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PLEASE make a donation to help protect Old Park & Chequers Wood

Old Park & Chequers Wood, nestled on the edge of Canterbury, is one of the city’s most significant greenspaces. With a rich history dating back over 600,000 years, the site hides evidence of our earliest ancestors and forgotten stories from both world wars. Today, Old Park is a vital yet vulnerable site: its imminent sale means it could be permanently lost unless funds are raised to save it.

Home to some of Britain’s rarest wildlife, Old Park includes a Site of Special Scientific Interest, several nationally important habitats such as acid grassland and ancient woodland, and many rare and protected species including nightingales, clove-scented broomrape, dormice, and grass snakes.

Video of nightingale singing on Old Park

The woods and acid grassland are distinct areas of particular ecological importance in the Canterbury District Biodiversity Plan and in Kent’s Local Nature Recovery Network. Protecting the priority habitats of Old Park also presents a unique opportunity to strengthen wider ecological connectivity between nearby green spaces such as Fordwich Water Meadows, the wetlands of the Stour valley, and the ancient woodland complex of Sandpit Wood, Hospital Wood and Trenley Park Wood.

Today, Old Park is an important space for people too. Families, educational groups and visitors from afar enjoy coming to the site for recreation and learning. Generations of local residents recall childhoods spent adventuring in the woods, fishing in the pond, and scrambling high up into the ancient trees. The Old Park is, to many, a special place cherished by people, needed for nature, and recognised as one of the last green spaces of Canterbury’s historic landscape.

As the city has changed around it, Old Park has withstood many threats; fires, military manoeuvres, nearby housing development, and mismanagement. Sadly, the site is due to be sold by the Ministry of Defence in 2025, and it once again faces a renewed threat of further development. This would result in the permanent loss of protected wildlife and rare green spaces by carving up valuable habitats, causing irreparable damage to the site.

The Friends of Old Park & Chequers Wood is working with partners to raise funds to assist in the acquisition and management of the site. Our initial fundraising goal is £100,000. Please donate if you can! If the bid does not succeed, we pledge to return funds to donors who have given £25 and over. Donations less than this amount will be used to help finance the fundraising campaign.

With enough funds, we can all help to save Old Park & Chequers Wood, and preserve this extraordinary and irreplaceable greenspace for future generations.