Tree-felling causes forest fire of fury

JOAN BRADBURY bemoans the loss of trees at Stoneswood

TREE-FELLING on a development at a Saddleworth retirement home has angered near-by residents.

Joan Bradbury (71), of Lower Stones, Delph, claims too many trees have been felled, although planners and developers say they are sticking to agreements.

She said: “We expected some trees to be felled when they started work on the new bungalows. But they have been chopping down too many — going through them like a bunch of daffodils.

“There are beech, lime and birch, and some of the mature trees are 200 years old. They must have cut down 100. We expected a lot less because some are wonderful.”

Mrs Bradbury’s sister, Brenda Cockayne, whose home in Wall Hill Road, looks out on Stoneswood, said: “They are absolutely ruining the place. They have felled a lot of trees to make an horrendous car park.”

Parish Councillor Ken Hulme of Delph is also concerned about the operation. He said: “This is a major extension to Stoneswood with 26 bungalows.

“I was under the impression that mature trees would be preserved and I think this site should have been treated more sensitively. People feel they have been let down over this.”

Adele Hayes, principal planning officer for Oldham Council, said the developer was complying with the order laid down after a public inquiry.

She said: “There is a massive tree loss on the site but trees on the perimeter will be retained.”

Developer Lee Tilley said in an e-mail to Councillor Hulme: “While a number of trees have been removed, many of them were in relatively poor health. The planning inspector and the Secretary of State accepted that tree-loss was outweighed by the benefits of the scheme.”