Developer fells mature woodland that had bats and owls in area

Villagers in Dorset have condemned the felling of 20 trees thought to have been the home of bats and owls as an act of “environmental vandalism”.

More than 20 mature trees were cut down in a single day in the garden of a house in Corfe Mullen in September, previously owned by an elderly man who died last year.

The plot had tall conifers, ash and oak, thought to have been over 100 years old. Residents have reported it to the police.

A survey of a nearby property had found three bat roosts, recorded after 2010, including evidence of Greater Horseshoe bats.

It is not yet known if a wildlife survey was carried out before the trees were cut down but it believed they were home to bats, owls and woodpeckers

The house, with its acre of land, had recently been bought by a developer when residents were woken at 7am to the sound of three excavators and tree surgeons starting work, bringing in lights as night fell and working until 9pm to clear the site.

Jackie Bonham, 55, has lived next to the property for 17 years and has described the shock of seeing the greenery destroyed.

She said: “Everyone is distressed and disturbed by this sudden and shocking development.

“I first knew about the work when my kitchen started shaking and all I could hear was chainsaws and machinery.

“As neighbours we expected some work to be done on the property but there was no planning application, so it came as a surprise to us all when we realised what was happening.

“We are all really upset, mainly for the wildlife who have lost their home and were not given a moment’s thought throughout the work.

“They completely destroyed an eco-system in one day and all the wildlife in it. It’s devastating.

“The previous owner, James White, loved his garden and it gave him life after his wife passed away. He would be devastated if he saw what it has become.

“On the day this policewoman came out and tried to ask them for any survey [of wildlife] and they said they’d email it through, a bat survey. They sent it the next day and it looked like a bit of paper they’d signed themselves.

“There’s bats in the area, so with historical evidence of bat activity it’s likely there are roosts nearby. When next door neighbours applied for planning permission on their garage they had to have a survey. Ten feet away they could take the huge conifer trees down with nothing.”

Neighbour and former soldier Gerrard Hayes, 83, said he went out to find one of his trees being hacked down before he put a stop to it.

He claims the work left the tree unsafe and alleges the tree surgeons tried to charge him £800 to fell it, even though they had caused the damage.

He said: “All I saw was a couple of workers starting to cut down my tree at the bottom of my garden that backs on to the site, I couldn’t believe it.

“They started cutting one side of the tree in my back garden before realising it was on my property and stopped.

‘Environmental vandalism’

“I told them they had left the tree unsafe and it could fall at any moment given a good gust of wind.

“They said I was liable if the tree killed someone and told me I’d have to pay £800 in cash in order for them to remove it, which I refused.

“My neighbour has told his children not to go near their shed in fear that the tree could fall on them at any time and severely injure them or worse.

“The woodland was all so beautiful before all this work and what has happened is pure environmental vandalism.”

Dorset Council said: “We haven’t received a planning application for the site. Land clearance would not be development within Dorset Council’s control and the trees were not subject to a tree preservation order.

“Damage to a protected habitat is a criminal offence and a police matter.” Dorset Police have been approached for comment.