Developers of the Foundry Lea housing site in Bridport have said they will be carrying out 'reparation' work after mature trees and hedgerows were felled by mistake. 

The trees and hedgerows on the edge of the site, at the west of Bridport, were wrongly removed, described by one town councillor as "deeply saddening devastation".

The vegetation did not sit on land that is part of the approved area that's due to be developed with 760 new homes.

Bridport Town Council has since hosted a meeting with the Foundry Lea development consortium and local stakeholders. 

Representatives from local councils and other stakeholder groups heard from the developers, who set out weaknesses in the administrative, communications and supervision processes that led to the mistaken removal of the trees, hedgerow and shrubs on West Road, outside the development site. 

They then set out their plans to ensure there is no repeat of the error, and how they will reinstate the hedgerow, including 'semi-mature' replacement trees, and native hedgerow species. 

The developers have also offered other forms of 'reparation', including:

• Working with the town council, Wessex Community Assets and Raise the Roof, to train people in the skills needed to re-use the wrongly removed trees, the aim being to provide a legacy made from the wood
• Sending consortium staff to carry out local community volunteering activities
• Working with schools to provide student-designed 'hedgehog houses' and 'hedgehog highways'

Bridport Town Council leader, Cllr Dave Rickard, said: "We are of course very unhappy with what has happened and made this clear to the developers. 

"We accept that the deeply saddening devastation was as a result of a series of mistakes and omissions, rather than any deliberate act, but it was a poor start to their work in Bridport and it must not be allowed to happen again. 

"We welcome the commitment to reinstatement of the hedgerow and the other compensatory actions – and have been reassured that these will not be funded from money to be used for the development itself. 

"We have also received a commitment to better communications with local residents, and regular schedules so that we can see what works to expect in future."

There are separate ongoing discussions with the landowners whose hedgerow was affected.