A RETIRED Bishop has described the felling of mature trees on an entrance into Skipton as ‘cavalier’ and a ‘thoughtless and irresponsible cull’ of some of the town’s natural landscape.

The Right Reverend David Hawkins, former Bishop of Barking, London, who now lives in Skipton, says he can see no reason for the clearing of more than 20 trees on the A6131 Harrogate Road.

The trees, which did not have preservation orders, were felled as part of a development by Stonebridge Homes, of almost 140 new homes in Hawbank Field. Their felling did not need the permission of Craven District Council, but it has said it is now in the process of putting preservation orders on urban trees, preventing them from being cut down in the future.

Rt Rev Hawkins, who is a member of the Craven U3A Climate Change in Skipton Group, has taken up the felling of the trees with Skipton MP Julian Smith, and has also alerted the council and conservation bodies.

He said: “The trees in question used to form part of the long avenue of trees on either side of the road leading into the town centre.

“I can’t see rhyme or reason for the felling of these fine trees as they used to stand on the raised bank on the highway side of the old field wall. I fail to see how these trees, or their root systems, could possibly interfere with the construction site.”

He added: “Obviously, one or two trees needed to come down in order to accommodate access to the site and the eventual housing estate, but that doesn’t explain the need to remove the 22 trees from the entrance onwards.

“With North Yorkshire having the lowest tree coverage in the UK, and towns being the most vulnerable to the loss of trees, it seems cavalier in the extreme that this cull of mature trees should have been allowed.”

Rt Rev Hawkins said now more than ever there was a need to increase tree coverage to set off carbon emissions.

“What’s the point in Skipton encouraging the planting of thousands of saplings, only to allow mature trees to be felled for no apparent reason,” he said.

“It’s particularly unfortunate in that the line of felled trees begins at the ‘Welcome to Skipton’ sign. Surely this is not the message the town is wanting to make?”

He however stressed he was not against new housing.

“I wish to emphasise that my complaint is not a general moan about more housing estates in Skipton. The need for more social and genuinely affordable housing is well recognised. It is a moan about what appears to be a thoughtless and irresponsible cull of some of our town’s natural landscape.

“I would like to be assured of extreme vigilance with respect to all future construction sites and what the contractor in question will be mandated to do in order to compensate for the loss of these 22 trees.”

David Smurthwaite, strategic manager at Craven District Council, said: “The loss of any mature trees is always regrettable and in particular urban trees. However, the trees that were felled did not have tree preservation orders nor were they in a conservation area, and so the land owner did not need the consent of Craven District Council.

“We have started a process of placing tree preservation orders on urban trees across Craven with the first just being introduced on Gargrave Road. We are working with various bodies to try to increase tree coverage in Craven and to this end planted 4 hectares – more than 9,000 trees - last year. We have initiated the planting of several hundred hectares in the next three years. “

He added: “The task of planting enough trees will require a huge effort from communities, landowners, private business as well as local and national government and I’m sure we will all be able to work together on this in the coming years.”

A spokesperson for Stonebridge Homes, which is part of Henry Boot, said: “Stonebridge Homes are committed to the delivery of 137 new dwellings, contributing to the local housing need whilst also delivering a range of affordable housing. This is alongside the provision of a large area of attractively landscaped public open space which provides ecological benefit and a variety of community play facilities. We are committed to the timely delivery of these new homes and the associated benefits to the town of Skipton.”

Mr Smith has responded to Rt Rev Hawkins saying he has referred his letter to the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.