Hambrook Marshes - A History

Hambrook Marshes were purchased by in 2004 by Kent Enterprise Trust (KET), with the goal of providing training opportunities through conservation and land management skills that will hopefully lead into employment. The works on site promote biodiversity by creating and restoring wildlife habitats. Hambrook Marshes is an area of marshland on the banks of the River Stour rich with biodiversity; Hambrook Marshes is a Local Wildlife Site; formally known as a Site of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI). Concentrated efforts on the marshes will hopefully lead to recognition as a serous conservation interest.


Since January 2010, there have been regular volunteer tasks on the site, such as stock fencing, scrub removal as well as ditch restoration and clearance. There has been major earth works on the site that includes reed bed restoration, scrape and pond creation.

Previous owners Brett Construction, used the site to extract the aggregates, this site was backfilled with the spoil from the construction of the A2; once the site was landscaped very few of the features were restored until Kent Enterprise Trust bought the land in 2004.

The Trust’s aim is to work the land using traditional management techniques that will promote an increase in biodiversity in the hope that this will encourage some of the animals and plant species that used to be present hundreds of years ago. Hambrook Marshes are an important wetland site that acts as a water catchment area for Canterbury, reducing the risk of flooding during the wet seasons.