Folkestone and Hythe district is home to outstanding biodiversity. Within the district are examples of many of Kent’s important habitats – chalk grassland, ancient woodland, marshes and coastal cliffs and shingle. In turn these areas support a host of rare and important species including the short-haired bumble bee, late spider orchid and turtle dove.
In addition to keeping our district looking beautiful, our grounds maintenance team also works to encourage wildlife and minimise the team's climate impact. They do this by managing areas to increase the species count and through actions such as reviewing areas where cutting regimes can be reduced to help increase biodiversity and reduce all environmental impacts.
Our Green and Blue Infrastructure Strategy has recently been completed with climate change as a major cross-cutting theme. Over a hundred priorities and opportunities have been identified in the Strategy that also provide natural solutions to meeting the challenges of climate change. The Strategy and the Priorities and Opportunities document have been approved by the Council’s Cabinet. It will enable us to focus efforts to enhance the natural environment including biodiversity where the most gains can be made and where the need is greatest. It can also provide information for other initiatives and joint working with the community and organisations.
The Strategy and the Priorities document can both be found on this page
Biodiversity at Otterpool Park
The Otterpool Park development is being designed to protect, minimise and mitigate the impact of the project on the environment.
Half of the development will be green open space with existing habitats retained, protected and enhanced where possible. The scheme is being designed with landscape and green infrastructure fully integrated into the development and over half the area will be green open space. Green corridors will be built into the scheme to link spaces across the site, promote healthy lifestyles and protect and enhance habitats. A biodiversity action plan is also being developed to increase biodiversity on the site by 20%. You can find more information on Otterpool Park here.