Bristol landowner may be prosecuted after 70 trees felled without permission

A Bristol landowner could face prosecution after 70 trees were felled in woodland at Eastville Park without permission.

Residents were shocked when dozens of ash trees, some up to 35 years old, were chopped down by workmen who arrived equipped with chainsaws on Sunday morning.

The Forestry Commission is now considering legal action against the landowner because no licence was in place for felling so many trees.

Bare stumps now litter the decimated woodland, which is privately owned and stands next to Eastville Park near Ashdene Avenue.

Bristol City Council has reacted by placing tree preservation orders on the remaining trees in the wood in a bid to protect them against further felling.

The authority is now trying to establish who owns the land, why the trees were cleared and if they will be replaced.

Patrick Kenehan, who lives in nearby Park Avenue and is a volunteer at the park, says the woods are seen as an extension of the council-owned park.

He said: "The way the trees were cut down was very haphazard and indiscriminate. They must have chopped down up to 30 tonnes of wood – it was awful.

"Someone saw two men with chainsaws carrying out the felling on Sunday and when asked what they were doing they said they were 'doing a clearing job'."

Bristol City Councillor Steve Comer (Lib Dem, Eastville) said: "The trees were chopped down in a very odd way. They were hacked at and it's not what you would expect from professional tree surgeons.

"I've had a lot of calls about this from people concerned that this could end up ruining a natural woodland which adds to the charm of Eastville Park."

Bristol City Council spokeswoman Helen Hewitt said: "The woodland is not subject to a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) nor is it within a Conservation Area. However, a TPO is being served today to protect the remaining trees and site notices have been erected on site.

"Attempts are being made to contact the landowner to discuss the situation."

The Forestry Commission is investigating whether an offence has been committed under the Forestry Act.

Jo Fowler, spokeswoman for the Forestry Commission, said only a small amount of timber should be felled each quarter if no felling licence was held by the landowner.

The trees at Eastville Park were axed just a week after campaigners saved trees in an ancient woodland in Stapleton from the chop.

Some 27 trees in Grove Wood next to the River Frome were set to be felled after the council gave the landowner the go-ahead at a meeting in June.

But members of the Snuff Mills Action Group gathered a petition of 4,500 signatures and dozens of letters of support for a TPO on the whole wood in Bristol.

A video of the damage can be seen on a Bristol blog about the woods' destruction.