Introduction

New Hythe is an area of old gravel and sand workings sandwiched between Snodland and Larkfield in mid Kent.  Bordered by the tidal River Medway to the east and a dual carriageway to the west, the area has an interesting mix of habitats including several large areas of open water.  Surrounding the lakes is a variety of habitats including reed beds, grazing marsh, scrub and pockets of mixed woodland.  To the north and south are Paper Mills, housing estates and a superstore.

Hardly a rural idyll but it does have a considerable attraction to birds and people.  Some of the lakes are used for Windsurfing and Angling and the surrounding paths are also well used by walkers.  However New Hythe is one of the few remaining wetland habitats in the Medway Valley and is an important site for breeding and wintering birds.  The area close to Abbey Mead Lake has SSSI status.

Pressure from development

Due to its location and the pressure on housing in the South East the New Hythe area has been under threat of development for a number of years.

The site is mainly under private ownership and a planning request has been passed for a housing development of around 300 houses on the western side of the site. The local authority, Tonbridge & Malling Council, see this as a way of levering in finance to secure the rest of the site as a Country Park.

Local Birders are obviously concerned that this development is the thin end of the wedge.  Already an area of scrub has been developed into a loading bay for a local warehouse.  Local planning authorities were powerless to stop this happening in a Site Of Nature Conservation Interest despite protests by KTNC.  Apparently the work had been deemed a 'permitted development'.

As further development progresses it will be interesting to see the effect that 300+ new households (the subsequent increase in dog walkers and other recreational activities) will have on the New Hythe lakes.