Council bosses have stepped in after developers who wanted to build a kimchi farm on land popular with runners and dog walkers in the Chilterns AONB reportedly continued to fell trees in the area despite the plans being thrown out.

TV personality Simon Thomas tweeted drone footage last month claiming the applicant had “continued felling trees… after agreeing not to”.

The former Blue Peter and Sky Sports presenter’s video came 13 days after the plans, proposed on green belt land in Pednor Road, part of the Pednor Loop, in Chesham, were refused by Buckinghamshire Council, which said it was “apparent that the intended use for the building was not wholly agricultural”.

Buckinghamshire Council said it was aware of “local concerns” around the site and is “working proactively to address these”.

A spokesman added: Some of the trees on this site have been cut down. These trees were not protected by tree preservation orders (TPO) so there has been no breach of planning rules.

“We are acting on local concerns and are reviewing the site and we are evaluating whether any remaining trees should be protected.”

A TPO was placed on the site earlier this month, which means the landowner cannot remove any more trees without entering into “meaningful discussion” with the planning team at Bucks Council.

An enforcement notice has also been served on an unauthorised fence which was reportedly put up.

And another TOP was made to protect the trees in the surrounding plots (numbers one to 13), with the spokesman saying: “It was considered that these may also be at risk.

“Both [TPOs] are currently provisional orders valid for six months – once the consultation periods have expired, the comments received will be assessed and a decision made as to whether the orders should be made permanent.”

It comes after the proposal, which would have seen a Korean kimchi-producing facility built on the freehold land owned by applicant Syed Ahmed, prompted hundreds of objections from residents who were concerned about the transparency of the proposal as well as loss of the countryside for people who regularly use the path where the development was proposed.

The initial design and access statement said Mr Ahmed wanted to use the land for growing organic vegetables to supply to supermarkets, with the barn used to store farming equipment.

But an agricultural report submitted later mentioned a kimchi-producing facility on the land.

Residents argued a new application should be submitted “giving precise details of the landowner’s actual intentions”.