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'Chopping trees to save pylons could decimate wildlife'

People living in Welton say plans by Western Power Distribution to cut down up to 60 trees along a short stretch of Wellow Brook will decimate the wildlife population.

Last week, households on Vivian Avenue were visited by Western Power Distribution contractors, who told them the alders, which line the bank of the stream, would have to be chopped to ground level as a precaution to protect the company's power lines in the event of heavy storms.

People living near the brook say it is home to a variety of birds including tree-creepers, nuthatches, long-tail ****, kingfishers, woodpeckers, owls, buzzards and bats and fear that they fear the wildlife could be wiped out if the trees they nest in are removed.

Andy Green, who lives with his wife Sue on Vivian Avenue, said: "There will be a great impact on the wildlife. We understand that some of the trees will have to be taken down because of the condition they are in but to take so many down seems unnecessary. The other point is that this is a very popular route for dog walkers and we wanted to highlight what is going on because only people who live on the road know about it."

Residents have called on Western Power Distribution to reroute the power lines to prevent the damage to the wildlife.

Irene Evans, Western Power Distribution spokesperson said: "We will be doing some tree working within the vicinity of Wellow Brook and this will be quite considerable. We are aware of the concerns and will be meeting with the residents at the end of this week."