THE unlawful felling of a number of ancient trees over several weeks near Pen-y-Fan pond is a disgrace and the culprits must be pursued and prosecuted. Residents outrage is perfectly justified. 
What is even more distressing is that these trees were given specific protection under conditions attached to planning consent for a solar farm on the land.   
Applications for renewable energy developments are often controversial because of their visual impact on the landscape.
The developers stated the mature trees and hedgerows would help screen the view of the 15 thousand panels they intend to install. They also promised to protect the natural features of the landscape.
 Consent was granted with the condition that no mature trees would be adversely affected. 
Investigations by Natural Resources Wales are on-going and we don’t know who carried out the destruction of these ancient trees. Hopefully they will find the culprits and a prosecution will soon be under way. In the meantime, there needs to be another assessment of whether the solar farm can go ahead now that the trees have gone. After all, their very existence was a justification for having a solar farm in this particular spot.

Mike Davies
Crumlin