Residents of a picturesque British seaside town have accused a millionaire of chopping trees down to “preserve the view” as several dozen were felled.
Bill Buckler a millionaire living in Canford Cliffs, a plush neighbourhood in Poole, Dorset, chopped 28 trees in a Site of Special Scientific Interest – but the act was not condemned by the local authority.
In fact, the 62-year-old, despite prompting local outcry after commissioning tree surgeons to carry out the job, garnered the support from Natural England and the local council which believed the move may help prevent further coastal erosion.
Now the home-owner is left with a massive path behind his £3 million mansion, and disgruntled neighbours claim Mr Buckler’s bid to “improve his view” is turning the stunning area “into a concrete jungle”.
Local officials were among those who approved the plans on the grounds of preservation of the cliff erosion. So tree surgeons felled the more than two dozen 30ft trees at the foot of Mr Buckler’s garden, to the dismay of his neighbours.
Mark Glowacki, a Canford Cliffs resident, told the Daily Mail it was a “shame” the trees were felled and that he suspected the millionaire had done so to “improve his view”.
Another anonymous neighbour concurred, saying they believed he had cleared the area to “improve the view from the garden”.
They said the local community likes the trees and would have preferred to keep them, but conservation authority Natural England – which gave a thumbs up to the plans – said there was good reason to tear them down.
Officials from the conservation authority agreed the move could prove beneficial for protecting the cliffs from erosion and prevent the trees from falling onto the promenade – and anyone walking along it – below.
Nick Squirrell, a conservation and senior planning adviser for the organisation, said the cliffs are “of national importance” for their geology and that the pines are “undesirable”.
Mr Squirrell listed multiple reasons why the new clearing would help breathe a new lease of life into the area.
He said: “Firstly they are shading the habitat which might otherwise be used by sand lizards. Secondly, they are obscuring the geological features.”
“In addition, they are large trees which were at risk of falling over down the cliff onto a public promenade and beach huts below.
“For all of these reasons, we were able to give consent to the householder to fell the trees.”
