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Showing posts from September, 2011

Development proposals at Seething Wells: Will they benefit Wildlife?

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        Ecological communities take many years to evolve. Their structure is based on the habitat, which is virtually the only example of chalk grassland in the borough (reflecting the  flora of the north downs rather than the acid grassland of Kingston Hill). This gives rise to specific invertebrate fauna, which when investigated, was found to have elements of National and Regional interest.   This interest is compounded by  the lack of disturbance, lack of domestic animals and  faeces, low levels of light pollution and other chemical pollutants etc.The proposed change does not recognise the species of local provenance, interrelations of species with the historic features, believing that habitat can be re-provided 'off the shelf'.    Whilst current development proposals will attract certain common species, which we will all recognise from our garden, it will not provide the specialised niches for less generalist birds, bats, plants etc. ...and so another