A WALKER has likened recent tree clearing near Buckland Monachorum as ‘an extraordinary bit of vandalism’ but the work has been endorsed by the Forestry Commission, it has been confirmed.

Andy Montgomery, who is also a keen photographer, wrote to the Times to express his concern that the woodland was being cut down.

He said: ‘The area effected is the bank of the Tavy about half a mile downstream from the point where the Walkham joins. It’s an area I visit regularly to photograph dippers, kingfishers and so on.

‘I was devastated to find that whoever owns the land has gone through it with a bulldozer turning it into something akin to the Somme.

‘Mature trees have been cut down, huge piles of branches have been burned, the whole area wreaking with smoke.

‘Previously this was one of the most beautiful and untouched bits of oak woodland I’ve come across in Devon. It was a haven for wildlife, a place of great beauty and serenity. I have no idea at this point if the proper licences were obtained for this clearance and even if permission was granted, it’s been an extraordinary bit of vandalism.’

Another local resident, who did not wish to be named, said she felt the area, which was once a ‘quiet and unspoiled part of the common’, was just been cleared for the purposes of pheasant shooting.

However, Maristow Estate has confirmed that the clearing was to enable woodland regeneration and all the work done had been approved by the Forestry Commission.

A spokesperson for Maristow Estate said: ‘As part of good silvicultural practise (the practise of controlling the establishment, growth, composition, health, and quality of forests to meet diverse needs and values), Maristow Estate confirms that in response to a Statutory Plant Health Notice for Phytophtora ramorum within a larch plantation at Balstone wood near to Buckland Monachorum, a clear fell of trees was required by the Forestry Commission in 2013.

‘Following that, an adjoining area suffered considerable wind blow damage and after consultation with the Forestry Commission was subsequently removed under full licence consent. No public access exists within Balstone Wood.

‘More recently, the Forestry Commission approved and endorsed by inspection the hardwood thinning of nearby oak woodland.

‘All of the above works will enable woodland regeneration, improved management and conservation which will include the exercise of property sporting rights.

‘It is stressed that all necessary approvals and licences have been obtained and complied with.’