EYNSHAM residents are furious after a developer erected a fence around a piece of woodland they use for recreation.

Pye Homes put up a part-metal part-wooden fence last week around land next to the Fruitlands estate, which the housing firm has owned for 30 years.

The company claims it has assessed all the trees, to comply with a tree preservation order placed on the wood by West Oxfordshire District Council, and some pose a ‘risk’ to members of the public because branches are in danger of falling down.

But villagers who want the fence removed say they have used the wood as a recreation area for 30 years and want to know why Pye has only now chosen to put the barrier up.

Eynsham resident Mike Kennedy, 70, whose house is next to the wood, said: “All of a sudden after 30 years they have decided they have a public duty to protect this public space.

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“Pye is trying to close off what has been a favourite area for dog walkers, kids’ dens, and biking. Fencing it off means that it ceases to be an amenity.”

Campaigners have written to the land registry, applying for a statutory declaration, a document that could rule the land is public space because it has been used by residents for 25 years. This would mean the fence would have to be taken down.

When Pye built the Fruitlands estate next to the wood 30 years ago, the land was designated as a piece of open space, but because it was never formally adopted by the council, ownership remained with Pye.

The firm had a planning application for 24 homes on the site refused by West Oxfordshire District Council in January.

The following day the council issued the TPO to protect all the trees after councillors said there would be nothing to stop developers chopping them down.

Pye said it had fenced off the area as a temporary measure while it assessed whether the trees are dangerous.

It said it had kept a footpath across the site open to the public but that public access to the rest of the site was not permitted.

Daniel Hayman issued a statement for the firm which said: “Pye Homes has abided by requests from councillors and officers to allow officers to review the trees before any action is taken.”

“The request for the TPO has required Pye Homes to assess the health and condition of all of the trees on the site, given that the land is used for unauthorised activity by members of the public.

“Upon inspection, some of these trees have been found to potentially pose a risk of harm to members of the public. We do not intend to remove these trees immediately but will work with council officers to decide the best course of action.

“In the meantime, “ While we liaise with the council, we will need to fence off the areas in question to restrict public access to satisfy our duty of care as land owners.”

“The permissive footpath across the site will remain closed until this issue can be resolved. The fencing will need to be constructed over the next few weeks.”