A STETCH of the Len Valley which leads through Maidstone's town centre is to be made into a nature reserve.

Maidstone council has decided to make the "green corridor" between Wat Tyler Way - near the Chequers Shopping Centre - and Mote Park an official Local Nature Reserve to protect it from developers.

The area is home to water voles, several varieties of urban butterfly and insects like the crane fly "tipula maxima", the short winged conehead cricket and the soldier beetle.

Council officers will clear the site of "aggressive" plants like Japanese Knotweed and Sycamores to preserve the wooded areas and grassland on the site.

Measures will also be taken to prevent fly tipping and the use of harmful chemicals like herbicides in the area.