Thursday 19 March 2015

How much is a tree worth?

How much is a tree worth? Or a historic hedge, or local wildlife? Not much, some developers seem to think.

Take the Rodford School site, for example, which is being redeveloped into housing. We've already reported how valuable trees and habitat were considered less important than profits - at the planning stage local councillors were outvoted by others who don't live anywhere near here, and the developers were allowed to squeeze extra units onto the site despite the concerns about significant trees and hedges.

Now a second threat has revealed itself. Local environmentalists spotted that the builders were not complying with a lot of the habitat protection conditions required by their planning permission. A South Glos inspector visited the site, thought he had sorted them out, and went away. The local experts soon realised that the builders had started doing the same thing again, and had to ask the inspector to go back again.

We're now waiting to see what happens next. It's possible that the builders could be told to stop work altogether if they won't comply with their legal obligations.

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