SUSTAINABILITY

AROUND THE REGIONS
Kent and East Sussex
DIO SD Training South East
12
The CPTA Conservation Group is also
getting involved with the short-haired
bumblebee project, which is
reintroducing one of Britain’s extinct
bumblebee species. Read more on
page 28.
Kent botanical recording group visiting Dibgate Quarry © Richard Goslett
In January 2014, the introduction of
Training Safety Marshals on HQ Cinque
Ports Training Area (CPTA) and at
Crowborough Training Camp, both
part of DIO SD Training South East,
transformed policing the training
areas, with added benefits to
conservation. The Marshals provide a
deterrent against trespass and rural
crime, including poaching and hare
coursing. They have built up excellent
relationships with local landowners
and police, culminating in a number of
joint operations with Kent Police on
the CPTA Training Areas.
In spring the Kent Botanical Recording
Group visited Old Park Training Area to
conduct a census of plants. Plants on
the area and on the Kent Rare Plant
Register included clustered clover
Trifolium glomeratum.
Alfie Gay and Sue Buckingham led the
CPTA conservation walk at
Beachborough on the Kent Training
Area. Unusual plants recorded included
quaking-grass Briza media, hounds’­
tongue Cynoglossum offcinale, early
spider-orchid Ophrys sphegodes and
western gorse Ulex gallii.
In July, Jamie Cordery of the Deer
Initiative, led the Crowborough
Conservation Group summer walk to
look at the beneficial aspects of deer
management on the Pippingford
Training Area. The fallow deer
population has risen sharply in recent
years prompting a ‘managed’ cull. This
reduces the pressure on the
environment whilst improving the
condition of the remaining deer
population and reducing the number
of deer related road traffc incidents.
Martin Randal, Site Manager RSPB
Dungeness Nature Reser ve, led the
CPTA Conservation summer walk
around the Reser ve to look at open
pit and grassland management. A
highlight of the day was looking at
the successful programme
encouraging common terns Sterna
hirundo to breed on floating
pontoons on the pits.
In June, Land Management Services
(LMS) successfully renegotiated the
lease with the Conservators of Ashford
Forest for the military to have walkover
rights on the 2400ha of the forest for
the next 15 years. This is one of the
largest areas of heathland in South East
England regularly used for military
orienteering exercises.
HQ CPTA, Landmarc Support Services
(LSS) and Kent County Council have
been working hard to improve the
condition of the permissive path
around Reinden Woods. This not only
benefits the growing population of
Hawkinge but will hopefully encourage
the public to stay on the permissive
path and not stray into the training
area. To date this has worked, although
a small portion of track still requires
improvement to complete the project.
Finally, ever yone involved in
conservation at CPTA was sad to see
Richard Goslett leave LMS in Januar y
2015 to move to LSS as their Rural
Team Manager. Richard has done
much for conservation (including
regularly contributing to Sanctuary)
and was a well known and respected
member of the group. Although his
loss is keenly felt, as LSS Rural Team
Manager he is still able to contribute to
conservation issues in Kent and Sussex.
Maj Rick Beven
Senior Training Safety Offcer
Cinque Ports Training Area
Sanctuary 44 • 2015 85