Until 20 years ago, the land that is now Hambrook Marshes, just off Whitehall Road on the banks of the Stour, was a gravel pit. Since the pits were filled in, it has been used as grazing pasture for sheep and cattle. The biodiversity of the site is quite poor - typically flood plain pastureland like this is rich in wild flowers, different grasses, small mammals, frogs and newts, marsh and reed birds, ducks, herons and swans. The river has not been optimally managed to increase fish stocks.

Canterbury and District Enterprise Trust, which bought the Marshes in 2004, has a vision to increase the biodiversity of the site, improve its accessibility and usefulness to the local community and provide real work experience and training for young people and for adults finding it difficult to get into the workforce.

Working with Kent Wildlife Trust and the Kentish Stour Countryside Project, Canterbury and District Enterprise Trust have produced a development plan that will create a variety of different habitats in the three geographical sections of the Marsh, ranging from hay meadows at the western end to a wetland environment with ponds and reed beds at the eastern end, near to the railway arches.

New ponds, scrapes and ditches will be created and managed to provide areas of still water for fish nurseries, for frogs and newts to spawn and for native aquatic plants to grow.