Probe into 'environmental vandalism' at Liversedge park

The Spenborough Guardian reported last month how council gardeners had brought in a tractor to clear shrubs and rose bushes at Millbridge Park.

The wet conditions saw the park churned up with huge tyre tracks gouged in the mud.

Former council gardeners Pete Fawcett and Andrew Gautry were furious at the damage and the loss of habitat and greenery, describing it as “environmental vandalism.”

In a statement the council’s Cabinet Member for the Environment, Clr Naheed Mather, said the work had been carried out “in consultation with ward councillors.”

However, Liversedge & Gomersal councillor David Hall said he was “shocked” when he saw what had happened.

He said: “I can confirm that neither I nor my two ward colleagues gave the go-ahead for this.

“I am pretty shocked with the work carried out. It goes far beyond the pruning which might have been expected.

“Given the actions which have already occurred, I would like to know what the council intends to replace the lost shrubberies with.

“Are we to get replacement bushes or flowerbeds, wildlife habitats or just muddy patches?

“The park needed some TLC, but I am sure it could have been nicely maintained without the need for such brutally invasive methods.”