Residents of the historic Bournville village in Birmingham have called on their local councillor to intervene over a plan to cut down trees and build ‘eco homes’ at a local woodland.
The plan by a business consortium at the West Midlands village famous for its Cadbury chocolate factory would also include a treetop walkway, car park and large community centre.
Residents thought the plan was an April Fool joke after discovering the consultation website on April 1 but soon realised it was genuine and have called on Birmingham City Council councillor Mary Locke to intervene.
The consortium claims the plan will 'regenerate a mismanaged, long forgotten and overgrown woodland into an urban oasis of biodiversity'.
But residents have hit back and claimed the area is already a 'perfect eco environment' with a rich diversity of foxes, squirrels, hawks and butterflies.
They say the consortium's claim the woodland is a 'hive of anti-social behaviour' with habitual fly tipping and illegal tree felling is false.
One resident said: 'The area is already a perfect eco environment. We see foxes sunbathing on our garden and squirrels visit every day – we've even seen harrier hawks visit our garden.
‘How can anyone think that destroying all this natural beauty is eco-friendly?'
