Residents of a North Yorkshire village say they have been left devastated after a wildlife haven was cleared by workers with chainsaws and heavy machinery.
The site at the bottom of Ripon Way in Carlton Miniott, near Thirsk, was cleared on Thursday, prompting anger and sadness among villagers who are campaigning to protect the land from housing development.
The site is the subject of a planning application for 61 homes, which has been amended several times since it was first submitted in 2020.
Residents had gathered more than 450 signatures on a petition calling for the land to be protected.
More than 150 objections have also been filed with North Yorkshire Council, which is assessing the application.
Residents say the area had become a thriving habitat for birds, mammals and insects, with mature birch trees, around 20 young oak trees, seasonal wetlands and wildflower meadows.
According to villagers, the area was home to a wide variety of wildlife, with barn owls regularly seen hunting over the grassland and deer sheltering in the undergrowth.
Villagers were alerted through a local WhatsApp group on Thursday morning that workers had arrived with chainsaws and machinery.
One resident, who challenged workers at the site, described the scene as “deeply distressing”.
The resident, who asked not to be named, said: “Although work paused for roughly an hour, the contractors soon resumed and an entire 40-year ecosystem was flattened within hours.”
The resident said photographs taken over the weekend show the “stark transformation”.
“Where golden summer grasses, wildflowers and young oaks once stood, there is now only exposed earth, fresh tree stumps and scattered wood chippings.
“For those of us who have walked this land for decades, the loss is deeply personal. Watching such a familiar sanctuary vanish in a matter of hours has left many feeling genuinely bereft.”
The clearance came as villagers were preparing to commission an independent ecological survey of the site.
They claim an earlier assessment carried out on behalf of the landowner failed to mention around 20 young oak trees.
Residents say they recognise the rights of landowners but are questioning how an established wildlife habitat could be cleared without greater scrutiny.
Land Registry information shows the land is owned by Guisborough-based CJ Leonard & Sons Limited.
The company did not respond to requests to comment on the clearance from the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).
North Yorkshire Council has told residents that the landowner does not need permission to clear the site.
The planning application was submitted by Avant Homes.
An Avant Homes spokesperson said: “We can confirm that the clearing of the site at Carlton Miniott has not been carried out either by, or on behalf of, Avant Homes.”
To vie the petition against the housing application, visit https://www.change.org/p/stop-development-on-carlton-miniott-s-historic-green-space/
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