News | Sponsored parish council Boxley Parish Mail
CHAIRMAN: Ivor Davies CLERK: Pauline BowderyASST CLERK: Melanie Fooks Parish Office, Beechen Hall,Wildfell Close,Walderslade, ME5 9RU
Tel: 01634 861237 email:
clerk@boxleyparishcouncil.org.uk Website:
www.boxleyparishcouncil.org.uk Contact details for parish councillors can be obtained from the parish office, the Useful Contact Details leaflet or the website Fromwasteland to nature haven
ON slopes once scarred by off-road bikers, the future for BoxleyWarren Local Nature Reserve (LNR) has undergone an inspirational journey from a fly-tipping and car dumping hotspot to an internationally significant wildlife haven.
Within the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the site dominates Maidstone’s north- ern skyline with countless thou- sands of people glimpsing it from their cars as they travel along the M20.
Chalk grassland has been re- stored, rare native trees and shrubs propagated, new ponds excavated, woodland management re-intro- duced and naturalistic artworks in- troduced. There is also a new Friends of BoxleyWarren volunteer group (Facebook Friends of Boxley Warren), who carry out tasks on every second Sunday of the month, and their recent projects included the creation of two new ponds. This area of downland, north of Boxley village and next to Pilgrims’ Way, is both extremely precious
The restoration of a mosaic of
chalk grassland, scrub and wood- land by Natural England, The Mid Kent Downs Countryside Partner- ship, Maidstone Council and the landowner has meant that the site is now much improved for a range of beautiful and often rare wildlife – and the future now looks more hopeful than it did a decade ago. With healthy populations of or-
and under real pressure. It is desig- nated both as a site of special scien- tific interest for the chalk downland wildlife that it supports, and as a Special Area of Conservation for its internationally rare yewwoodland. Viewpoints have been cut into
the woodland so that visitors can enjoy the panoramic views from the scarp slope at BoxleyWarren.
chids, adders and rare native box trees, there is much to celebrate and conserve. It is an excellent place to watch buzzards soaring on the thermals over the North Downs and to observe or photograph na- ture.
The LNR’s leaflet (available from
the Boxley parish office and web- site) and recently-installed inter- pretation boards supply an insight
into the many delights of the site. Several local walk routes also take in BoxleyWarren. The Pilgrims’ Way area and the
90 hectares of the LNR have a rich neolithic history and the site is home to the mysterious White Horse Stone. Indeed, when the Channel Tunnel Rail Linkwas built a very significant neolithic long- house was discovered, which turned out to be the earliest reli- ably-dated neolithic structure in Britain, at a likely 6,000 years old. The funding to transform the site
was awarded by the Heritage Lot- tery Fund and a range of local or- ganisations including KCC and Maidstone Council, which declared the site as a Local Nature Reserve in 2008, Boxley parish and Ayles- ford parish.
New barriers atWarren are demolished Raise issues at
LESS than 12 hours after the instal- lation of replacement gate posts and bollards at the Lidsing Road entrance to BoxleyWarren follow- ing an earlier crash, a vehicle de- molished most of the structures. Police investigations continue at the time of going to press. It has long been recognised that
some drivers approaching this bend do not slow down enough,
Local plan date
RESIDENTS are urged to look for the next public consultation on Maidstone Council’s draft local plan. The release date will be publicised
on the parish council’s noticeboards andwebsite, on Facebook and via its community alert system. The 10- year plan covers Maidstone’s hous- ing needs, economic development and parks and leisure.
Quiz night
AQUIZ night will be held at Grove Green Community Hall at 7.30pm on Saturday, March 21. For details call 07807 231674 or go to
www.vin-
tersvalley.co.uk. Proceeds go toVin- ters Valley nature reserve.
40 Maidstone East March 2015
misjudging the road layout. In the hope of avoiding such incidents in the future, KCC Highways will shortly put in additional signage and a different road surface. Pauline Bowdery, parish clerk
said:“Without a gate this leaves the road into the warren wide open to fly-tipping. “After all the work that has gone into clearing the dumps and
burned-out vehicles, this is very frustrating for the landowner and everyone else working for and at BoxleyWarren, a recognised Local Nature Reserve of national impor- tance.
“This is the fourth crash in 20 months and it is likely that they have all been down to the simple fact that drivers either do not care or do not take enough care.”
Bollards to preventHGVs
BARRIERS have been installed in part of OldChatham Road, Sandling o prevent overnight HGV parking outside the official layby. Boxley Parish Council and bor-
ough ward and parish Cllr Wendy Hinder have been campaigning for months to stop anti-social behaviour by lorry drivers parking near homes, keeping residents awake with noisy refrigeration units and dumping rubbish and worse in hedgerows. The parish council has drawn this serious problem to the attention of MPSir Hugh Robertson, copying its letter to KentMPsand parisheswho maywish to take similar action.
The barrier, which narrowed the carriageway to prevent lorries stop- ping,was initially wrongly installed and bus services had to be cancelled, but remedial work was undertaken to resolve this. Other barriers were also wrongly installed and CllrWendyHinder has been assured that they too will be changed.
annual meet THE annual parish meeting will be at the Kent Scout Activity Centre, LowerGrange Farm, SandlingME14 3DA at 7pm on Tuesday, April 13. Although this meeting is facili-
tated by the parish council, it is a meeting for the residents of Boxley parish, giving an opportunity to dis- cuss matters and issues of concern. If there is anything you wish to bring to the attention of the parish council, you will be free to do so. You are also invited to stay on for the parish council’s monthly meet- ing at about 7.30pm. Parish council chairman Ivor
Davies said: “The parish council has actively supported thedevelopment of this important facility which serves the local community and the youth of the whole county.Wewere delighted to accept the Scouts’ offer to accommodate these meet- ings. It will give councillors and our visitors an opportunity to see recent developments there. “I don’t however think the climb-
ing wall will be open for use. This will be a great relief to many of the councillors, not leastmyself.”
downsmail.co.uk
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