A recent BBC news item (see link below) shows, people are celebrating the unexpected discovery of a rare plant in Norfolk which has not been seen there for over 100 years. The plant is Grass Poly and it is one of the UK's rarest plants.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-55104153
It is the same plant that is growing on one of the proposed development platforms at Betteshanger, found by the Kent Plant Recording Group earlier in the summer. Betteshanger is the only known site in Kent where it grows.
Far from celebrating its presence here we are anticipating its destruction if the Quinn Estates development goes ahead, despite untested proposals to 'translocate' it to Betteshanger Park.
This is what Professor Carl Sayer, who found the Grass Poly in Norfolk has said to the Friends of Betteshanger.
"To celebrate the re-occurrence of Grass-Poly at one site and then destroy it at another would seem madness to me and I am in full support of your efforts to protect the site you mention and importantly this important endangered plant."
Will Dover District Council celebrate the presence of Grass Poly at Betteshanger ? Or will they risk its destruction by giving Quinn Estates the go ahead for their development ?
Only time will tell.
Friends of Betteshanger.
Friends of Betteshanger are a group of local people opposing Planning Application 20/00419 by Quinn Estates which proposes to build over 200 houses on the old pit head site at Betteshanger, much of which has been rewilding for many years. It is now a haven for wildlife of all kinds. New members welcome on our private FB page, Friends of Betteshanger.
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