'Heartbreak' at dozens of trees felled in Hollingbury woods

Bill Hicks lives near the Hollingbury woods which is currently being felled due to ash dieback.

But Bill felt too many trees were being cut down - and called for more transparency with felling across Brighton and nearby areas.

He described the situation as ‘heart breaking’.

READ MORE: At least 100 trees with ash dieback being felled in Worthing

He said: “A public wood has been trashed. The council is going into woods with enormous, heavy machinery and trashing footpaths.

"It’s extremely over the top. It’s being done in such a heavy-handed fashion.

“We have a council that is constantly bigging up its green credentials, but we have a tree department busy ripping the green heart out it.”

Images show wood piled up along the footpath and throughout the woodland.

Felled trees at Hollingbury woods (Image: Bill Hicks) Bill is also concerned that healthy trees are being damaged too.

He said: “The council is saying that they are removing tress for health and safety reasons, and they’re a hazard. But I’m seeing so many healthy trees being felled.

“A tree might have a dead branch and have every potential to be a lovely, healthy tree, but they are removing the whole tree. The woods look like they’ve been vandalised.

"It’s like they’ve removed all the healthy-looking timber and put it in a big pile outside Hollingbury woods. Then they’ve left in the woods supposedly deceased trees.”

Hollingbury woods are among other areas in the county to have had trees felled over the past few weeks.

Only recently residents in Pevensey Bay shared their anger as dozens of felled trees lined the side of a road.

Bill said the felling came as a total surprise to locals.

A member of the public put a sign up a sign in the woods against the felling (Image: Bill Hicks) He said: "There was no public consultation before it started. No one knew it was happening.

"Massive machines just arrived, and a few signs went up, and then all the wood started to be cleared out.

“I’m just heartbroken about how they’ve gone about it and how the process is being expanded to any woods in Brighton.

"It seems like they are going everywhere, wherever they can find any ash die back."

Brighton and Hove city councillor Alan Robins, cabinet member for sports and recreation, said: “We absolutely understand the concern and distress the on-going ash dieback works are causing, not least because in areas like Hollingbury Woods, the result can be a dramatic change in how parts of the woods can look.

“The sad reality is though that ash dieback is accelerating within our woodlands, and it is vital we act now.

“We do sometimes need to remove non-ash trees in order to access those which are infected, but this is always kept to a minimum and care is taken to avoid more mature trees.

“We work closely with our contractors and monitor the work being done and I can assure residents we are only felling trees where it is absolutely necessary and an issue of public safety.”