A LANDOWNER has been accused of ‘destroying’ a rare bird’s habitat after a breeding site was cleared to make way for 16 proposed homes.

Conservationists and residents claim the destruction of habit on a former gravel pit next to Wrens Corner in Belbins near Romsey is bad news for nightingales which arrive back in Britain this month to breed after spending the winter in central Africa.

Lindsay Marshall had scrub removed from the site in the winter and he is now seeking planning permission to build 16 homes – some affordable – on the land which he claims has no agricultural value and is polluted.

However, opponents argue that the land should be retained to support the last known nightingales to breed in the area.

Conservationist Andy Lester claims that Mr Marshall was well aware the site was an important stronghold for nightingales but he still ordered the bulldozers in to clear the scrubland – before an ecological survey was carried out to establish what wildlife was living on the two- acre site.

“Mr Marshall’s original plans were for 18 homes on the site and the application was refused last year. This site contained the last two breeding pairs of nightingales in Romsey,” he said “This is very bad news for Romsey because the nightingale is our rarest local breeding bird species and this was one of its last strongholds, and the site has been destroyed. I spoke to Mr Marshall about the importance of nightingales before the work was done and he ignored my advice.”

Mr Lester said that the scrub cleared contained the invasive species Japanese Knotweed.

“It only needs a piece of knotweed the size of a thumb nail and it will grow. It’s now a sterile site. It had slowworms on it but he’s got rid of them as well,” added a concerned Mr Lester.

Tony Wright, who is objecting to the scheme, has told borough planning officials that he believes the land was deliberately bulldozed in order to destroy its wildlife value and claims an ecological survey of the site was done after the land was bulldozed.

“The land has supported several pairs of breeding nightingales in recent years. In the past I have taken RSPB groups from both Hampshire and Wiltshire to walk along the public footpath there and enjoy the nightingale song. This is a bird that has declined rapidly in the UK. In the last year or so this land has been bulldozed in order to destroy its wildlife value. I assumed it was done on purpose in advance of an application for planning permission and I have proved to be correct,” said Mr Wright, who added in his letter to planners: “I do not believe that anybody who carries out such wilful destruction of an area of land prior to an ecological survey being conducted should be given consideration for planning permission.”

Tim Griffiths, who lives nearby, is also appalled at Mr Marshall’s stance.

“My main concern is the way he went ahead and cleared the site in advance of a habitat survey. The habitat survey was done in November when there were no nightingales on it. We’ve heard nightingales singing there every night in the summer for years. The site is now an eyesore with plastic bags clearly visible in the soil from the days when the old gravel pit was filled in with landfill,” said Mr Griffiths, who is also worried that if the proposed development does go ahead Belbins will become part of Romsey. “There will be no green space left between the two,” he concluded.

Mr Marshall’s scheme includes building a mix of homes including six in the affordable bracket.

“Although people’s views may differ, this is a brownfield site and at the present moment of time developers are being encouraged to use them before looking at greenfield sites for housing. We have scaled down the number of homes proposed at the planning officers’ request because we want to work with them,” said Mr Marshall, who added that the land cannot be used for agricultural purposes because it is polluted from previous uses.

“What else can you use it for? We’ve cleared the site on a regular basis for years. All the scrub has now been cleared and following that everything was bulldozed flat and chemicals were used on the knotweed and giant hogweed on the site,” added Mr Marshall.