i have just been for a walk and seen the devastation of acre upon acre of bird nesting habitat ie blackberry bushes cherry trees and other types of trees can people just come along and ripp this habitat away
Hi Mikeyh - we used to own mixed scrub and woodland in Shropshire much of which was in a dangerous state but we had to have permission to clear some of the more dangerous areas and then had to replant with similar trees and shrubs - leaving a good area around the entire plot to bramble. We had to work with the Forestry Commision right the way through but I can only speak with regard to my own area. Out of interest we have a scotts pine tree in our garden and even that has a preservation order on it as have most of the trees in the gardens in our village.
Hello Mikeyh, I can only agree with Lucybob, as over the years we have always needed permission before we could remove a tree and we have then been told what species of tree to plant to replace it. Also any reputable tree surgeon will not carry out such work untill he has seen permission for the work to be carried out. You would have to be sure that the owners of the area you saw didn't have permission and what their future plans will be.
Cutting work in itself isn’t illegal at any stage of the year, if that’s what you mean? So long as its done with the landowners consent and isn't either on a designated conservation area or on trees served with a preservation order.
In fact cutting work is essential at certain times to help best manage the habitat so it can be at its optimum for sustaining biodiversity, with a mosaic of microhabitats. i.e. lots of variable stages of growth ranging from open space to closed canopies and much of the in between.
Unfortunately (as is the case here?) when it’s done for "aesthetic" reasons the results for wildlife can be damaging, ill thought habitat management can seriously impact on food availability or nesting/roosting cover for all wildlife. Ideally, its best to let the vegetation be stripped of their natural food before cutting back hedgerows. This also does not necessarily need to be done each and every year.
It may be worth having a look at our take action for wildlife pages to find relevant info on how you can help to assess the value of a wildlife site and help protect it from development..