary table for the wider
countryside estate indicates that the main habitats are woodland
and grassland which have their own habitat management regimes, as
shown below.
Habitat management regimes
Coppice woodland
There are around 80 hectares of fragmented woodland in Medway
Council ownership (excluding the large woodland areas of Ranscombe
Farm) all of which were once part of larger woodland blocks.
Coppicing is a traditional form of woodland management and can
be seen throughout Medway. A coppiced wood is cut periodically and
the trees grow again from the cut stumps. This growth can be very
fast, as much as 6.56 ft (2m) in a year, producing numerous shoots
rather than one main stem. Coppicing provides an environmentally
sustainable source of wood, as periodic cutting prolongs the life
of the tree. Many of the oldest trees in British woods are
coppiced.
Medway’s woodlands contain mainly sweet chestnuts, which were
traditionally coppiced in 15 to 25-year cycles. This cycle had
ceased because of the loss of demand for traditional wood products.
Uncoppiced woods tend to have the same structure of tree
throughout, support fewer species and contain trees that will
potentially become unhealthy or unsafe.
Medway Council is re-introducing coppicing cycles to many of its
woodlands. Regular coppicing benefits flora and fauna by allowing
more sunlight to reach the ground. To thrive, woodland wildflowers
such as bluebells and wood anemones need the two or three years of
the bright sunlight that reaches them when an area is coppiced.
A well-managed coppice wood contains a variety of tree species
with different life cycles, structures, heights and ages. This in
turn provides suitable habitats for a wide range of nesting
birds.
Grassland management
Chalk grassland areas were traditionally managed by grazing as
part of agricultural practice. Loss of grazing on sites across
Medway over the last 30 years has resulted in nutrient enrichment
and encroachment of scrub species with subsequent loss of public
access and biodiversity value.
Medway Council has been working with the Kent Wildlife Trust for
more than 10 years on the restoration of chalk grassland on Darland
Banks. This has seen the removal of scrub and reintroduction of
grazing by goats, cattle and ponies.
Following the success of this scheme the countryside team is now
engaged in a project to restore 15 hectares of chalk grassland on
the Coney and Daisy Banks in Luton through removal of scrub and
establishment of grazing. Scrub cutting works take place annually
between October and end of February to ensure nesting birds are not
disturbed.
Latest Greenspace news contains information on major site
works.
For other open grassland areas, management is concerned either
with ensuring annual grass growth is cut and removed from the site
after seeding in summer with management work taking place between
late July and end of September. This removes nutrients from the
site which would lead to more rank species out-competing chalk
grassland species.
For other open grassland areas, management is concerned either
with ensuring annual grass growth is cut and removed from the site
after seeding in summer with management work taking place between
late July and end of September. This removes nutrients from the
site which would lead to more rank species out-competing chalk
grassland species.
The table below provides summary information on other
countryside sites owned and managed by the Medway Council
Countryside Team.
| Site name |
Size
(hectares) |
Street access name |
Key Habitat |
Local Wildlife Site (LWS) Local Nature Reserve
(LNR) |
|
Albemarle Road
|
2.0
|
Albemarle Road
|
Coppice woodland
|
|
|
Ambley Wood
|
11.4
|
Ambley Road
|
Coppice woodland
|
LWS/LNR
|
|
Ballen’s Rough
|
3.2
|
North Dane Way
|
Chestnut coppice woodland
|
|
|
Baty’s Marsh
|
4.2
|
Manor Lane
|
Grassland and marsh
|
LWS/LNR
|
|
Bishops Hoath Wood
|
2.9
|
Roosevelt Avenue
|
Woodland
|
|
|
Brooms Wood
|
5.4
|
Deanwood Drive
|
Coppice Woodland
|
|
|
Callams Scrub
|
0.6
|
Ploughmans Way
|
Coppice Woodland
|
|
|
Chapel Hill/Blowers Wood
|
0.9
|
The Rise
|
Chestnut coppice woodland
|
|
|
Cherry Tree Orchard
|
1.0
|
Cherry Tree Road
|
Old orchard
|
|
|
Chestnut Wood
|
5.8
|
Chestnut Avenue
|
Mixed coppice woodland with small grassland area
|
|
|
Coney and Daisy Banks
|
26.7
|
Barnfield
|
Chalk grassland
|
LWS
|
|
Craigie Walk
|
0.7
|
Craigie Walk / Mierscourt Rd
|
Woodland
|
|
|
Dargets Wood
|
2.4
|
Dargets Road
|
Woodland and grassland
|
|
|
Darland Banks
|
44.5
|
Darland Avenue
|
Chalk grassland
|
LWS/LNR
|
|
East Hoath Wood
|
10.8
|
Hoath Lane
|
Coppice woodland
|
LWS
|
|
Foxburrow Wood
|
6.1
|
Deanwood Drive
|
Ancient woodland
|
LNR
|
|
Frog Island Pond
|
0.2
|
Upnor Road
|
Pond
|
|
|
Great Lines
|
28.7
|
Marlborough Road
|
Mixed grassland
|
LWS
|
|
Hall Wood
|
1.8
|
Albemarle Road
|
Chestnut coppice woodland
|
|
|
Hook Wood
|
11.0
|
North Dane Way
|
Woodland
|
LWS
|
|
Horsted Farm
|
28.5
|
Walderslade Road
|
Chalk grassland
|
LWS
|
|
Levan Strice
|
2.8
|
Maidstone Road
|
Coppice woodland
|
LNR
|
|
Lords Wood
|
2.7
|
Lords Wood Lane
|
Coppice woodland
|
|
|
Mill Hill Wood
|
2.6
|
Bush Road
|
Woodland adjacent to Cobham Woods SSSI
|
LWS
|
|
Moor Park Close
|
0.6
|
Moor Park Close
|
Woodland
|
|
|
Ploughmans Meadow
|
0.3
|
Ploughmans Way
|
Woodland bank
|
|
|
Polhill Drive
|
0.5
|
Polhill Drive
|
Woodland
|
|
|
Princes Park
|
14.0
|
Princes Avenue
|
Chalk Grassland
|
|
|
Prince Arthur Park
|
0.5
|
Prince Arthur Road
|
Woodland
|
|
|
Rede Common
|
11.2
|
Thurston Drive
|
Acid grassland with areas of scrub
|
|
|
Silverspot Wood
|
0.3
|
Mierscourt Road
|
Small coppice woodland
|
|
|
Sindal Shaw
|
2.8
|
Clandon Road
|
Chestnut coppice woodland
|
|
|
South Wood
|
6.7
|
Lamplighters Close/Cobblestones
|
Ancient coppice woodland with grassland meadow area
|
LWS/LNR
|
|
The Scrubs
|
1.4
|
Hempstead Road
|
Woodland
|
LWS
|
|
Watts Meadow
|
3.0
|
Borstal Road/Ethelbert Road
|
Grassland blocks with scrub
|
|
|
Whimbrel Walk
|
0.4
|
Sultan Road
|
Woodland
|
|
|
Whitegate Wood
|
2.8
|
Hempstead Valley Drive
|
Woodland
|
|
Feedback
If you come across something that you would like to report to
the council or would like to book a facility, please use the
contact details below or complete one of these online forms:
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