A man from Anglesey has been ordered to pay over £35,000 for the illegal felling woodland equivalent to the size of 20 tennis courts at Prestatyn.
Following an investigation by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) Peter Lee, 47, from Bodedern, pleaded guilty at Mold Magistrates Court, on Tuesday 20 September, to ‘Section 17(1) Felling a tree without authority in a case requiring a licence’ under the Forestry Act 1967. He was fined £27,679.68 and made to pay costs amounting to £9,127.05.
North Wales Live reported that in December 2021 NRW Officers responded to reports that an area of woodland known locally as Tanlan Banks, near Prestatyn, had been felled without a licence. Investigations found Mr Lee had felled 0.5 hectares of native broadleaf woodland that buffers ancient semi natural woodland – amounting to an area that would cover over 20 tennis courts.
