Oaken Wood in Kent is one of the few remaining scraps of ancient woodland in England and home to a diversity of rare wildlife ranging from firecrests to orchids.
It is now set to be destroyed by the expansion of a stone quarry. Permission has just been granted for the Hermitage quarry to expand by another 80 acres, effectively destroying the woodland for the sake of building materials.
Oaken Wood could be the first of many casualties arising as a result of new planning regulations, which apparently provide little or any real protection for the UK’s natural heritage. The UK’s self-proclaimed “greenest government ever” seems instead to be waging a continued war on wildlife.
Tell the UK government to save Oaken Wood from completely unnecessary development.
We the undersigned ask that you retract permission for Oaken Wood in Kent to be destroyed by the expansion of the Hermitage quarry. The loss of iIrreplaceable ancient woodland and rare wildlife is not, we believe, a reasonable price to pay for building materials.
We also request that the National Planning Policy Framework be redone. It plainly does not provide enough protection for our natural heritage, since it can all too easily be interpreted to favour business at the expense of wildlife and communities.
Please take action on both these issues immediately.
Thank you for your attention.
