Kent Ornithological Society 
There’s still time to support the application for Old Park to be registered as an Asset of Community Value.
If you have visited Old Park in the last few years you can help by submitting a paragraph in support of the application to register Old Park as an Asset of Community Value. This matters as it will allow more time to fundraise to bid for the site which has now been put on the open market by the Ministry of Defence.
If you have already taken action – thank you! The response to the appeal by the Friends of Old Park has been heartening but more is needed as the risks of the site being sold for development is real.
As well as a paragraph stating that you have visited the site and made use of the network of informal paths. You can add a photograph or (and thanks to Brendan Ryan for this idea) why not add a bird list from either eBird or BirdTrack.
The deadline is 10 March 2025 – thank you!
Andre Farrar
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You may be able to help to safeguard this special place – read on and find out how. And see details in the flyer. OldPark_A5_Flyer_Statement_v3.pdf
I first visited Old Park more than 50 years ago – much of the area was then, as now, the property of the Ministry of Defence MoD. I was taking part in exercises organised by the Combined Cadet Force. One such visit was notable as my geography teacher threw a thunderflash in my general direction … it was different back then!
Roll on most of a lifetime and the MoD have now put Old Park on the market. My recent visits have been more peaceful affairs, the grassland, scrub and woodland have combined to create and attractive landscape that is popular with local people.
For many of us Old Park and Chequers Wood is a wonderful place to go in late April and early May to be immersed in a Nightingale serenade. I’ve been lucky enough to help lead some Nightingale walks and it is always a delight to see the joy this experience can bring – all within a couple of miles of Canterbury Cathedral.
A visit during the day can also be rewarded with the purring of Turtle Doves adding to the importance of the area for some of our most beleaguered Kent birds.
While part of the area is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest – most of it is largely unprotected. Thankfully Old Park and Chequers Wood has friends who have a coordinated a long campaign to safeguard the area and its wildlife. Development threats in terms of housing and road building have been seem off but now the future of area is uncertain.
KOS has been supporting the campaign, and we will continue to be involved as the focus switches to fund-raising to acquire and manage the site. I sit on the Expert Advisory Group so do contact me directly if you’d like to know more.
In the short term you can help if you have personal experience of the place. The aim is to get Old Park declared as an Asset of Community Value (ACV). If it can be proved that the site is used for lawful recreational purposes, there will be a good chance of having the site declared as an ACV. This will be a significant help to the fundraising effort as it will give the Friends of Old Park and Chequers Wood at least six months to raise the necessary funds.
If you visit Old Park for recreational purposes and have done so in the last five years, please send a short email (a paragraph is enough) telling us how you use the site and why it is important to you. Please see the attached map, area 4, for reference. If you can add any dates and photographs to your statement, all the better. The need is to prove that people use the network of footpaths and open spaces and not just the two Public Rights of Way marked in red on the map. All evidence since 2020 is valid. Please send your statement to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by Monday 10th March.
