Over the weekend, I was made aware of illegal tree felling and woodland clearance at Scorey's Copse, Horton Heath.
Since then, I have been working closely with residents and local Councillors to ensure that local partners, including the Police and local Councils, take action to stop this illegal clearance.
I have now been informed that a 'Stop Notice' has been served which should mean that all work is prohibited on site for 28 days. We are currently exploring other options to limit access to the site. I have also spoken to the Police and requested that they work closely with the Council to ensure that this 'Stop Notice' is properly enforced.
In addition to this, I have also contacted the Environment Secretary about this case because we need improvements to this process. I have asked the Environment Secretary that acts of environmental vandalism be met with tougher penalties which can be more quickly enforced. My letter is below.
Fundamentally, I believe the individual responsible for clearing the wood at Scorey's Copse needs to be properly punished and feel the full force of the law. We also need tougher penalties to stop this happening again.
