Video: Protesters halt tree clearance at Doncaster racecourse

A small group of campaigners were on Doncaster Common from first light after it was revealed late last week that tree felling work in the area would finally begin in earnest.

The common, which lies inside the race track and is also home to Doncaster's Town Moor Golf Club, has been at the centre of a stand-off between residents and the town's mayor for 10 months.

Last March, Mayor Peter Davies ruled that around 2,000 trees should be cut down on the common to clear the view from the newly-developed grandstand on the racecourse.

But he reckoned without opposition from a group of people who have now vowed that they will continue to make life difficult for workers charged with carrying out the mayor's wishes.

John Anderson, who was one of the original campaigners last March, was on the site again yesterday, and told police who were called in that he was staging a "peaceful protest".

Just as council workers began to move in to cut down a group of conifers, Mr Anderson stepped inisde their safety fence, making it impossible for the team to continue felling the trees.

A police officer was called in, but after several minutes with the protester he withdrew, telling council officers he could not remove Mr Anderson because he was on common land.

Mr Anderson said: "I am not going to move, so they will not be able to carry on with the task which they have been given by the mayor. I will stay here until it gets dark if I have to.

"The police have confirmed that they have no power of arrest, and if I want to stand here I can and there is nothing anybody can do about it. We will be back every day until this is stopped."

Council workers left the racecourse at lunchtime, and were not expected to return until this morning.

Mr Anderson and fellow members of the Friends of Doncaster Common (FODC) including 75-year-old Kath Lightfoot who staged her own sit-in last March said they were angry with the mayor.

Mrs Lightfoot said she did not agree that the trees needed to be cut down to improve the view, which is obscured by undulations in the common itself.

She rejected the mayor's argument that his programme would "manage" the trees on the racecourse and added: "This is not management, it's massacre".

FODC said it had attempted to hold meetings with the mayor, and ask why he was spending council money on the project when council workers were facing redundancy and other financial pressures when the council was facing significant budget cuts.

A number of senior council officers were present on the common yesterday morning to supervise, including the authority's assistant director of neighbourhoods and communities Gavin Baldwin.

Mr Davies was not present yesterday, but in a written statement he said: "I am pleased that the Forestry Commission has agreed that we can go ahead with the proposed works. Doncaster Racecourse is one of our most important assets and events such as the St Leger Festival bring in millions of pounds to the local economy.

"I believe it is important that racegoers can enjoy an unrestricted view of the action as they would at any world-class racecourse. The number of letters of support I have received on this issue far outweigh the objections."

Mr Davies said the Forestry Commission and Natural England had agreed to oversee the work when it finally gets under way, and had asked that felling takes place "gradually".

The council has also agreed to some "compensatory" planting and some saplings were being planted nearby yesterday.

Common laws protect demonstrators

PLANS to remove trees at the centre of Doncaster racecourse have run into trouble twice because the land is officially recognised as a common, meaning anyone has right of access to any part of it and cannot be forcibly removed at any time, so while protesters are in the area it means workers cannot continue.

Under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act (CRoW) Act 2000, the public has statutory rights of access on all registered common land and which is taken to include activities such as walking, sightseeing, bird watching, picnicking, climbing and running.

The situation is complicated further in Doncaster because of the different uses allowed on the land, including horseracing and use by Doncaster's Town Moor Golf Club. It is thought the council is now trying to find a way to allow police officers to legally remove protesters to allow work to go ahead.