A woodland that has stood in southeast England for more than four centuries is at the centre of a growing conservation battle after Kent County Council voted to pave the way for quarrying part of the forest for building stone used in some of Britain's best-known historic landmarks, the Guardian reported.
The Reform UK-led council has approved the inclusion of a 41-hectare section of Oaken Wood, near Maidstone, in its revised Kent Mineral Sites Plan. The move identifies the land as a potential source of Kentish ragstone and would allow the adjoining Hermitage Quarry to expand, subject to further approvals.
