Felling of Burnley trees 'not ethically right' say neighbours

Naomi Buys, who lives in Wilfield Street, said: "I live there and it is a very upsetting situation. Having done some research, it is illegal to fell trees without a license/permission if the volume of timber is greater than five cubic meters.

"I have evidence that there was well in excess of that (photographs showing the density of the tree growth along with measurements of the site). What is suspicious is the way the landowner stripped all the trees and removed the timber in one day, basically getting rid of the proof that there was a high volume of wood before anyone could protest.

"It is obvious that the trees cannot be magically put back, no matter how much people protest. However, my chief concern now is that no planning permission has been sought for the site, it may (probably) not be suitable for building on anyway, and yet there is no indication of the landowner acting to rectify the horror show he has created!

"At this stage, I would like to push for him to commit to at least temporarily beautifying the site. If he simply leaves it like it is, it reflects terribly on the town, and it's particularly an eyesore for his new neighbours, which may be his legal right, but it isn't ethically right."

The copse, at the junction of Accrington Road and Wilfield Street, forms part of a parcel of land that was sold at auction in October for £27,000. The land had previously been owned by Lancashire County Council.

A spokesman for Burnley Borough, the local planning authority, confirmed it had so far not received any applications to develop the land. It also confirmed the trees weren't covered by any protection orders.