owner Chris West the go-ahead to carry on building work after he agreed to re-plant trees on protected land.

After visiting the site in Cut Road, St. George's, yesterday, Mr. Hodgson said he was happy that Mr. West, the owner of the White Horse, had replanted a number of palm trees.

Planning officials issued Mr. West with a stop notice last Thursday after he sent in a bulldozer to cut a path through a piece of his land which was a designated wood zone to get access to a site where he is building a house.

Mr. Hodgson said yesterday: "There are quite a few trees re-planted and I'm really quite pleased. He is getting the woodland area properly managed.

West gets go-ahead "There are some formalities to be met, but he'll be allowed to go ahead once he's done the restoration. If he's restored the property, there's nothing else to do.'' Mr. Hodgson issued a firm warning to other land owners who are tempted to build on parts of the Island's rapidly diminishing wooded areas.

"They will be required to restore it and probably restore it to a better state than it was before,'' he said.

"Usually in the case of wooded areas we are trying to improve them. We want to preserve and improve woods by planting them where there were no woods before.

"Where there are pest trees, we are trying to get rid of them so they can be properly managed with Bermuda cedar trees.''