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.

Kent currently has no large partnership-based NNRs. However, an area between Gravesend and Medway, mainly within the Kent Downs National Landscape has recently become a candidate National Nature Reserve. We are currently gathering evidence that shows this area is of a high enough quality to become a NNR and hope that the ‘declaration’ will take place in 2025.

The National Nature Reserve is within the area shown in the map below.

It won’t include all of the places shown but will include some of them. We are currently talking to all of the owners of the sites listed.  Those that have committed to becoming partners include: Shorne Woods Country Park (Kent County Council), Cobham Wood (National Trust), the ‘Leisure Plots’ (West Kent Downs Countryside Trust), Ashenbank Wood (Woodland Trust), Silverhand Estate (Vineyard Farms Ltd), and Ranscombe Farm (Plantlife).

We hope to announce more partners over the next few months.

No. All of the places that people can visit now will still be open to the public. On top of this, we will aim to increase the number of places that people can get to by bicycle and improve paths so that more people can enjoy these special areas and enjoy nature.

The candidate NNR has some remarkable wildlife that makes it special. Some recent work suggests that there are nearly 2000 veteran or ancient trees in the area. These are some of the oldest, largest and most spectacular trees in the country. They are also home to a remarkable range of different beetles, birds, fungi and other animals that like to live in old trees.

The proposed NNR also contains large areas of ancient woodland, which are woods that have been around for at least 400 years. These areas of woodland are the most valuable for wildlife with many plants and animals that are only found in ancient woodland. As well as the woods and trees, there are areas of valuable meadow with a wide range of beautiful wildflowers. All of these different, linked habitats make the candidate NNR an important part of the country’s wildlife resource and forms a truly remarkable landscape.

The different organisations that own land in the area have worked together for at least 20 years. However, it has always been felt that more could be achieved if there was something that joined all of the organisations and helped them to co-ordinate their efforts.

Natural England has committed to declare a selection of new King’s Series NNRs in the next few years as part of the Government’s five year Environmental Improvement Plan. The regional Natural England team has identified our area as a place that they want to help become an NNR. The Kent Downs National Landscape Team is helping to coordinate all of the work that is needed to help declare the area, supported by funding from the National Highways’ Designated Fund. The organisations who own land in the proposed NNR include National Trust, Plantlife, Woodland Trust, Kent County Council, Vinyard Farms Ltd and the West Kent Downs Countryside Trust.

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.

No. A National Nature Reserve does not have any statutory protection in the way that a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) does. There are already four SSSIs within the area and these will continue to provide protection for those areas. However, the expectation for NNR selection is that managing partners commit voluntarily to keeping their land as a nature reserve in perpetuity.

Yes, it will. The name chosen by the partners is the North Kent Woods and Downs NNR. This reflects the habitats that are found in the NNR as well as its location in the county. In addition, the first NNRs that are declared since King Charles became our monarch are being declared as the King’s Series NNRs. The North Kent Woods and Downs NNR would proudly become a King’s Series NNR if declaration is approved.

We expect that there will be two types of partnership of the NNR. The first is ‘core’ partnership and these sites will be the ones that actually make up the NNR as it is drawn on the map.

There will also be ‘affiliate’ partners of the NNR and these organisations will be able to help the NNR to achieve its aims whilst benefiting from the work of the NNR. The ‘affiliate’ partners might be nearby landowners who have important wildlife features on their land but perhaps don’t manage the land for nature conservation or may not meet the highest standards required of an NNR. Additionally, they may be important stakeholders who don’t own land in the area but can play an important role in supporting the NNR. Examples may include local authorities and the Kent Downs National Landscape.

There is already a considerable amount of funding going into researching and preparing for candidate NNR status, this will mean we have a much better understanding of the wildlife in the area and evidence-based plans to manage it. We fully expect that these plans and NNR status (should it be granted) will help to bring more resources to the area.

We expect the candidate NNR will appear in new initiatives such as the Local Nature Recovery Strategy, which will prioritise areas that receive government and private finance to enhance nature. Other opportunities exist to draw money into the area, simply because people are working more closely together, with a well-defined plan, and in a better position to take advantage of funding opportunities. These may include, but are not limited to, National Lottery grant funding, Natural England and Defra initiatives, compensation derived from local development and ‘green finance’.

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