Developer could face action after hedge is removed
ACTION could be taken against a housing developer after it removed a hedgerow breaching planning permission.
Kendrick Homes, a Midlands-based developer, was given permission from Tewkesbury Borough Council to build 25 dwellings next to the A38 in Coombe Hill, on land next to The Swan public house.
The authority attached a number of conditions to the permission, which needed to be satisfied by developers.
But the council said two of these conditions have been breached, as developers have relocated a bus stop and removed longstanding ‘rustic’ hedgerows from the former vineyard, without submitting details for approval first.
Residents of Coombe Hill are particularly unhappy about the hedgerows which were a roadside sanctuary for wildlife and aided biodiversity.
“Most of us live in the village because of its rural location and we value the old hedgerows and the wildlife,” said a resident, who wishes to remain anonymous. “Along the western side of the site there were owls, woodpeckers and bats living in the trees and hedges, all now displaced.
“One of our neighbours has lived in the village all his life, over 60 years, and is very upset by the destruction.
“What makes it so annoying is that we are also to lose the hedge on the other side of the A38, as Coombe Hill is destined to have another housing
development there as well - somewhere between 40 and 150 houses.
“The old hedgerows would have been some of the last remaining features of our old village.
“Shortly, Coombe Hill will pretty much become one large urban housing estate separated by a busy road.
“The feeling in the village is simply that there was a sprint by Kendricks to get the hedges down so that there would be no further quibble over their retention.
“They clearly don’t want any rustic looking hedges left on their site, they want a homogenised urban-style development.”
Planning permission was initially granted on the grounds of the hedgerow on the roadside being retained, but it has been taken out in its entirety.
A hedge along the back of the former vineyard has also been destroyed, despite the fact the original planning permission called for its retention.
Tewkesbury Borough Council’s development manager, Paul Skelton, said: “We are disappointed that the developer has chosen to commence works without complying with the conditions attached to the planning permission that refer to ecology and tree protection.
“We are considering, in consultation with our legal advisers, whether it would be appropriate in these circumstances to take formal action against this breach of the terms of the planning permission granted on the site.”
Kendrick Homes was approached for comment, but refused our request.