00:04A packed hall on a weekday evening, drawing attendees from all ages, with one thing in common, to save oak
00:13and wood.
00:16With Kent County Council's plans to quarry on ancient woodland outside of Maidstone squeezed through,
00:23it's now up to a planning inspectorate to decide if the development can commence.
00:28But campaigners aren't willing to go down without a fight.
00:32We're in a consultation phase here, so we've invited as many residents, local residents as possible,
00:39to come to this meeting to learn more about the woodland, the threat, the existential threat to this woodland, and
00:46how that they can help.
00:47It isn't uncommon for planning applications to receive objections.
00:51But campaigners at this meeting receive specific legal advice on how to get a planning inspectorate to listen.
00:59That is why you would make a personal submission.
01:02Alongside environmental groups warning what the demolition of the woods might mean for the county.
01:08They're a really sort of enigmatic species.
01:10And for future generations.
01:16The council have a duty to ensure Kent has the materials it needs to build houses and infrastructure,
01:23and Kentish ragstone in particular being important in repairing historic buildings like Canterbury Cathedral.
01:29So do campaigners really believe they've got the power to overturn these plans?
01:35Yes, because we've got two clear chances to do that.
01:39One is because the planning inspector will review the plans in depth and be looking at the arguments we're putting
01:47forward,
01:47and we believe that the plan is not legally sound because it breaks the national planning policy framework.
01:55The second hurdle will be a vote at full council in 18 months' time.
02:03Now, there already is an existing ragstone quarry in the area operated by Gallagher,
02:08and they'd be the contractors should this expansion go ahead.
02:12That means that where I am stood right now might one day be the middle of a mining site.
02:17When I contacted Gallagher, they said that they felt that KCC's mineral sites plan is sound,
02:23and that they're happy to go ahead as planned, depending on a successful consultation.
02:29Kent County Council is urging the public to take part in the ongoing consultation,
02:34and stress that the Kent Mineral Sites Plan isn't a planning application,
02:38but rather a legal requirement that there's a steady and adequate supply of materials that the county needs.
02:45But the consultation doesn't close until early October,
02:49and for the Friends of Oakham Wood Campaign Group,
02:52the road ahead is so long they could risk losing the wood for the trees.
02:58Megan Shaw, Embalming.
