Eco firm director settles case after uprooting community wildflower bed and leaves UK

A director of a wind turbine company who was filmed ripping up a community wildflower bed during a long-running dispute with neighbours has settled a criminal damage case and left the United Kingdom, a court heard Thursday.

Michael Hodgson, 55, of Gwaenysgor near Prestatyn in North Wales, was accused of criminal damage valued at £178 after footage circulated showing him pulling up plants and attempting to destroy a wooden raised bed with a crowbar and an angle grinder on Aug. 13, 2024. Police were called to the scene amid a confrontation between Hodgson and volunteers who had planted the bed as part of a Britain in Bloom effort connected to the village Conservation Group and Community Council Biodiversity Project.

Prosecutor Rhian Jackson told Mold magistrates' court that the Crown Prosecution Service and the defence had corresponded about the incident and that the prosecution was content for the matter to be resolved by a community resolution. Defence counsel Selina Woodward said a sum of money had been paid to a local church as part of that settlement. North Wales police confirmed no caution had been issued. District Judge Gwyn Jones adjourned the case until next month to allow police to liaise with Hodgson about outstanding aspects of the community resolution.

Hodgson, who formerly worked in the oil and gas sector and is a director of a wind turbine company, has since moved out of the UK though he still maintains property in the village, the court heard. He left the hearing without answering questions. It was not disclosed where he and his wife are now living.

The uprooting of the planter marked a flash point in what neighbours described as a decade-long planning dispute. Hodgson had submitted three separate planning applications for a home gym and office attached to his roughly £500,000 property; each application faced opposition from residents. Neighbours and volunteers said the planter was one of six placed around the village to brighten public spaces and support the village's Britain in Bloom ambitions. Less than 24 hours after volunteers planted the bed, the plants were removed.

Residents who witnessed and filmed the incident said they had sat on the planter to try to prevent its removal. Neighbour Andy Clarke, who recorded the footage, said the beds were intended to be a community improvement and that the incident represented a low point in relations between Hodgson, his partner, Shirin Poostchi, and other villagers. Allegations between the parties over the years have included claims of verbal abuse and vandalism, according to residents.

The matter drew local attention in part because of the apparent contrast between Hodgson’s business profile in the renewable-energy sector and his conduct in the dispute. Court documents and testimony emphasised the small monetary value of the alleged damage but acknowledged the wider community friction surrounding property lines, planning permissions and public planting projects.

The community resolution and the payment to the local church were presented in court as steps toward settling local grievances; police said they would follow up to complete outstanding elements of that resolution. The case remains adjourned pending that liaison.

Gwaenysgor is a rural village with a population around 230, where volunteers had sought to increase biodiversity and visual amenity through a series of planters and coordinated planting as part of community conservation efforts and a Britain in Bloom campaign. The incident and subsequent court proceedings have renewed local discussion about public space, property boundaries and the handling of disputes over community environmental initiatives.