Felling of trees at C13 Dinah's Hollow, Melbury Abbas

The decision had to be taken for a second time after “an administrative error” meant not everyone was notified by Dorset Council of the previous meeting.

It will leave around 100 trees untouched, including oaks, sycamore and Scots pine on the 300-metre-long section of the C13 Dinah’s Hollow at Melbury Abbas, south of Shaftesbury.

The route remain one of the main north-south routes in the county, despite the difficulties of sharp bends and narrow lanes with traffic through the Hollow down to one lane and controlled by lights.

Dorset Council has argued that the felling and coppicing works are needed for the good management of the trees in the Hollow, for road safety now, and to prepare for eventual land stabilisation works in the years to come, likely to cost around £8 million.

All of the trees are covered by a blanket Tree Protection Order.

(Image: Dorset Council)

Many residents and the parish council claim the Dorset Council proposals are excessive and that a simpler, less obtrusive scheme should be adopted which would protect many of the trees now due to be felled.

Running in parallel with the tree works is the preparation of Compulsory Purchase Orders for land, in separate ownerships, on either side of the Hollow – a process which could take two years to complete.

Chairman of Melbury Abbas and Cann parish council David Webber told Dorset councillors at a meeting in Dorchester on Monday that consultants from Exeter had come up with a simpler scheme which involved fewer land nails driven into the banks and a specialist fence to prevent any falls getting onto the road. He said the hybrid scheme would not only look better but would also protect more of the existing trees.

Mr Webber said that not only was the alternative cheaper, but the landowners were more likely to agree to it, saving the cost of inquiries and protracted negotiations.

“Please talk to ( but not at) the landowners and Cranborne Chase Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, they want to work with you to resolve this matter. It is much better to work together rather than go to a public inquiry. It will save millions of pounds and years of time,” he said.

(Image: Dorset Council)Head of Highways at Dorset Council, Jack Wiltshire, told the meeting that even the large concrete blocks currently in place on the Hollow were not certain to contain a large landslide, such as the 35 tonnes which spilled onto to road in 2016.

He said there remained a risk of a fatality at the Hollow unless the proposed tree felling and full stabilisation works went ahead.

Mr Wiltshire said the council had fully considered landscape and environmental impacts with input from experts and remained convinced the tree works are necessary to allow Dorset Council to stabilise the banks on either side of the road.

The meeting heard that other complications with the project might be the need to obtain licences from Natural England to remove, or manage, protected species known to be in the area such as dormice, bats, badgers and possibly Great Crested Newts, although that will be dealt with separately.

In a report to Dorset Council the parish council acknowledges that traffic lights and some form of edge barrier should remain in place and said that some work had already been undertaken to improve the drainage from fields above the Hollow.

Said the parish report: “Whichever plan is done a one way system must be instigated around the very narrow lanes in Melbury Abbas especially School Lane and West Lane with absolutely NO HGVs or buses. The lanes have long, very narrow single track sections complete with bends. The last time the Hollow was closed the lanes jammed solid. This must not be allowed happen again. Please work with the parish Council to work out a traffic management plan that will actually work.”

A previous tree work application was submitted to North Dorset District Council in 2015 and approved at committee which gave permission for 126 trees to be felled and 160 to be coppiced. The approved works were not carried out and the approval has since expired.

The current application will cover a period of five years, to allow the Compulsory Purchase Orders to be decided. Normally permissions to fell protected trees only stand for two years.

(Image: Dorset Council)