Say farewell to the greenery! Council poised to 'clear and remove' shrubs from Cleethorpes seafront

Date with the chainsaw! Barring a change-of-heart by the council, 'excess shrubbery' is set for removal 

JUST days after Cleethorpes was designated part of Britain's first Coronation Coast national nature reserve, North East Lincolnshire Council is poised to destroy a green and leafy part of the seafront.

Work is due to begin next Monday (September 25) on ripping out hedges and shrubs that provide precious feeding, roosting and nesting habitat for small birds including rare migrants.

NELC has ruled  they have to go to make way for proposed repairs to the walls and steps leading down to the Central Prom behind the Memorial Gate in Cleethorpes.

It states: "Excess shrubbery around the area will be cleared and removed.

"Then scaffolding will be put up so that the walls can be repaired and re-rendered. 

"The steps will be repaired or replaced where necessary as part of the project.

"The three businesses at the steps will remain open as normal, though there may be localised restrictions at times.

"The work is due to be completed in early November ahead of Remembrance Day activities in the resort."

The Grimsby News says: This initiative reflects the council's careless attitude to safeguarding Nature and wildlife. The shrubs  provide  habitat not just for birds such as finches, wrens, robins and warblers, but also for butterflies, bees and other pollinating insects. What is more, far from being "excess", the shrubbery not only provides valuable protection from the elements for the walls but it is also significantly more attractive. Instead of  removing  the plants, the council should plant more of them out of due regard for what it likes to describe as its 'green' agenda.

                                                         

Why look at green and leafy, when you can look at a painted wall? 

The hedges provide a recovery habitat for migrant birds. They were planted for a reason, so why remove them?