Nursery must be saved
by Angela Cole
acole@thekmgroup.co.uk
It was once home to a
royal nursery, tended by specialists who worked for Kew and
Windsor.
Today, hidden behind the
brambles which shelter it from the traffic flowing past on the
London Road, are what experts estimate to be more than 20,000
protected species.
A haven for dog walkers and
countryside lovers among the built-up suburb of Allington, the
nursery may seem like a forgotten patch of land, but its
well-trodden paths show how much it is used daily.
The area is considered by
ward councillor Dan Daley (Lib Dem) to be among the last remaining
green fields of Allington.
He and some of his fellow
borough and county councillors have started a petition to save the
land and have gathered about 600 signatures so far. They hope to
have it designated as a local nature reserve.
Cllr Daley said: "We are
determined to get this land preserved in its natural state for
future generations to enjoy."
Cllr Rob Bird added: "This
fragment of surviving countryside with its precious flora and fauna
in an otherwise totally built-up area is just too precious to be
surrendered to urban sprawl."
The Allington ward is
earmarked for development, with the 17-acre Bridge Nursery site due
for 165 houses under Maidstone council’s local plan, and could be
included in the interim core strategy when it is produced next
month.
Untouched for more than 40
years, the site has returned to its wild state.
It was once home to George
Bunyard’s Royal Nursery, which provided apple trees for Kew
Gardens, but in 1960, it was sold to Akzo-Nobel Limited, which has
owned the land ever since but never built on it.
To view and sign the
petition, visit www.savebridgenursery.wordpress.com
For full story see this
week's Kent Messenger, out now.
26/02/13
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