Sarre Penn Valley Lark & Yellowhammer Fields - the imperative of protection & enhancement

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS SECTION FOR INFO ON THE CAMPAIGN
This video has been made to raise awareness that a glorious stretch of open Kent countryside is now threatened by wrong headed "development" proposals. This unspoilt green space, easily accessible to many due to proximity to Canterbury and the University of Kent, has foolishly been earmarked as a potential site for large scale housing. Cynically presented as a "rural settlement" in media facing material to give the impression of retention of its agricultural sem-natural character, scrutiny of its actual content reveal it would be nothing of the sort: it would involve 2,000 new houses, commercial and retail outlets, and business offices.
This all directly contradicts public commitments made in recent years to protect and enhance this place as countryside. These commitments were rightly made after extensive consultation with the affected communities and civil society/expert groups, and reflect what has been learned. The lessons which will have been ignored or disregarded if this proposal proceeds include: this place's blindingly obvious biodiversity significance; its recreational, educative and socio- economic value as semi-natural agricultural land hosting a strikingly wide variety of birds; and its environmental infrastructural role. It contributes a key 'corridor' for nature in the local area, due to its connectivity with Blean forest on one hand, and the historic Sarre Penn on the other.
The core photographic content and main audio track for this video were recorded on the morning of 20th march 2024. The additional elements include:
* Images of some of the most interesting birds documented as nesting at/frequenting these fields & hedgerows obtained online from the RSPB, BTO, Wildlife Trusts websites; or which I have taken myself locally (including on chaucer fields, fields also on the periphery of campus, but to the south);
* The songs and calls of these birds, as made available on CD by the RSPB with The Independent on Sunday newspaper in 2007;
* Images of postgraduate University of Kent students taken during a walk on the fields taken in October 2022 and 2023. These students - from South Korea, Turkey, the UK and the US - were attending the MA in International Social Policy programme;
* Extracts from "The Lark Ascending" composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams; and from the singing of the traditional folk song "The Lark in the Morning" by members of the Copper family from Rottingdean, Sussex (a 3 day walk to the south west of the fields)
* Extracts from the University of Kent's own 2019 Masterplan synopsis
* A map by Jean Anthony extracted from a highly regarded walkers' guide compiled in 1996
Fuller details listed below. Apologies in advance for any instances were the required formal permissions have not been obtained ahead of time. I am happy to respond on request as needed.
When further information becomes available concerning how you to help protect this wonderful unspoilt Kentish countryside, it will be added to this description.
Please share this video and the associated UA-cam description. More videos/updates forthcoming at: / @chaucerfielder2455
CAMPAIGN UPDATE 25th APRIL 2024:
A local action group has been formed, and the campaign is rapidly building momentum, please see see:
www.savetheble...
/ members
You can sign up for updates here; also also email [e-mail] concerning these and other upcoming meetings, and for general queries about the emerging campaign, and for planning tactics and strategies to fight this aberration. Please get involved!
Key Sources
Butler, A., Headley, M., Litten, V. with illustrations and maps by Anthony, J. (1996) The Sarre Penn...the story of a stream, self-published, Canterbury.
Canterbury City Council (2024) Land north of the University of Kent campus, pp. 51 - 56 in Draft Canterbury Local Plan 2040, available at news.canterbur...
Colenutt, B. (2020) The Property Lobby: The Hidden Reality Behind the Housing Crisis, Policy Press, Bristol.
Copper Family The Lark in the Morning, sung by Bob and Ron Copper, Come Write Me Down: Early Recordings of the Copper Family, see www.topicrecor...
RSPB (2007) British Bird Song Volumes 1, 2, 3 & 4, CDs distributed with the Independent on Sunday newpaper.
University of Kent (2019) University of Kent Canterbury campus: Synopsis, the University of Kent in the Garden of England, October, available at www.kent.ac.uk...
Vaughan Williams, R. The Lark Ascending, London Philharmonic Orchestra directed by Vernon Handley, available at • Vaughan Williams ~ The...