Bohemia Village Voice

Sweet chestnuts and well-tended lawns in this wild-life haven behind Lidls car park.

Did you know that Bohemia has its very own nature reserve? ‘Brocks Home Park’ in Church Road, next to the Lidl supermarket is the place: a tiny badger sanctuary tucked away behind a wooden fence next to Lidl’s car park.
  The site, bought for a nominal £1, is owned and managed by the Hastings Badger Protection Society. Spokesman Don Wise said “The sweet chestnuts planted a few years back are now bearing fruit, as are the black mulberries. In another 25 years time the trees will be quite big and will be providing plenty of food for the local wildlife.” Don’s colleague, Peter, looks after the site every Tuesday and “will be delighted to show round anyone interested in the project.”
  The Badger Protection Society was founded in 1987 by Don and others. Don was, for ten years, Hastings’ first Country Park warden, in Fairlight, back in 1973. The land which now forms Brocks Home Park was acquired from Lidl in about 2002 – for just £1. When the supermarket giant applied to build on their current site, one of the conditions attached to the permission was that land be set aside for wildlife, which is how the society acquired it.   Don explained: “Only if there is an outbreak of rabies or suchlike calamity within the next 21 years will the site revert to Lidl. In the meantime, the trees continue to grow …”   The society hopes, as soon as funds permit, to remove the wooden fence along Church Road and erect iron railings instead. “This will enable the public to see what the park looks like,” said Don. “Apart from the trees, and a long earth bank, there is also a ‘splash pond’ where birds can drink and, er, splash. Our groundsman, Peter, has planted lots of daffodils.”
“ Hastings Badger Protection Society, 304, Bexhill Road, St Leonards, TN38 8AL. Tel. 01424 439168 and 431188. Don Wise.