News Charity plans
MENTAL health charity Maidstone and Mid Kent Mind has announced an expansion of its building in Col- lege Road, Maidstone. The two-storey extension will in-
clude three counselling rooms and training suites, alongside more staff offices. Chief executive Julia Blackmore
said: “There has never been a greater demand for our services, as more people become aware of the rising incidence of mental health prob- lems.” In the past four years, the charity
has quadrupled the amount of fund- ing it receives from charitable trusts, enabling it to deliver more services to people with mental health prob- lems.
Shop re-opens
A BOOKSHOP in Maidstone which was destroyed by a fire in 2015 has finally re-opened. The Works, in Week Street, suf-
fered more than £5 million damage in a blaze across all three floors, thought to have been started delib- erately. The store was demolished the fol-
lowing March, with surrounding buildings covered in scaffolding while repairs were carried out.
downsmail.co.uk
Concern for cuckoo as habitat is lost in Kent
IT IS the sound that heralds the start of spring. Two syllables repeated over and
over again by the enigmatic cuckoo should be a familiar echo across the Kentish countryside, but local nat- uralists and birdwatchers have noted an alarming decline in their numbers. Some observers in mid-Kent and
the Weald say they have not seen or heard the bird in some years. The British Trust forOrnithology
(BTO) believes that the growing ab- sence of moths and certain inverte- brates in the south of England, caused by habitat loss, may be to blame for the worrying decline. The cuckoo is famed for invading
nests of other birds to lay its eggs, while displacing the host’s clutch. Langley-based naturalist Theo
McCausland, who works as a tree surgeon in the Kent countryside, agreed with the BTO’s findings. He said: “They are rarer than
they oncewere. I’m not saying that they have disappeared from the
Kent countryside but, like many species, they are at the mercy of habitat loss. If they cannot get the food they need or nests to take over, they’ll simply go elsewhere. “Also, there may be fewer sur-
viving the long trip from Africa for various different reasons.” Leeds resident and keen bird-
watcher, Audrey Browne, said: “It’s very sad. In years gone by, I would hear them all the time, but not anymore. I thought I heard one
last year, but I can’t be sure.” Phil Brown, of Egerton-based Badger Bushcraft, which runs sur- vival and outdoor workshops, is concerned the birds are being lost in the sound landscape. He said: “They are not as preva-
lent in Kent as they once were. In Egerton, which is a rural area, we hear them quite a bit, but else- where, not somuch. I suspect it is a habitat issue.” BTO data shows that the cuckoo
has declined in England by two thirds, in Wales by a third while Scottish numbers have remained broadly stable. Climate change has led to wild fires in some Spanish regions, meaning that fewer sur- vive the journey from west Africa, says the BTO. Cuckoos spend just 15% of their year in Britain, arriv- ing in late April and heading back to Africa by July. Have you heard a cuckoo this spring? Call Downs Mail on 01622 734735 or drop us a line to
info@downsmail.co.uk
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