Key facts
- Kent county council has included Oaken Wood in its mineral sites plan, potentially allowing quarry expansion.
- Oaken Wood is an ancient woodland site (paws) with historical significance dating back at least 400 years.
- Developers want to quarry Kentish ragstone, which is vital for conserving historic buildings.
- Campaigners argue that the ecological value of the ancient woodland outweighs the need for stone.
- The proposed expansion site is adjacent to an existing quarry that previously impacted the wood.
- The Woodland Trust and Kent Wildlife Trust oppose the quarry expansion.
Campaigners are fiercely opposing plans by Kent county council to include Oaken Wood, an ancient woodland site in Kent, England, in their mineral sites plan for quarry expansion. The council's decision identifies the land beneath the 40-hectare (100-acre) wood as an essential source of Kentish ragstone, a material historically used in significant structures like the Tower of London and Canterbury Cathedral. This move, however, has galvanized local residents and environmental groups who argue that the conservation of nature should take precedence over the built environment.
Oaken Wood, continuously wooded since at least 1600, is classified as a plantation on ancient woodland site (paws). It has been managed as a sweet chestnut coppice for centuries, with trees felled in rotation to allow regrowth. Campaigners, including Green councillors Allison Sweetman and Rachel Rodwell, highlight the wood's ecological importance, noting its role in carbon absorption, water management, and its support for wildlife such as dormice, nightjars, and owls. They also emphasize the value of its soil, bound by a mycorrhizal network, as a seed bank and carbon sink.
Developers, such as Gallagher Group, which operates the adjacent Hermitage quarry, propose to "translocate and retain" the soil and replant more than double the number of trees in restored, native woodland. However, campaigners, supported by Lawyers for Nature, are skeptical of this approach, viewing the soil as a living system rather than mere garden topsoil. They point out that the wood is irreplaceable and that the current plan risks destroying a vital ecosystem.
More than 25,000 people expressed concerns during a consultation on the plan. Both the Woodland Trust and Kent Wildlife Trust have declared their opposition. Maidstone borough council, where Sweetman and Rodwell serve, is set to pass a rights of nature motion. The group of campaigners noted that the existing quarry, which previously consumed 80 acres of the wood over a decade ago, is nearby, and the sounds and dust of machinery are already encroaching on the woodland.