The owner of a parcel of land near Victoria General Hospital says his plan to cut down some 5,000 trees on the property is allowed under the rules of the Agricultural Land Reserve.

Allen Vandekerkhove says the trees will be cut to make way for hay production.

He says he postponed the logging in recent years because he thought a sewage treatment plant might be built on the property, but despite spending $100,000 on a proposal for the plant, Vandekerkhove says it was shelved.

He says he's turning to farming the land, so the trees must come down.

With files from CFAX 1070