CONTENTS Executive Summary: Wood Lotting In Kent ...........................................i 1. Introduction............................................................................................1 Overview......................................................................................................................................................1 2. The Study..............................................................................................5 Study Brief...................................................................................................................................................5 Approach......................................................................................................................................................5 3. The Nature and Extent of Lotting ......................................................9 Lotting ...........................................................................................................................................................9 Priority Woodlands................................................................................................................................15 Consultations .......................................................................................................................................... 17 4. The Character of Lotted Woods – The Woodland Surveys .........19 Bromley Green Woods........................................................................................................................ 20 Combwell Woods................................................................................................................................... 25 Hoads Wood............................................................................................................................................ 31 Lamberden Wood.................................................................................................................................. 36 Longbeech Woods................................................................................................................................39 Old Park Wood ....................................................................................................................................... 45 Bredhurst Wood ..................................................................................................................................... 55 Fryarne Park............................................................................................................................................ 59 Tye Wood ................................................................................................................................................. 62 i 5. Results of The Questionnaire Survey.............................................65 6. Problems and Opportunities............................................................75 Problems................................................................................................................................................... 75 Controls..................................................................................................................................................... 75 Opportunities........................................................................................................................................... 78 7. Conclusions and Recomendations.................................................81 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................................. 81 Impacts of Lotting: Structures And Activities .............................................................................. 82 Lack of Woodland Management...................................................................................................... 85 Advice ........................................................................................................................................................ 87 Recommendations................................................................................................................................89 Appendices ..............................................................................................93 Appendix 1 : List of Consultees ....................................................................................................... 95 Appendix 2 : Woodland Assessment Pro Forma ...................................................................... 97 Appendix 3 : Woodland Lots And Titles........................................................................................ 99 Appendix 4 : Questionnaire .............................................................................................................103 ii TABLES Table 1 Identified Potentially Lotted Woodlands in Kent..........................................................11 Table 2 Wood lotting in Kent woodlands .....................................................................................13 Table 3 Wood lotting in Kent Downs AONB..............................................................................13 Table 4 Wood lotting in all AONBs in Kent (Kent Downs and High Weald) ......................13 Table 5 Wood lotting outside the AONBs ...................................................................................13 Table 6 Make up of lotted woodlands ............................................................................................14 Table 7 Priority Woodlands..............................................................................................................15 Table 8 Lot numbers and average sizes..........................................................................................16 Table 9 Owner characteristics .........................................................................................................65 Table 10 Respondents’ wood types (NB: These categories overlap)......................................66 Table 11 Restrictions / obligations covering lots (Percentage of answers to the question).....66 Table 12 Advice before buying a lot...............................................................................................67 Table 13 Selling a lot..........................................................................................................................67 Table 14 Purpose of ownership ......................................................................................................68 Table 15 Visiting the lot ....................................................................................................................68 Table 16 Management activities ......................................................................................................69 Table 17 Time taken and cost of management activities – 3 years.........................................69 Table 18 Planted species...................................................................................................................70 Table 19 Wildlife support activities................................................................................................70 Table 20 Structures (total sample 10) ...........................................................................................70 Table 21 Advice and its sources......................................................................................................71 Table 22 Topics for further advice.................................................................................................72 Table 23 Antisocial behaviour. ........................................................................................................73 iii FIGURES Figure 1 The extent of woodland cover in the South East of England........................................................................3 Figure 2 The location of lotted woods in Kent ............................................................................................................. 10 Figure 3 Age of lots .............................................................................................................................................................. 16 Figure 4: Hornbeam coppice with frequent hazel......................................................................................................... 20 Figure 5 Bromley Green Woods ...................................................................................................................................... 21 Figure 6: Underwood and coppice removed leaving oak standards ......................................................................... 22 Figure 7: All trees removed to create open grazing paddocks .................................................................................. 23 Figure 8: A JCB removing all trees and vegetation from one garden strip ............................................................. 23 Figure 9: A woodland strip now used as a haulage yard.............................................................................................. 23 Figure 10: JCB activity leaving bare disturbed ground.................................................................................................. 24 Figure 11: Sweet chestnut stools of considerable age ................................................................................................. 25 Figure 12 Combwell Woods.............................................................................................................................................