Queendown Warren

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InterestBiological
Area22.2 hectares (55 acres)[1]
Queendown Warren
Site of Special Scientific Interest
LocationKent
Grid referenceTQ 828 629[1]
InterestBiological
Area22.2 hectares (55 acres)[1]
Notification1983[1]
Location mapMagic Map

Queendown Warren is a 22.2-hectare (55-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south-east of Rainham in Kent.[1][2] It is a Local Nature Reserve,[3] a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade 2,[4] and a Special Area of Conservation.[5][6] It is in the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.[7] It is managed by the Kent Wildlife Trust,[8] and part of it is owned by Plantlife.[9]

The reserve covers almost 80 hectares (198 acres) and comprises several distinct sections. The original reserve, which was a rabbit warren in the Middle Ages, forms the current reserve's core. It has probably been open downland for many hundreds of years and has an internationally important community of grassland orchids.

A major extension to the reserve was made in 1999 with the addition of pasture on the opposite side of the valley facing the Main Bank. This is being managed to encourage colonisation of species from the original reserve. In 2003 40 hectares (99 acres) hectares of arable land opposite the Main Bank were added, doubling the size of the reserve. Over time this will be restored to prime wildlife-friendly land.

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