The North Kent Marshes are in the far north of the county of Kent spanning dry and wet south banks and inlets of the Thames Estuary in south-east England. The marshes are one of 22 Environmentally Sensitive Areas recognised by the UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). They are in the Thames Gateway regional planning area. [1] They include the 5,289-hectare (20.4 sq mi) South Thames Estuary and Marshes biological SSSI. [2]
The marshes are nearly contiguous and span the districts of Dartford, Gravesham, Medway, Swale and Canterbury.
They are protected in the Kent and Medway Structure Plan. [3] In successive Local Plans, required by UK Planning Law they have been included, regard being had to their environmental benefit.[ clarification needed ] The marshes serve as emergency natural flood protection for London.
Most of the northern edge of Kent, west of the relatively modest Thanet peninsula, has been marshland for millennia. Steeper gravel beaches with hills behind and segments of low cliff in the east at Whitstable and Herne Bay form the most notable exceptions, along a stretch of about 4 miles (6.4 km). The almost 35 miles (56 km) of marshes, in many places reaching 1–2 miles (1.6–3.2 km) inland, stretch from the large town of Dartford in the west, to the west of Whitstable in the east. In the centre of the marshes are the semi-suburban grouping of the Medway Towns: Chatham, Gillingham and Rochester. Sittingbourne and Faversham are also located on the marshes. The Saxon Shore Way runs along the coast of the marshes, and onwards to Hastings on the south coast.
The marshes have been recognised as one of the most important natural wetlands in northern Europe, and they are monitored by local landowners and wildlife custodians. [4] According to the RSPB, up to 300,000 migrant birds use the mudflats of the Thames marshes as a haven each year in their migratory journeys between the Arctic and Africa. [4]
The RSPB have acquired considerable stretches of Cliffe marshes on the Hoo peninsula. They maintain reserves at Cliffe pools, Northward hill, High Halstow and Elmley Marshes, Sheppey. [4] The Medway Council's riverside park at Gillingham is also managed, public-access marshland. [5]
The North Kent Marshes' stable water level provides an important habitat for water vole. Shorne and Higham marshes, with parts of Cliffe and Cooling marsh, Allhallows and Grain marshes and Sheppey here are three of their thirteen main habitats in Britain.[ citation needed ]
Kent is a ceremonial county in the South East England region, the closest county to continental Europe. It borders Essex across the entire estuary of the River Thames to the north; the French department of Pas-de-Calais across the Strait of Dover to the south-east; East Sussex to the south-west; Surrey to the west and Greater London to the north-west. The county town is Maidstone.
Medway is a unitary authority district and conurbation in Kent, South East England. It had a population of 278,016 in 2019. The unitary authority was formed in 1998 when Rochester-upon-Medway amalgamated with the Borough of Gillingham to form Medway Towns. It is now a unitary authority area run by Medway Council, independent of Kent County Council but still part of the ceremonial county of Kent.
The Isle of Sheppey is an island off the northern coast of Kent, England, neighbouring the Thames Estuary, centred 42 miles (68 km) from central London. It has an area of 36 square miles (93 km2). The island forms part of the local government district of Swale. Sheppey is derived from Old English Sceapig, meaning "Sheep Island".
Thames Gateway is a term applied to an area around the Thames Estuary in the context of discourse around regeneration and further urbanisation. The term was first coined by the UK government and applies to an area of land stretching 70 kilometres (43 mi) east from inner east and south-east London on both sides of the River Thames and the Thames Estuary. It stretches from Westferry in Tower Hamlets to the Isle of Sheppey/Southend-on-Sea and extends across three ceremonial counties.
Isle of Grain is a village and the easternmost point of the Hoo Peninsula within the district of Medway in Kent, south-east England. No longer an island and now forming part of the peninsula, the area is almost all marshland and is a major habitat for diverse wetland birds. The village constitutes a civil parish, which at the 2011 census had a population of 1,648, a net decrease of 83 people in 10 years.
The Hoo Peninsula is a peninsula in Kent, England, separating the estuaries of the rivers Thames and Medway. It is dominated by a line of chalk, clay and sand hills, surrounded by an extensive area of marshland composed of alluvial silt. The name Hoo is a Saxon word believed to mean 'spur of land' or refers to the 'distinct heel-shape of the ridge of hills' through Hoo. Hoo features in the Domesday Book. The peninsula is home to internationally and nationally protected wildlife sites as well as industrial facilities and energy industries.
The Swale is a tidal channel of the Thames estuary that separates the Isle of Sheppey from the rest of Kent. On its banks is a 6,509.4-hectare (16,085-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest which stretches from Sittingbourne to Whitstable in Kent. It is also a Ramsar internationally important wetland site and a Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Parts of it are a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, National Nature Reserves, a Kent Wildlife Trust nature reserve and a Local Nature Reserve.
Swale railway station is in north Kent, England, on the Sheerness Line 47 miles 15 chains (75.9 km) from London Victoria, at the southern end of the Kingsferry Bridge which, along with the more modern Sheppey Crossing, connects the Isle of Sheppey to mainland Kent. The nearest settlement is Iwade. Train services are provided by Southeastern.
The constituency of Queenborough was a rotten borough situated on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent.
The Saxon Shore Way is a long-distance footpath in England. It starts at Gravesend, Kent, and traces the coast of South-East England as it was in Roman times as far as Hastings, East Sussex, 163 miles (262 km) in total. This means that around Romney Marsh the route runs significantly inland from the modern coastline.
Oare Marshes is a 71.4-hectare (176-acre) Local Nature Reserve north of Faversham in Kent. It is owned and managed by Kent Wildlife Trust. It is part of The Swale Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, National Nature Reserve, Ramsar internationally important wetland site, Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds, and Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Transportation needs within the county of Kent in South East England has been served by both historical and current transport systems.
National Cycle Route 1 is a route of the National Cycle Network, running from Dover to Tain. The 1,264 mi-long (2,034-kilometre) cycle-path is located in the United Kingdom.
Riverside Country Park is a large coastal public park, situated alongside the River Medway estuary between Gillingham and Rainham. The park covers about 100 hectares - approximately 247 acres (1.00 km2). There are a variety of natural habitats within the park, including mudflats and salt marsh, ponds and reed-beds, grassland and scrub, which provide a haven for wildlife.
Seasalter is a village in the Canterbury District of Kent, England. Seasalter is on the north coast of Kent, between the towns of Whitstable and Faversham, facing the Isle of Sheppey across the estuary of the River Swale. The settlement of Yorkletts is included in the ward. It is approximately 6 miles (10 km) north of Canterbury.
The geology of Kent in southeast England largely consists of a succession of northward dipping late Mesozoic and Cenozoic sedimentary rocks overlain by a suite of unconsolidated deposits of more recent origin.
The Kent League was a football league which existed from 1894 until 1959, based in the English county of Kent. Another, unrelated, Kent League was formed in 1966, and is now known as the Southern Counties East Football League.
Deadman's Island is a small island in the estuary of the River Medway in Kent, United Kingdom close to where The Swale flows into the Medway. It is a flat, raised area of marshland around 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) long and 200 metres (660 ft) wide among the tidal sand banks on the southern side of the estuary and separated from the British mainland of Chetney Marshes by a narrow channel known as Shepherd's Creek. The town of Queenborough lies around one kilometre (0.62 mi) to the east across the West Swale channel. The island is crossed by several narrow tidal channels that mean that at high tide the island is separated into several smaller islands.
South Thames Estuary and Marshes is a 5,289-hectare (13,070-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest which stretches between Gravesend and the mouth of the River Medway in Kent. Part of it is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, and part is a Royal Society for the Protection of Birds nature reserve. It is part of the Thames Estuary and Marshes Ramsar internationally important wetland site and Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds.