TODAY’S front page tells of residents’ anger at the destruction of a much loved local nature spot.

And you can certainly understand their feelings.

Just weeks before it was full of trees, shrubs and teeming with wildlife.

But now it looks more akin to a First World War battlefield.

Why? To carry out an “ecological survey” ahead of a proposed development.

Residents are quite rightly asking: How can you determine what species are living there if you first clear the area?

It is baffling to say the least.

Surely this can’t be allowed to happen?

The council has said it has no power to protect wildlife or vegetation.

But surely local authority bosses should be able to intervene in such a situation.

All that aside, there is also the question of whether this is a suitable spot for a development of such a size.

There is no hiding from the fact we face a housing crisis.

We all have to be realistic about the desperate need for new – and crucially affordable – housing.

But that does not mean we should take short cuts when it comes to fully investigating the suitability of a site.

The land has attracted plenty of interest in the past from developers – but none has been successful in persuading councillors to approve their schemes.

Whether any proposed development from LCE Architects and Futureform gets the go-ahead remains to be seen.

But for now, they have questions to answer over what has happened to the land at Benfield Valley Golf Course.