A RETIRED Bishop has described the felling of mature trees on an entrance into Skipton as ‘cavalier’ and a ‘thoughtless and irresponsible cull’ of some of the town’s natural landscape. The Right Reverend David Hawkins, former Bishop of Barking, London, who now lives in Skipton, says he can see no reason for the clearing of more than 20 trees on the A6131 Harrogate Road. The trees, which did not have preservation orders, were felled as part of a development by Stonebridge Homes, of almost 140 new homes in Hawbank Field. Their felling did not need the permission of Craven District Council, but it has said it is now in the process of putting preservation orders on urban trees, preventing them from being cut down in the future.