A FIELD forming part of Stoulton's Millennium Wood is to be sold off, only two years after the project was launched.

Trees have already been planted on the field, part of a scheme to provide a variety of habitats for increased biodiversity, with a central marshy area surrounded by woodland.

Already popular with dog walkers, the field is crossed by public footpaths and has a stream flowing through it.

It was intended to introduce wild flowers and host an interpretation of the historic sluice gates and pumping mechanism associated with the stream.

But Wychavon's new executive board has decided to sell it off and use the proceeds to maintain the remaining woodland, estimated at £4,400 a year.

Improvements to the car park are also needed, but a bungled grant application meant that the council had to find the money elsewhere.

The property officer's report described various options, including the sale of the entire woodland.

The decision to sell the field has outraged Drakes Broughton's Liberal Democrat councillor, Ralph Mason, who said residents had not been consulted.

"I am horrified that the possibility of disposing of a council project to mark such an important occasion as the mil-lennium should even be contemplated, especially so soon after the event," he said.

"It is the more surprising since council members have been photographed and are on record as supporting a similar project nearby.

"I am very concerned for local residents, who much value the woodland and have not been consulted on its possible sale."

A request by the Liberal Democrat group for the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to ask the Executive Board to reconsider the matter was defeated.

"It is astonishing that the Executive Board has taken the decision to sell without even informing the parish council," said Coun Liz Tucker, who is a member of the scrutiny committee.

"The council should have maximised the benefit of grants available, but failing this, the relatively small sum required does not justify the sale of an area which has already become popular and has proven conservation benefits."