A developer has been accused of destroying an area of greenspace at a new housing estate in Wokingham and putting local wildlife at risk by "indiscriminately" spraying a harmful weed killer.

David Wilson Homes has built hundreds of homes, just off London Road, as part of the Montague Park development.

It was granted planning permission for 650 homes on the site in 2012 and agreed to provide around 30 acres of suitable alternative natural greenspace (SANG).

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Jane Davenport, who lives on the estate, said the company has torn up the area it promised to turn into greenspace and created an “unusable mud pit”.

She also claimed that a harmful weed killer called glyphosate has been sprayed “indiscriminately” and this has destroyed plants and could harm local wildlife.

Her claims are outlined in a statement that will be read at a Wokingham Borough Council meeting next week.

However, David Wilson Homes says it is planting seeds and wildflowers to “create a habitat that will benefit local wildlife” and spraying weeds is “consistent with common landscape operations”.

In her statement, Ms Davenport said: “David Wilson Homes have destroyed Montague Park SANG for the last two consecutive years to plant a wildflower meadow so that Wokingham Borough Council will adopt the site.

“The SANG is home to endangered species and species protected by law, namely roe deer and hedgehogs.

“The SANG’s plant life was killed by indiscriminately spraying glyphosate, a chemical described by the World Health Organisation as ‘probably carcinogenic to humans’ and banned in countless countries around the world and many boroughs in the UK.

“It’s a chemical that when ingested by humans or animals can cause internal burns, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea, not to mention its links with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and the decline of our bee population.

“The SANG was further destroyed by ploughing, leaving huge furrows, turning it in to an unusable mud pit.”

She will call on the council to make sure David Wilson Homes plants a wildflower meadow on the site and protects local wildlife, when she speaks at a council meeting on February 18.

A spokesman for the company said: “We are working with landscape architects and their ecologist to ensure the essential works at our Montague Park development have minimal impact on local wildlife and this remains an absolute priority.

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“The works have been agreed in consultation with Wokingham Borough Council and include the spraying of weeds, consistent with common landscape operations.

“We apologise to residents for the disruption, but the works are unfortunately weather dependent and have been suspended due to frozen ground.

“We plan to sow a seed mixture of grass and wild flowers in accordance with the approved scheme as soon as possible to create a habitat that will benefit local wildlife.

“Our ecology consultant has advised that hedgehogs generally take shelter in woodlands or under hedges during the day rather than within areas of open space so are unlikely to be impacted by the landscape operations.

“The existing tree and shrub planting within the area of open space will be retained and, together with the existing hedgerows and woodland on the perimeters, will provide refuges for wildlife during the seeding works.”