Investigation into village tree felling
By sophie wyllie
Monday, March 4, 2013
5:37 PM
Concerned residents from Oulton, near Blickling, alerted the commission on Tuesday after part of private land owned by Bernard Matthews was cleared.
Villagers have claimed 342 trees, including ash, sweet chestnut, rowan and Corsican pines, covering three quarters of an acre were cut down.
They said the specimens were planted after Broadland District Council’s planning committee insisted in 1991 that new turkey sheds, put up at the time, should be screened.
Sam Booker, 41, from Oulton, said villagers were “outraged” at the tree removal and many could see the sheds from their homes.
David Bole, partnerships and expertise manager for the Forestry Commission in East Anglia, said: “We sent two woodland officers to the site on Wednesday. We have started an investigation.”
He did not know how long the investigation would take.
The cleared area is next to a proposed site for a 80m-high wind turbine on land between the Blickling and Heydon conservation areas, put forward by Bernard Matthews.
A spokesman for Bernard Matthews Farms said: “As part of the planning process for the proposed wind turbine we carried out an ecology assessment on the site. A small potential risk to local bat populations from proximity of trees to the proposed turbine was identified and following recommendation we removed some of the trees on the site. We have since planted new endemic trees to offset those that were removed.”
Planning, enforcement and conservation teams from Broadland have looked into the matter, according to a council spokesman.
She added: “There is no indication that any further trees are under threat and so there is no immediate intention to consider serving a Tree Preservation Order. However, this matter will be kept under review.”
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6 comments
Wonder what the environmental damage of chopping down all those trees is going to be compared to the debatable benefits of a wind turbine? Email us at nooultonturbine@gmail.com if you'd like to register your opposition to the trees being cut down or the wind turbine
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nooultonturbine
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Quote: "A small potential risk to local bat populations from proximity of trees to the proposed turbine was identified and following recommendation we removed some of the trees on the site." Eh? you mean, the proximity of the proposed turbine to existing trees, don't try to get out of it by putting them the other way round...
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g hu
Thursday, March 7, 2013
I wonder how often, if at all, do the council officers take any look or action when trees with preservation orders are felled. Living up in the woods I constantly hear chain saw noises and think a lot of it is done without permission. And I agree with other posters. Only hefty fines will fit the crime. But then if the salient officers never get out and about what can you expect
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weaversway
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
When they are down they are dead. Huge fines required if there has been any illegal action.
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norfolkngood
Monday, March 4, 2013
The removal could represent an offence being as it is apparently a clear and deliberate breach of the Hedgerow Regulations 1997.
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Police Commissioner ???
Monday, March 4, 2013
How absolutely ridiculous. This is not an isolated example, however. Planning permission for turbines is not allowed within a ceratin distance of hedge rows or mature trees, because these are used by feeding bats. The solution is to chop everything down prior to submitting the application. What will the council do about it? In my experience shrug its shoulders and say nothing can be done.
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Police Commissioner ???
Monday, March 4, 2013