The Landscape and Nature for All Project

European Regional Development Fund, Interreg IVA France (Channel) – England Programme

The Kent Downs AONB Unit and the PNR des Caps et Marais d’Opale teamed up with 18 partners in Kent and France for a €4.7 million funding package that was spent in Kent and the Pas de Calais region in France.

The ‘Landscape and Nature for All’ (LNA) project was funded through the Interreg IVA France (Channel) – England Cross Border Cooperation Programme. This Programme aims to improve cooperation within the Transmanche region which stretches from Cornwall to Finistère. The LNA project ran from 2008 to 2012 and worked on a series of measures in Kent and Pas de Calais including improved access to the countryside, education events, chalk grassland restoration, woodland management and special projects on adder and bat populations.

There were seven French partners including the PNR des Caps et Marais d’Opale which is the French equivalent to an English AONB, Nord Nature Chico Mendes, Conservatoire des Sites Naturels du Nord et du Pas de Calais, Les Blongios, Institut Catholique de Lille, Centre Regionale de la Propriété Forestière Nord Pas de Calais, Espaces Naturels Régionaux.

Kent County Council supported the Kent Downs AONB application and other Kent partners include the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV), the Kent Reptile and Amphibian Group, Kent Wildlife Trust, the Kentish Stour Countryside Partnership , Medway Valley Countryside Partnership, White Cliffs Countryside Partnership, Mid Kent Downs Countryside Partnership, the Valley of Visions Project , Woodland Trust, Plantlife and the Forestry Commission.

The Valley of Visions project benefited from over €250,000 of ERDF funding which was spent on improved access to the countryside, chalk grassland restoration and management, eco-corridor management, education, and wetland restoration and management.

The Kentish Stour Countryside Partnership benefited from more than €125,000 of ERDF funding which was spent on chalk grassland management, community landscape enhancement projects, education, eco-corridor work, key species management and woodland management.

The Mid Kent Downs Countryside Partnership benefited from more than €90,000 of ERDF funding which was spent on chalk grassland work, community landscape enhancement projects and woodland management.

Medway Valley Countryside Partnership benefited from over €100,000 of ERDF funding which was spend on chalk grassland management, community landscape enhancement projects, education, key species management and research and woodland management.