Banbury councillor fears 'rules were not followed correctly' in cutting down of Bodicote hedge

This year, new regulations were put in place that banned the cutting down of hedges between March 1 and August 31, so as not to interfere with nesting birds.

And Cherwell District Councillor and Bodicote Parish Councillor Rob Pattenden says that the removal of the hedge on Wykham Lane, Bodicote, on March 12 was against these rules.

The new regulations also ensured that hedges could only be trimmed back so there was at least a two-metre ‘buffer strip’ from the centre of hedgerows.

However, the hedges on Wykham Lane were completely removed, leaving the councillor and village residents in uproar about the damage to wildlife, the appearance of the village, and the disregard for regulations.

Cllr Pattenden said: “Local residents are absolutely livid that this has happened, and this anger will be compounded further if people find out that the rules were not followed correctly by the developer."

At the time, Cherwell District Council said the cutting down of the hedge was in line with what developers David Wilson Homes Mercia submitted on the planning application.

However, after investigating with Bodicote Parish Council, Cllr Pattenden believes that the correct procedure may not have been followed by the developers.

Cllr Pattenden added: “The parish council raised the issue with Cherwell District Council, who informed us they had put some stipulations in place when the hedge removal was approved.

"One of which was that the hedge was not to be taken down in the designated bird nesting time of March 1 and August 31, but the hedge was taken down well within that time.

"The developers have told the district council that it was ok to remove the hedge because they did a survey and were happy that there were no nesting birds in the hedge.”

The Banbury Guardian and Cherwell District Council have asked to see the results of the survey, but as of the date of publication, they have not been seen.

Cllr Pattenden said: “People are really upset about the fact that it happened in the first place, but also that the developers seemingly didn’t even follow the fairly relaxed set of stipulations the council set in place.

"That hedge has been there for hundreds of years, and people are not against housebuilding or new people coming into the village, but they are asking for the character of the village to be respected."

"There is an expectation that when developers come in and start on a development, they will respect local wildlife and hedgerows and then something like this happens and people are rightly livid about it.”

The councillor now hopes that the hedge will be replaced as soon as possible with local semi-mature bushes to limit the damage caused to local birds and insects before the nesting season finishes.

A spokesperson for David Wilson Homes Mercia said: “The removal of the hedge on Wykham Lane was part of the approved planning agreement for our development in Bodicote. Initially scheduled to take place in late February, this was delayed due to poor weather conditions and, prior to its removal in early March, the hedge was surveyed and no evidence of nesting birds was identified.

“We are in positive discussions with Cherwell District Council to finalise the plan to plant a new hedge and this will take place as soon as possible.”

The Banbury Guardian has approached Cherwell District Council for a further comment.