Developers not to blame for tree felling

SIR,

The story in the Beacon on 30th January regarding the Portal Road site reads as though the developer is to blame for felling the trees illegally and the county council are now making the developer pay to have trees re-planted.

When the trees were being felled I asked the contractor if he had a felling licence and he told me he did not need one as a planning application was in place.

This was the same answer I received from the consultant ecologist and also from Forestry Commission Wales.

The project manager at the county council or the developer must have told them erroneously that there was a planning application in place.

I was also informed by the MCC project manager that the whole project was underwritten by the county council so if the developer was not successful with a forthcoming planning application, he would have all his costs for clearing the site reimbursed by the county council.

It seems very strange that the county council are now stating they are "making the developer plant over half a hectare of trees on the site".

It will be interesting to know exactly who is paying for this and why they are doing it if the site is to be developed in the future.

There have been other incidents where MCC project managers have carried out developments without planning permission or even consultation such as the new cycle path at Drybridge Park, where planning was not obtained by MCC for works within a conservation area where historic trees were damaged by excavation of the roots during the path construction.

It seems that certain officers at the county council are being allowed to take decisions which affect us all without going through set planning procedures and consultation.

The hazardous kerb jutting out into the Hereford Road at the pike house is another example, I have seen cars and buses drive straight over the kerb and it is only a matter of time before someone gets seriously hurt.

(Name and address supplied)