THE view of the River Arrow at the bridge in Kington was one of the highlights of the walk to and from the town.

Most people crossing the bridge would stop to look over and see what plants, birds and insects were there on any particular day.

However I recently saw that all the vegetation on the shore and at the sides of the river had been cut right down. This was in July when there are birds needing cover, many plants were flowering and the whole presented a beautiful and important example of boidiversity.

We had a resident pair of grey wagtails, there were often dippers to be seen, sometimes kingfishers.

Otter footprints had been seen on the shore of the river on the other side of the bridge and there had been families of ducks with young.

This has been carried out by a field operations team from Shrewsbury, apparently with consultation from some sort of conservation advisers although when I contacted an officer from the Herefordshire Nature Trust he didn’t know anything about it.

Trees lining the field a short distance down the river but in view from the bridge were cut down earlier in the year. Most people assumed that this was pollarding but I was told by the field operations team that in fact the trees have been poisoned to prevent them growing again. Why?

Something to do with them growing into the river and blocking it, or undermining the bank? I thought the trees held the bank together.

It seems that this whole operation was to improve water movement and prevent flooding. There had been a plan to remove all the shore as well but that has been postponed until they see if cutting down the plants and trees will allow the water to move more freely.

I asked why the large piece of masonry could not be removed that sits in the middle of the river just by the bridge and which does catch branches that come downstream, (many of them cuttings, thrown in).

But this lump is apparently part of the old bridge that fell into the water years ago and must not be moved because of archaeological record.

I cannot understand why this plant cutting operation is supposed to make any difference to the movement of the water, nor why it was done at this sensitive time of year.

When the water does come up it just pours straight over the plants – they all bend down and then recover. I can't see that they made any difference to the height of the water or the time it takes to go down again.

This river was a beautiful asset.

Now it will be nothing for the whole summer. I can't bear to look.

Why aren’t planning notices put up before these things happen to give people a chance to voice their concerns? And what sort of conservation advice did they have?

MRS A RUSH, Headbrook, Kington.