Tenterden Town Council is moving to protect an oak tree, believed to be more than 300 years old, on the buffer zone between the Kiln Field nature reserve and the 100-home estate being built by developers Redrow.
As the issue is being contested, the Town Council will be seeking a meeting with Redrow and Ashford Borough Council (ABC)to find a mutually agreeable way forward.
The Town Council has commissioned a report from Kent Wildlife Trust (KWT) to report on the flora and fauna in the buffer zone, which supports a variety of wildlife including dormice, harvest mice and reptiles. In their draft report, the KWT Surveyor concludes ‘This tree is of sufficient interest to be brought to the attention of the Local Authority tree officer, as due to its potential age and local cultural significance, it may merit the issuing of a Tree Protection Order.’
