Mystery butterfly

Dear readers, you seem to be very good at identifying the flora and fauna of the Downs... 

Any idea what this might be?

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You marvellous people! It's a Magpie Moth (Abraxus grossulariata).

It is a fairly common moth and uses blackthorn as a foodplant so it is likely to be abundant on the Downs. It is worth looking out for Clouded Yellow butterflies at the moment – I saw several between Herne Bay and Reculver.

The photo of a butterfly, is in fact a moth called 'Magpie Moth' flight in July/August and enjoys brush and scrub, nice to see.

A naturalist friend thinks it is a Magpie Moth – a day flying moth. I think she is right.

Hi the mystery butterfly is a Magpie Moth, Abraxas grossulariata. I found it listed in the Readers Digest book of Butterflies and other insects of Britain. Lovely colours.

Your mystery butterfly is a moth called The Magpie, it flies from July to August and is widespread and fairly common. It apparently favours woods, hedgerows and gardens.

This is in actual fact a moth - the Magpie Moth Abraxus grossulariata  According to the book description "A common and beautiful species found throughout Europe... In the British Isles it is widespread and abundant... Its favoured habitats are hedgerows waste grounds, gardens and allotments... The caterpillar is very distinctive and similar to the moth in colouration... Foodplants mainly Blackthorn, Hawthorn and Euonymus but it can also cause widespread destruction of leaves of gooseberry and currant bushes. Moths are on the wing in Summer and will fly by day"

http://www.ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?bf=1884

http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/species/magpie-moth?

QE2 Coastal Management Plan

The Management Plan for the QE2 Coastal Park, which includes the Downs, has been published - you can read the report below (you can also download a copy if you want to).

This Plan will be discussed at HBAMP at 6.30pm on Tuesday 21st May 2013. HBAMP (the Herne Bay Area Member Panel - our town's councillors) will meet in the Salvation Army hall at 33 Richmond Street. The Agenda item is reproduced below.

HBAMP - Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee - Herne Bay Coastal Park Proposed Management Plan

QE2 Coastal Park Management Plan 2013-2023

Litter pick on the Downs

The nice people of the East Cliff Neighbourhood Panel are organising a litter pick on the Downs this Saturday 23rd Feb.

Starting from the Herne Bay Sailing Club at 10am, this litter pick will be concentrating on the eastern end of the Downs, from Canterbury Road as far as the Hundred Steps at the end of Sea View Road.

If you would like to come along and help keep the Downs lovely, please do all the sensible stuff - warm and waterproof clothes, sensible/sturdy footwear, gloves, etc. If you've got one of those magic litter-picking grab-sticks, do bring it along (we've got a few already, but more would be welcome).

You can drop me a line to let me know you're planning on coming (which makes planning and preparation a bit easier), or you can just turn up on the day.

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The intrepid pickers

Village Green update

Many moons ago, we had the public inquiry. Some months later, we got the Inspector's report - she recommended that about 85% of the Downs should be registered as a village green.

We responded to her report saying that the 15% she had excluded was actually eligible for registration, due to subtle legal technicalities.

Canterbury City Council responded to her report by commissioning two barristers to write a report saying that none of the Downs should be registered (no surprise there!), and saying that the Inspector was mistaken on several points of law.

Kent County Council, who have to make the final decision, felt that they were still out of their depth on this one, and needed further legal advice. In the normal course of events, it would be original Inspector that they would turn to, but she has since become a judge and is unavailable.

So KCC had to call in yet another barrister to review the submissions from ourselves and CCC. The report from this latest barrister suggests that only about 5% of the Downs should be registered.

We believe that the reasoning behind this latest report is fundamentally flawed. We believe the whole of the Downs should be registered as a village green, and we will carry on fighting. Of course.

Open Spaces Society

OPEN SPACES SOCIETY

NEWS RELEASE

OPEN SPACES SOCIETY DELIGHTED THAT HERNE BAY DOWNS ARE SET TO BECOME A VILLAGE GREEN

The Open Spaces Society is delighted that the Downs at Herne Bay in Kent are set to be registered as a village green. An inspector, appointed by Kent County Council, has recommended to the council that the land be registered.

The application was made by Phil Rose of the Friends of the Downs in September 2009.  Because the landowner, Canterbury City Council, objected, there was a public inquiry starting in November 2011.

The inspector, Miss Lana Wood, concluded that 43 acres of beautiful coastal downland met the criteria for a green, ie that they had been enjoyed by local people for informal recreation, for 20 years, without being stopped or asking permission.  The total application area was 50 acres but she concluded that seven acres had been fenced off for engineering works and therefore were excluded from public use during part of the 20-year period.

Canterbury City Council claimed that the land was held under the Public Health Act 1875 and therefore had, in effect, been used with the council’s permission and therefore did not qualify as a green.  The inspector concluded that the council had not proved that it held the land under that Act during the relevant period (1989-2009).  Mr Rose produced evidence from 64 people, 36 of whom gave evidence at the inquiry, who had used the land freely.

The city council has until 4 January to raise any objections to the decision, after which Kent County Council will consider the inspector’s recommendation.

Says Phil Rose: ‘This is great news for Herne Bay.  The Downs is the largest open space in town.  For many years residents and visitors have used it for recreation, from flying kites to playing bagpipes!

‘Nearly 1,200 people completed detailed questionnaires in support of this application.  We’ve spent hundreds of pounds and thousands of hours publicising the application, leafleting, collecting questionnaires and witness statements, answering the city council’s objections, researching the historical and legal background of the Downs, producing our statements to support our case and working through the eight-day public inquiry.’

Adds Kate Ashbrook, general secretary of the Open Spaces Society which supported and assisted the Friends of the Downs with their case: ‘This is a wonderful result for the Friends and shows that hard work and persistence pays off.  We just hope that Kent County Council now registers the Downs as a green, to protect this wonderful open space for all to enjoy.’