Furious Aberdeenshire residents have called on the council to take action at a housing development following the “unnecessary” felling of a cluster of 70-year-old trees.
Kirkwood Homes has chopped down about seven beeches and a long-established hedgerow on the roadside connecting Kirkton of Durris to Woodlands of Durris, just off the B9077 South Deeside Road.
Durris locals have contacted the local authority with a list of complaints, claiming they have witnessed “daily violations” of health and safety procedures on the work site.
They also claim their objections to the development at the planning stage were “totally ignored” by the council.
Kirkwood Homes started work on the 20-home Woodlands of Durris development in a field at Woodlands Croft about three weeks ago.
It is understood about a dozen trees are for the chop.
The firm – which is creating a new access route from the development onto the main road – claims the work is required to improve visibility for motorists.
However Durris resident Forbes Keith – who lives in a property neighbouring the site – said the developer had laid waste to the “peace and tranquility” of the area.
He said: “The trees were 60-70 years old at least and full grown. Everybody is up in arms.”
The 65-year-old field services supervisor, who lives in Durris with his partner, Karen Kinsley, added: “We can’t even fully use our back garden now and the quality of our lives has been lessened.”
Another local resident, Alasdair Norris, said: “The council have given absolutely no response to any public comments that have been sent.
“I do think we are being ignored, totally ignored.”
Durris councillor Graeme Clark said Kirkwood Homes had permission to remove a certain amount of trees and hedge to gain access to the site, and planners were satisfied they had stuck by the conditions.
A Kirkwood Homes spokeswoman said: “All works that are being carried out at Woodlands of Durris are in accordance with the approvals granted prior to commencing the works.
“The trees and hedge that are being removed is required to form the visibility splays as part of the road construction consent.”
An Aberdeenshire Council spokeswoman added: “Eleven valid objections were received by the planning service with respect to this development.
“These were all taken into consideration by the council and local members in determining the application and a number of conditions upon which planning permission rested, along with some revisions to the road layout and additional traffic calming features, addressed these concerns.
“Additional concerns raised have been investigated on site and no breaches of planning control have been identified, including the felling of trees which is required for the creation of the approved visibility splays.”
