OUR ORIGINAL PETITION, BELOW, OBTAINED OVER 25,000 SIGNATURES

We, the undersigned, urge the protection and enhancement of the Blean landscape and woodland complex as a vital hub of biodiversity, heritage, agriculture, and community well-being for the benefit of future generations.

We call for collaboration between Canterbury City Council, Local Parish Councils, the University of Kent, key stakeholders such as Kent Wildlife Trust, and local residents & community groups to achieve our shared objectives centred around sustainability, biodiversity, and the long-term health of our local ecosystems.

To realise this vision for the Blean, we advocate the following actions:

·  Protection and expansion of ancient woodland and wildlife conservation initiatives.

·  Investment in biodiversity enhancement and nature based carbon capture projects.

·  Promotion of sustainable agricultural practices that support both the environment and communities.

·  Formal recognition of the Blean landscape project's boundaries to safeguard its ecological and cultural significance.

Together, we can ensure the Blean remains a thriving and resilient landscape for generations to come.

WHY SHOULD YOU SUPPORT THIS PETITION?

Blean woods is one of the largest and most distinctive areas of ancient woodland in the UK. It is the site of the world-leading Wilder Blean rewilding project, which has successfully reintroduced European Bison to the woods along with Longhorn Cattle, Exmoor Ponies and Iron-Age Pigs. It also has multiple nationally and internationally recognised areas of importance, including Sites of Special Scientific Interest and Special Areas of Conservation. 

Blean woods are a hotspot for the rare and iconic heath fritillary butterfly, and Red-list woodland birds including lesser-spotted woodpeckers, nightingales and spotted flycatchers. Several invertebrate species thought extinct in the UK have also been recently recorded.  With only 2.5% of the UK covered by ancient woodland, protecting every hectare is vital.   

But as with many of the UK’s natural areas, the Blean has been fragmented by farming and unsustainable development. This has resulted in isolated pockets of woodland, limiting the movement of wildlife and important conservation grazing animals, and restricting public access across the Blean. 

Now the Blean Woodland Complex is under further threat from at least three large-scale housing developments (totalling almost 5,000 houses), with all the associated traffic, air pollution, light pollution, predation by pets and damage to the woodlands themselves. Please sign our petition to stop these vast and unsustainable developments, and protect these ancient woodlands for the benefit of the whole district.

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