Massacre of the trees
DEVELOPERS that devastated a glade of trees in Buckhurst Hill could face prosecution.
Contractors moved in to fell trees, including several mature oaks, and clear scrubland at the junction of Hornbeam Road and Chestnut Avenue early on Saturday, shocking residents and councillors who had no warning the site had even been sold.
Epping Forest District Council is investigating whether to prosecute those involved for disturbing or destroying wildlife, after reports that a squirrel was sawn in half and nesting birds and fox dens destroyed.
Resident Anna Picone said: "The whole area was felled and obliterated. This act has totally devastated the whole community."
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Buckhurst Hill Parish Council had been trying to buy the land from holding charity the Charles French Trust, but a private owner outbid the council last week.
A district council spokesman said: "The contractors for the owner appear to have acted without notice to the council or local residents. They acted quickly and most of the trees were felled in a very short time.
"A member of staff did go to the site with local councillors but it seems the land is in private ownership and as the trees were not subject to a tree preservation order they were not within the council's jurisdiction."
He added: "We're now concerned to stop any more work until the matter can be properly reviewed and have issued an emergency tree preservation order for the remaining tree."
Parish council chairman Malcolm Woollard and parish and district councillor Peter Spencer have already organised a petition to the district council to request that any planning application for the site be refused.
Mr Woollard said: "I'm hoping we can get everyone in Buckhurst Hill to sign it. Developers seem to have suddenly latched on to Buckhurst Hill as a place to build these rabbit -hutch two-bedroom flats and they're trying to make the most of it.
"We want to make it absolutely plain that they're not welcome."
He added: "We're a very small area with a lot of people trying to squeeze in. We've only got so many little jewels of natural beauty, but these people come along and all they see is a pile of money waiting.
"Buckhurst Hill tries to be a nice place and we're proud of that. If we suddenly get inundated with even low-rise developments that means something is going to be lost. We can't allow that."
Rev Chris Wragg, of St Elisabeth's Church, which borders the site, said: "I would like to reassure local residents that there are no foreseeable plans to sell the St Elisabeth's site.
"I will lend my weight to any campaign or petition to let whoever is responsible for the carnage on Saturday know in the strongest terms how the residents feel about what happened and about any future development."