Nightingale under catastrophic threat

There is no other bird that sings so deeply, so full of ecstasy as the nightingale. The melody is endlessly varied. Nightingales are best known for their singing talent. In the spring, they sing during the day as well as at night. As a youngster growing up in East Kent, to hear the nightingale sing in Spring was almost as commonplace as hearing blackbird, song thrush or robin. No longer.

Over the years the geographical range of the nightingale has shrunk. Habitat loss, changes in farming practices, climate change and hunters have contributed to the decline of this beautiful song bird. In the United Kingdom this migrant from Africa will no longer be found anywhere north of a line drawn from the Humber to the Severn estuary. Hotspots for the nightingale are still to be found in the south of England and it is now more important than ever to ensure that these sites are protected, lest we are to see the ultimate extinction of this bird from our territory.

Lodge Hill on the Hoo Peninsula of the North Kent coast is a nationally protected wildlife site and is home to a nationally-important population of nightingales. And yet, Medway Council’s Planning Committee has approved an Outline Planning Application by Land Securities on behalf of the Ministry of Defence for the development of 5,000 homes on the 330 hectare Chattenden Woods and Lodge Hill Special Site of Scientific Interest (SSSI). This decision, announced on the 4th of September, will directly destroy 144 hectares of the SSSI, one of the largest losses of a SSSI since the Wildlife and Countryside Act came into force in 1981. The decision is in direct conflict with the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).

Lodge Hill is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), designated by the Government’s statutory authority for the natural environment - Natural England. It was designated for the dense breeding population of nightingales that comprise more than one per cent of the entire UK population. Between 1995 and 2008, the numbers of UK nightingale population more than halved (53 per cent).

For Medway Council to approve this proposal is both arrogant and contemptible and shows a complete disregard for Natural England’s site designation. It puts greed and truculence before any consideration for conservation, before any consideration for the preservation of a song bird, that should be paramount.

If this development goes ahead it will be a crime of magnitude that would lead to irretrievable loss. It must not be allowed to happen. 

Swale Villages Through Time - 2

Swale Through Time A nostalgic trip down Memory Lane for me, this book highlights many of the small villages, hamlets and settlements that are scattered throughout the Swale area of North Kent, including my birthplace, Teynham. An area once renowned for its diverse agricultural practices, the 'village life' lifestyle is fast disappearing. The author has found a fascinating selection of photographs that traces some of the many ways in which Swale villages have changed and developed over the last century. An essential book for Men of Kent and Kentish Men alike.

Swale Villages Through Time

In my quest for books about the county and area of my birth I came across this gem - Swale Villages Through Time by John Clancy.

Many parts of Britain are renowned for the 'chocolate box' quality of their pretty villages, but rarely do people include Swale in North Kent, a delightful rural area known as the "Garden of England". Swale extends from Rainham in the west to Faversham in the east, Maidstone in the south to the Isle of Sheppey in the north, covering an area of some 280 square miles. It takes its name from the waterway that separates the Isle of Sheppey from mainland Kent. The village where I was born, Teynham, is featured in this delightful book.

The fascinating selection of photographs traces some of the many ways in which Swale's villages have changed and developed over the last century. A taste of how country life used to be is captured in old postcards and pictures and provides me with a journey of pure nostalgia. It reminds me of carefree summer days when I worked on my uncle's farm during the school holidays in the 50s, picking apples, plums and cherries from trees that could reach 40 or 50 feet in those days, unlike the dwarf trees seen today. I remember my uncle effortlessly carrying and positioning 60 rung ladders up these trees, that we would climb up carrying baskets to place the harvested fruit in. We had not heard of Health and Safety in those days!

It was a simple life and very rewarding. To sit beneath a tree and open a flask of tea, unwrap some 'doorstop' sandwiches, enjoy lunch followed by a 'roll-up' cigarette was untold enjoyment. It was hard work for poor pecuniary reward but satisfying none-the-less.

This book about the Swale area of Kent provides me with a journey back in time when I was young, naive and above all content with my life. My youth is a distant memory but I am still content.....