Deputy Inna Gardiner explained that the land would be used to restore gardens for two families living nearby and the rest of the area, which borders National Trust for Jersey land, would be given to the parish of St Helier to create an access route.
Last week, environmentalist Sheena Brockie said she had been left ‘utterly devastated’ at the decimation of the woodland in St Helier.
She has called for blanket legislation to be introduced in order to better protect trees in the Island.
Deputy Gardiner said it was important that ‘legislation’ was in place to protect trees and there was a ‘process’ to follow to remove them.
She said that she had been in contact with the landowners since March and they had agreed to donate some of the land to the parish.
‘The area is made up of garden and agricultural land,’ she said. ‘The area had become overgrown and was made up of invasive non-native species of trees that were not on the protected list. They had become dangerous due to overhanging and the area had also been used for fly tipping and so the land was completely cleared.
‘The garden will now be restored to a usable state for the families of the two surrounding houses and we are in discussions with the landowners, who will donate two pieces of the land to the parish to create an access route from La Pouquelaye to the National Trust land.’
Deputy Gardiner said the landowners never had the intention of building houses on the area.
‘I was horrified just like everyone else when I saw the site but I now understand that the landowners have been following a process,’ she said.
