Church bosses are understood to have breached planning laws by clearing about 15 trees in a conservation area.The trees have been removed from a woodland area to the east of the graveyard at St Mark’s Church on South Road, Smith’s.Residents said they were “shocked” to see the workers had moved onto the conservation area a few weeks ago.Ministry of Public Works staff carried out the felling work as part of their contract to add a sidewalk at the accident hot spot. The planning application had no mention of the adjoining 0.4 acre site, which is zoned as an agricultural and conservation area.Churchwarden Colin Campbell insisted the clearing work was simply part of their long-term strategy to “better the landscape around the property”.However talks are now taking place to decide whether the church will have to make amends by agreeing to a retrospective conservation management plan. Mr Campbell confirmed Government workers had been instructed to carry out the work on behalf of the church.He said: “The trees that have been removed weren’t endemic. We wanted to help rid the Island of an invasive species, which was becoming very disruptive to the church.“They were compromising the walls of the graveyard and needed to be taken down.“We aren’t leaving the land empty, we are replacing the trees.“We want to enhance the area and create a classic Bermuda flora look. We want to add to the Island’s classic heritage.“We believe this will heighten the experience of those walking by the graveyard and driving by on South Road.”Mr Campbell said they had removed “less than half a dozen” of both Mexican Pepper and Indian Laurel trees and “a sprinkling” of Chinese Fan Palms.He said the church had been fed up with the high landscaping costs associated with pulling up the roots of the trees in and around the graveyard’s old stone wall. He said they had been forced to fork out “real money” every month.The trees had become “a real pest” as birds picked up and dropped seeds in the graveyard and saplings grew quickly, he added.The church now hopes to plant about 12 Bermuda cedars, two Bermuda palmettos and two Bermuda olivewoods to boost the woodland area.One area resident, who did not want to be named, said: “I couldn’t believe it when I drove by and saw what they were doing. They don’t have permission to carry out any work in the conservation area.“It’s protected land, it doesn’t matter what species of trees they are. The Planning Department have been made aware of this and are investigating.”Mr Campbell questioned whether planning permission had been needed, adding that the conservation area had been neglected and strewn with garbage.He said: “This is church property and we have quite a bit of property that we maintain.“With this project we aim to give people a richer experience with this little piece of land. We are bettering the fabric of the area. We are working to counteract the felled trees. We are hoping to get the new trees in the ground as soon as we can.”Mr Campbell claimed he had met conservation officers and planners about six weeks ago before the trees were cleared.He said: “We had this meeting to talk through what would work for that area. We wanted to make sure everyone was on the same page.”Mr Campbell, who is an architect for OBMI, submitted the planning application at the end of last year. There were no objections.The new 4ft wide sidewalk will run along South Road from Pokiok Road to McGall’s Bay Road. Mount Hope Road, which leads to the church’s car park and parish hall, will have ramp access and will also be widened to meet the minimum requirements for the access of emergency vehicles.Work started at the end of April and the road improvements are expected to take about four months, with traffic lights being used to control the traffic when needed.Mr Campbell added: “The workers are doing a fantastic job. The team is exemplary. They have been very kind and very careful. They are really working to beautify Bermuda.”A spokesman for the Department of Public Works said they did not want to comment on this matter.