Penny Davidson said the group was concerned that the tree removal had not been included in the development application for the site.

It is understood the trees were removed under the Shoalhaven Council's "45 degree rule". The 45-degree rule allows trees to be removed within 45 degrees of a building, and can mean the removal of trees about 20 metres out.

Such a removal would not have to be included in the development application.

"The other problem is that there should be [someone] on site so any animals with a home in those trees can be rehomed safely - that didn't happen," Ms Davidson said.

"[The trees] are 100-200 years old, they're not going to come back in our lifetime. It's now a big open wound in the middle of Husky."

Developer Stephen Bartlett said the trees were removed under the 45 degree rule for liability reasons, and to facilitate the relocation of the church.

"The ecological report included a fauna study, which found the tree hollows on site are too shallow to accommodate any animals," he said.

"One magpie nest was found and relocated using a cherry picker.

"There is no requirement for an environment officer to be on site, the requirement is to abide by the regulations, which is what we do."

The ecological report Mr Bartlett referenced has not yet been released.

Mr Bartlett said trees on a portion of the site owned by the Local Aboriginal Land Council were "not harmed in any way".