North Kent Woods and Downs National Nature Reserve

A National Nature Reserve (NNR) is a place that showcases the best of the best nature reserves in the country. They are declared by Natural England and have three primary purposes. New NNRs should contribute the following things:

Nature:

• Make a significant contribution to nature recovery in the locality
• safeguard or recover nationally important biodiversity and geodiversity

Science:

• Provide opportunities for conservation and environmental science

People:

• Encourage people to experience, engage with and enjoy nature in a variety of ways (where this does not compromise management for the conservation purpose)

Find out more about the Selection Principles for NNRs in England.

It is increasingly recognised that nature conservation and nature recovery takes place most effectively at larger scales. Partnership National Nature Reserves are a collection of different places, working together to improve nature conservation over a larger area. This is achieved by sharing resources and ideas as well as doing things that can only be done effectively across a wide area.

The primary recommendation of the Making Space for Nature report by John Lawton is that nature reserves should be bigger, better, more connected and more numerous. These ideas are known as the Lawton Principles and they inform all of our nature conservation work. These principles help us to achieve nature recovery in some of our area’s most precious places. It also guides the way we hope to work with our neighbours to create even more space for nature to move into.

Kent already has several National Nature Reserves (including Blean Woods, Dungeness, Wye Downs and Stodmarsh NNRs) and most of these are in the east of the county.

The NKWD NNR is located near large urban populations, with significant development pressures and major transport routes cutting through the landscape. This makes the reserve an essential green space for local communities who might otherwise have limited access to the countryside.

North Kent Woods and Downs adds its own unique flavors to the family of over 220 NNRs across England, contributing to the diversity and strength of the National Nature Reserve network.

The NKWD NNR is the first to introduce both Core and Affiliate partners. Core partners are committed to the long-term conservation of the NNR, managing sites to high environmental standards, with many designated as SSSI (Sites of Special Scientific Interest). Affiliate partners support the NNR’s vision, even if their sites are not primarily managed for nature conservation.

The NKWD NNR is also the first to include a vineyard, demonstrating how conservation can work alongside land management and business. While planted woodlands are not new to NNRs, the vineyard itself, part of the Affiliated land at Silverhand Estate, is a unique feature of this reserve. This approach is expected to serve as a model for future NNRs, showing how environmental and commercial interests can be balanced.

The reserve is home to many veteran trees, supporting important invertebrate populations, as well as nationally significant arable plants such as broad-leaved cudweed and meadow clary. Surveys conducted as part of the NNR’s designation have revealed a wide range of plant and animal species, highlighting the reserve’s rich biodiversity.

The North Kent Woods and Downs NNR is more than just a protected landscape—it is a thriving natural environment that brings together conservation, community, and sustainable land use. We welcome you to explore and help us safeguard this special place for the future.

By working more closely together, the core partners of the NNR will be able to achieve more than they would be able to on their own. Examples of this might include:

• Sharing resources like grazing animals and machinery
• Creating high-quality walking and cycling routes through the whole area
• Tackling problem invasive plants and animals together
• Creating new habitats that help to link existing high quality nature conservation areas
• Supporting neighbouring landowners to cherish their wildlife and to help them create even more new places for wildlife
• Better managing the existing habitats
• Data, knowledge and expertise will be shared so that benefits of the NNR can be measured and good practice applied across the whole landscape.

The North Kent Woods and Downs National Nature Reserve is supported by a diverse group of partners, each contributing to conservation, land management, and community engagement efforts. These organisations manage various sites across the reserve and bring expertise, resources, and local knowledge to the project.

Here are the key partners involved:

• The Woodland Trust
  Managing: Ashenbank Wood

• National Trust
  Managing: Cobham Woods, Wrotham Water

• Kent County Council
  Managing: Shorne Woods Country Park, Trosley Country Park

• West Kent Downs Countryside Trust
  Managing: Cuxton and Cobham Woodland Project

• Vineyard Farms Ltd
  Managing: Silverhand Estate

• Plantlife
  Managing: Ranscombe Farm

• Natural England

• Kent Downs National Landscape

• Gravesham Borough Council
  Managing: Camer Park, West Park

• Tarmac
  Managing: Holborough Woodlands

• Shorne Parish Council
  Managing: Crabbles Bottom, Shorne Common Rough

• Forestry England
  Managing: Jeskyns Community Woodland

• Birling Estate
  Managing: Birling Estate

These partners work together to ensure the reserve thrives as a space for wildlife, history, and public enjoyment, reflecting a shared commitment to environmental stewardship and community benefit.

Yes. In fact, we are busy working on this at the moment. Each of the member sites have their own ways of managing their land, and there is no intention of imposing ways of working on any of the sites involved. However, we are currently building a body of evidence and agreed ways to work cross a range of different areas. This will ultimately lead to the production of a ‘Management Framework’ which will outline a long-term vision and how we will get there. It will include the following themes:

• Understanding the wildlife of the area and how habitat management and creation can maximise the value of the area for nature
• Recording and conserving the veteran and ancient trees of the area
• Talking to local people and other visitors to find out what they want to see in the candidate National Nature Reserve
• Enhancing the visitor experience. Making it easier to visit and understand the candidate National Nature Reserve
• Collective grazing and sharing resources
• Managing problem plants and wildlife
• Understanding and sharing the history of the area
• Understanding and conserving the landscape value of the area