A SCHOOL has apologised after incurring the wrath of Bournemouth planners by felling several mature trees in its grounds.

Oakmead College of Technology at Duck Lane came under fire after seven oak trees, two hollies and a hawthorn tree were chopped down last month.

The borough’s planning board vice-chairman Cllr Ron Whittaker accused the school of carrying out “a barbaric act of vandalism” and the council served a temporary Tree Preserv-ation Order (TPO) on the school to prevent further damage.

It later emerged that work carried out to level the site was likely to have severely damaged the remaining trees which form part of a line near the school building, next to ongoing work on a school extension and volleyball court.

The council sent a letter to the school condemning the “environmental vandalism” and demanding an explanation.

In a statement college head Gill Blanshard said: “Officers inspected the site before granting us planning permission and, at no time, raised the issue of trees.

“If they had, we wouldn’t have touched them.

In a letter to the school, the council’s principal landscape and arboricultural officer Jerry Kelsey stressed that the trees had been “perfectly healthy” and said it was “completely incorrect” to link planning permission with the felling.

The council is expected to release a statement after members are updated at tonight’s planning board meeting.