FOLLOWING coverage in the Bournemouth Daily Echo regarding the recent A338 works by Dorset County Council, stated to be “major maintenance and improvement works which include bridge pier protection works”, I wish to draw attention to the environmental destruction caused.

Works at the A338 southbound, between the River Stour/Blackwater Junction and Wessex Water, began with the destruction of 50 groups of trees, followed by a large number of other trees, with branches being cut off, tree trunks cut into sections and converted into wood chips, resulting in a serious loss of wildlife habitats, and adding to flood risk.

A letter dated September 12 2018, which I sent to the senior planning officer at Dorset County Council, requesting a copy of any ecology appraisal carried out prior to the destruction of the trees, has been ignored, and a request has now been made under the Freedom of Information Act.

There also must be no question of any A338 works taking place on land within the adjacent Bournemouth Green Belt at Riverside Avenue, the area of planning application 7-2017-9177-DH which has not been determined, and which has been recommended for refusal in an eight-page letter by a senior planning officer at Bournemouth Borough Council, and by a tree officer, with also strong objections by the Environment Agency, and many hundreds of others.

CHRISTINE O’LUBY

Throop Road, Bournemouth