A housing developer currently finishing a 125-house estate in Kenilworth, has been given permission to fell 17 trees in Bullimore Wood.

And a further 20 can also be cut back, after Warwick District Council signed off on the plans.

Bovis Homes - the firm behind the Pavilions estate on Warwick Road - had applied for the works to to complete their "duty of care" to visitors to the woodland and to the neighbouring houses.

A survey of the woodland said there were a number of "highly hazardous" trees which require "immediate mitigation" - despite the fact the report was completed in April 2022 and was submitted to the council in January.

A council planner, approving the works, said: "Given the thoroughness of the survey then I am not in a position to disagree with the findings of the report."

Twenty-two objections had been made to the application, but the council said most of them were not relevant.

"At time of writing 22 comments had been received, all of which were in opposition to the proposal, but almost all of which were either generic objections to tree removals, or which had conflated this application with the proposal to develop around the woodland edge (these two categories accounted for 20 of the 22 objections)," the council's report said.

"Two of the objectors made reasonable comments, such as a walk in the woods is likely to be at your own risk (although having had the tree condition survey carried out Bovis Homes were obliged to take action to mitigate the potential risks), and that even those trees that might be considered a risk, provide good habitat."

Bovis has recently withdrawn plans to build four extra houses at the Pavilions estate, after spending months trying to agree plans with district planners

Local councillors have also called on the developer to install the estate's play area as soon as possible.

See the tree application here.