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Bulldozers removed from Marton woodland

Mar 15 2009 by Phil Doherty, Sunday Sun

A WOODLAND at the centre of a planning row has been given a temporary reprieve from the bulldozers because of nesting birds.

Longridge woods in Marton, Middlesbrough, has been at the centre of a row between the council and residents since the local authority sent in bulldozers to clear the land for housing.

Residents claim the work is an act of ecological vandalism.

The council has since announced the cleared area will lie fallow and has now said the work will be postponed until autumn.

Chris Hobson, Tory opposition leader and Marton ward councillor, said: “They are going to let the area lie fallow and have said it will become a hay meadow. We told them the area was home to wildlife, but they didn’t care.

“Middlesbrough has lots of empty houses that can’t be sold. Why destroy these woods for housing no one wants?”

In December the council sent in workers to cut a quarter of the 600-odd trees down on the 7.2 acre site. This operation is the backdrop to two videos by protesters on YouTube.

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