About Us
West Kent Downs Countryside Trust (WKDCT) is a Charitable Limited Company formed by the local community in 2000 to provide an official body that through plot acquisition would administer the woodland.
The woodland was originally divided into leisure plots and is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and as such, we actively manage the area according to the statutory obligations that apply.
With community involvement we endeavour to resolve the problems caused by earlier mismanagement and vandalism and work to improve, conserve, and protect the habitat and its heritage, and to provide public access for everyone to appreciate and sensitively enjoy.
We operate as a membership organisation, which is run by its members and managed by a Board of Trustees with the day-to-day running administered by the Chair, the Secretary and ten Trustees.
Everyone gives their time voluntarily. There is no personal financial benefit for Members, Officers, or Directors of the Trust.
Membership of the WKDCT is open to anyone with an interest in woodlands, conservation, wildlife, or any other associated subject.
The Trustees meet on a monthly basis to discuss and ratify any decisions that need to be taken. All members can attend the Annual General Meeting when appointments and important matters of policy are determined by all of the attending members.
Members are invited to come to the monthly workdays when we work on improving the woodland according to our Woodland Management Plan or on other projects.
The trust is funded mainly by membership fees but is grateful for any other donations, including transfer of Land Titles and contributions towards specific funding needs.
Our aims are to acquire the woodland so as to bring it under single ownership and to eventually donate it to a suitable organisation. To manage the area to secure, restore and improve the natural environment, to sustain its wildlife and provide a valuable asset for the local communities in perpetuity.
To meet that aim our volunteers work to achieve the following objectives while working on the Woodland Management Plan.
Why the Need for a Community Woodland Project?
In the 1970s part of the Darnley Estate, namely Lodge Wood, Warren Plain, Nor Wood and Norwood Grove, was sold off as leisure plots totalling about 110 acres. Ten years later, the land was designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) under the Wildlife and Countryside Act In 1982.
Most of the plot owners found the difficult access, the statutory obligations and restrictions of use too problematic and lost interest in their plots and abandoned them. This led to uncontrolled vandalism and vehicle off-roading, vehicle burning and dumping became widespread. This caused serious damage to the environment and the natural habitat with devastating effect.
WKDCT was founded in 2000 to address these problems.
It is now hard to imagine or even remember the bad times, from around 1985 up to about 2006 when the woodland fires and the noise of off-roading vehicles were distressing and it wasn’t safe in the woodland for animals let alone plot owners and walkers.
From about 2006 our presence began to take hold and now it is rewarding to see people enjoying the Plotlands in their walks. Experiencing the quiet wonders of a semi-wild wood, ancient woodland and perhaps wondering now what we actually do.
Those detrimental issues may now have been resolved but the damage and the effects caused by mis-management remains.
We manage the woodlands in accordance to our Woodland Management Plan approved by Natural England, the Forestry Commission and Local Authorities and endeavour to meet our objectives, which is to protect our local heritage; restore, improve and maintain the natural diversity of the wildlife and provide a valuable asset for our local communities.
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