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Wildflowers of Brockles Field saved as Ranscombe Farm Reserve wins the Lottery

Plantlife has saved a wildflower-rich meadow in Kent from possible destruction thanks to a major grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and with additional funding from Medway Council.

July 27 2010

Brockles Field is a 23 hectare (57 acre) orchid-rich area of chalk grassland. Up for sale, it was facing the prospect of being ploughed up and redeveloped had it been bought by unsympathetic interests. Now, however, it will become an significant part of Plantlife's nationally-important Ranscombe Farm Reserve.

Brockles Field had been left unfarmed for some years and has developed into wonderful grassland. Bee, man and pyramidal orchids, wild liquorice and carline thistle are already present and other species are likely to reappear from the natural seedbank with the right management in future years.

Two of the other fields within the reserve are two of the most important in the UK for rare and threatened farmland flowers, including corncockle, hairy mallow and broad-leaved cudweed.

Over the next three years, the £550,900 Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) award will also enable Ranscombe Farm Reserve to become an even better place to enjoy the many rare wild flowers that flourish there and to develop public access, information and activities, in particular for people living in the surrounding communities of Strood and Cuxton.

The meadow will become a key component in Plantlife’s wider scale vision for Ranscombe Farm Reserve, with the Lottery award helping the charity to realise a wildflower-filled, wildlife-rich working landscape which will be accessible to a quarter of a million people from nearby Medway towns.

“I am delighted that we have been able to secure a wonderful future for Brockles Field as part of our Ranscombe reserve, thanks to the Heritage Lottery Fund and Medway Council,” said Victoria Chester, Plantlife’s Chief Executive.

“Our new project will allow us to improve access to and understanding of this beautiful reserve, and to involve many more local visitors who will be able to volunteer at Ranscombe, enjoy its extraordinary wild flowers and learn about the landscape and how it came to be one of the most important reserves in the country for rare and threatened wild plants.”

Medway Council’s Portfolio Holder for Community Services Cllr Howard Doe said: “Ranscombe Farm is an area of outstanding natural beauty and importance in Medway. There are some breathtaking scenes and walks and this investment by Medway Council and the National Lottery will ensure access is improved and this popular green space can be enjoyed by more people. We are grateful to Plantlife for their help to make this a reality.”

For more information or images of Ranscombe Farm Reserve contact:

Sue Nottingham or Sarah Unitt (Press Office) T 01722 342757 or 01722 342739 / T 0786 1655438 / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Joe Costley Reserves Manager T 01722 342734