Coalville councillors have rejected an appeal from a housing developer to oppose a Tree Preservation Order saying: 'You can't blatantly cut everything down and not expect action to be taken'.

North West Leicestershire District Council's planning committee met on Tuesday to discuss an objection made by Harworth Estates, challenging the order made in February.

It centres around the Dauphine Close and Kenmore Crescent area of Coalville where trees and foliage has been removed.

Harworth, represented by FCPR, has offered a series of mitigating circumstances - including an admission that: 'Contractors had made a genuine error in removing more trees than instructed'.

But the committee remained unimpressed by the objection.

Cllr Michael Wyatt said: "I'd like to thank the officers for taking action so quickly, I was one of the members who had a phone call when one of the contractors decided to go on site and starting cutting down healthy trees.

"They were being ripped out, when I challenged them they said they were going to expand the area into a nice woodland.

"I thought: 'I don't think you are'. The District Council's enforcement team came out and could immediately see that what they were doing was extremely wrong.

"The County Council got involved as some of the ditches were filled in which then created a problem, another phone call came in which said it could have created a flooding problem for nearby houses.

"I'm happy the TRO is going through, it's really needed, the developers have to realise they cannot go on to a site, blatantly cut everything down and not expect some sort of action being taken against them."

Cllr John Legrys highlighted the admission that a mistake had been made.

He told the committee: "I was particularly interested in a comment made by the developer which said that a genuine error had been made by the contractor in removing more trees than they were instructed.

"I find that very difficult to get my head around. I can't believe a professional contractor would take out more vegetation than it was required to by the client.

"I find that statement on that objection to be rather disingenuous - and misleading for this committee.

"There are rules and regulations about moving trees. A felling licences is needed from the Forestry Commission when large numbers of trees are being taken down, I have no evidence that this was applied for. The council report is correct."