Ashford Green Corridor
As the town has expanded, land close to the rivers has not usually been built on, due to the risk of flooding because the Ashford Borough Council has protected it as green space.
[3] Because the Green Corridor areas are right next to Ashford's rivers, many of them hold floodwater, protecting homes and businesses.
Ashford's rivers are surprisingly natural considering their urban surroundings, and are home for many wild plants and animals.
Singleton Lake is a habitat for wetland birds and Buxford Meadow is a wet grassland with an enormous range of plants, insects and other species.
It is because these habitats are so close to where people live that the Green Corridor has been designated as a Local Nature Reserve.
From the manors of Singleton and Buxford in the west, to Boys Hall Moat (a scheduled ancient monument) in the east, the Green Corridor is rich in heritage.
Many areas were farmed until relatively recently and are living links to Ashford's past as an agricultural market town.
This area was also adjacent to the town’s lido (outdoor swimming pool) which was built in 1867 and was at the time the largest in Britain.
There is an area of wet woodland incorporating ash, alder, English oak and grey willow trees.
The Local Nature Reserve includes the riverside area at Civic Centre Park South.
Although this is a busy thoroughfare and close to the skate park, a survey has shown that Water Voles are present in this part of the East Stour.
The old parkland trees and pockets of woodland throughout the grounds provide good habitat for nesting birds such as the lesser spotted woodpecker.
Great Chart north is a small parcel of land adjacent to the Ashford Rifle Club and the East Stour.
Prior to planting, an archaeological survey revealed a number of earthworks of historical interest, which have been left as found and incorporated into the ride network as unplanted land .
It is a useful link for both pedestrians and cyclists from Bybrook and Kennington to the town centre and also beyond to the rest of the Green Corridor.
The banks of the Great Stour here have wide margins of riverside vegetation and in places blocks of mature native trees.
A darker side to the site’s history is illustrated at its entrance off the Hythe Road where a plaque commemorates the martyrs of the 16th century that were persecuted for their religious beliefs.
Despite this, the church and Court Lodge Farm present quite a rural scene, and the fields nearby make for pleasant walking on public footpaths, with some wildlife interest in the form of ditches and hedgerows.
Some of the trees were planted in the early part of the 20th century to commemorate local townspeople and members of the royal family.
A local art dealer donated the large fountain in one corner of the park to the town of Ashford.
The woodlands, with their coppice and old oaks, screen the site from man-made intrusions, making it a green haven for the community.
It is an important site linking areas in the south of Ashford to the town centre and other parts of the Green Corridor.
The rest of the park has an open character that is interspersed with woodland gardens and areas of long grass that are important habitats for bird species and invertebrates.
Further along the river at Leacon Road there are some riverside sculptures of aquatic wildlife and an old fording point that once linked this area with Beaver Lane.
