“Devastation” as a school hedge containing clipped developing birds

Residents were left “devastated” after a school hedge containing nesting birds and baby chicks was knocked down. Police are investigating the potentially illegal destruction of bushes on the boundary of Park House School in Newbury, Berks.

The sizeable hedge that ran along the secondary school grounds was removed so that contractors could install a new fence during the half term break. However, many locals believe the decision could amount to an illegal act – as it may have contained nesting birds.

Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 – the law that protects nesting birds and their eggs – it is illegal to destroy or intentionally destroy a bird’s nest while it is being used or built.

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Newbury Green Party parliamentary candidate Steve Masters was tipped off by several Wash Commoners about the hedge removal and, after inspecting the site last Thursday, reported the incident to the police. “It was pretty serious in terms of the fact that it was in the middle of the nesting season,” he said. “Destroying a hedge isn’t necessarily illegal in itself, destroying active nests is.”

Thames Valley Police confirmed the force had received a report of wildlife crime. A spokesman said: “A hedge with nesting birds and chicks inside was knocked down in Sutherlands sometime between 9am on May 27 and 7pm on May 29.

Susan Millington is co-ordinator for Friends of the Earth Newbury, a local environmental group, and said she was outraged to discover the hedge had been destroyed. Dr Millington added: “What is left is a scene of devastation. A few isolated broken trees and lots of rubbish on bare ground is all that remains of a beautiful mature hedge”.

“I’m completely terrified of the timing, the peak of the bird nesting season. There is no doubt that the length of hedge destroyed by their contractors contained many active bird nests and will be home to many other species as well.”

Dr Millington contacted Park House for an explanation and headteacher James King said the school was “just as saddened to go back to the school and find out what happened to the hedge”. Mr King added that the removal of the hedge was never included in the school’s plans and that the school was waiting for planning permission to install the new fence to avoid damaging the existing greenery.

He provided a statement from Park House contractors, Barker, about the hedge work and fence installation they had carried out and how they would undertake work to repair the damage caused. The statement read, in part: “Prosthetics for students and staff at Park House School is our top priority in the work we do there. Unfortunately, the existing fence along the Monks Lane boundary did not provide sufficient protection for pupils at Park House School, raising serious concerns about unauthorized access to their site. This left us with no option but to completely replace this boundary with a new full height secure fence.

“During this process we consulted with an approved arboricultural consultancy as we were committed to retaining the trees and as much of the existing planting as possible. However, once the work started it became apparent that the section of established hedge had entwined within the existing chain link which was to be removed, as a result we made the reluctant decision to remove this cover.

“We have plans to restore it as soon as possible to provide screening for both students and residents, as well as to maintain valuable natural habitats for birds and wildlife.”

Several Wash Commoners took to social media to criticize the removal of the hedge.

Russ Shackleton said: “I don’t understand why this was done. The fence was a safe boundary for the school and provided much more privacy than that ugly fence. You have to question the effectiveness of governing multi- The trust of the academy indeed. How many of the boards were at that school?

Lynn Beasant said: “It’s an absolute disgrace. There is no need to remove a hedge at all, let alone during nesting season. .” Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate Lee Dillon also posted on Facebook about the hedge, saying: “The loss of this hedge is a disappointment to nature.”