DEVELOPERS who have failed to seek planning permission to erect a fence around land used by the community may be ordered to take it down. Stevenage Borough Council (SBC) has said it will write to Leach Homes, which wants to cut down woodland and develop t

DEVELOPERS who have failed to seek planning permission to erect a fence around land used by the community may be ordered to take it down.

Stevenage Borough Council (SBC) has said it will write to Leach Homes, which wants to cut down woodland and develop the land in front of the Grade II listed manor house between Chells Lane and Hunters Close in Stevenage.

Three weeks ago, The Comet reported how residents living in Chells Manor had started a petition - which now has more than 550 signatures - in a bid to make a temporary Tree Preservation Order (TPO) permanent and stop the development.

Since the article, Leach Homes has erected a fence, denying residents' access to the woodland.

A spokesman for the residents' campaign group said: "It would seem that Leach Homes is not happy with residents supporting the tree preservation order and so feel it necessary to punish everyone involved, and some who were not."

But SBC says planning permission for the fence is required because it is adjacent to a highway and is more than one metre high.

SBC also said it is considering making the TPO permanent.

Leach Homes declined to comment.

To sign the petition, visit http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/CHELLS/

If you would like to help with the campaign, or wish to be kept informed of progress, email chellsmanorprotection@hotmail.com