An order protecting around 10,000 trees in Lochawe was allowed to lapse in October, and in a two-week window before another order was introduced residents went to town chopping their trees, The Oban Times can reveal.

One local admitted that she had ‘trimmed’ around 15 in her own garden – and she estimated that at least 30-50 trees in the area had been chopped.

A temporary All Tree Order was enforced in April but did not come before a planning committee within the allotted six-month timescale. The order had protected every tree in the village, from the smallest sapling to the 100-year-old birches – thereby limiting every resident in how they could choose to manage their gardens.

A woman who did not want named said: ‘It was a bit mad because people who live in the village knew that one order had lapsed, so there was this flurry of activity.’

Another order issued two weeks later again protected all of the estimated 10,000 trees. A man who owns a home on the main street said: ‘When the temporary order was issued there was not enough information explaining what we could and could not do. It seems to me that I am now not able to even pick saplings out of my grass because every single tree is protected. We need a lot more clarity.

‘People come to Argyll, not for the scrubland that poor management of young trees would cause, but for the beautiful views. Any views we might have of Kilchurn Castle will be obscured within a few years if this all tree order goes ahead.’

A spokeswoman for Argyll and Bute Council said: ‘The council has served a six-month provisional tree preservation order in Loch Awe. This stretches from the eastern side of Loch Awe to St Conan’s Church.

‘This is a blanket area, so as yet we have not quantified the number of trees within the order.

‘Residents have made nine complaints about the order. If the order is ratified, people must consult the council when they wish work to be carried out on a tree in the area.

‘Anyone carrying out unauthorised work will be referred to the sheriff court and fined as necessary.’

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