Representation by Josie Newman
- Date submitted
- 13 March 2021
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I'm concerned about the impact of this potential development on a sensitive wildlife site. The regional, national and international picture for wildlife populations is pretty bleak so this is a significant concern. There are a range of habitats and species supported by the site that are scarce or rare and Natural England have recommended that the site be designated a SSSI, so they too believe the site should be protected for future generations. The wildlife populations there are likely to have limited ability to move and adapt given the developed nature of the surrounding area. The inevitable loss of habitat to infrastructure and amenity spaces that cannot support the wildlife community seems too high a price to pay for the proposed development. This location is in striking distance of many varied recreational opportunities presently, so I would question whether it is needed in this area. The recent pandemic has also changed attitudes to potentially crowded spaces and use of public transport, potentially for good. This leads on to the broader concerns around the existing significant congestion on the roads which would only be made worse by a development here and effect this would have on air quality. I have lived in Kent since I was a child, but I am not local to the site so would not be directly effected by the development save for the loss of opportunity to visit an important wildlife site and the impact on us all for a further degradation of biodiversity in this region.