Protest over Newark plan to fell trees for car park

The lawn area will be developed to provide 36 extra car parking spaces

Plans to chop down trees and build on a green space have provoked protests in a Nottinghamshire town.

Newark and Sherwood District Council is planning to extend a car park by the town's library on Balderton Gate, but this means felling four trees.

It said landscaping and planting would water down the effects.

Campaigners say the car parking spaces are not needed. They say mature trees are irreplaceable, and not enough consultation was done on the plan.

Campaigners said they only found out about the plans when they were "done and dusted"

The authority said it did consult on the plan.

But Jenni Harding, from the group Protecting Newark's Green Spaces, said: "The council did a lot of this behind closed doors, and we only found out about it after they had given themselves planning permission.

"It was done and dusted without consultation with the community.

"We don't need more spaces. This is not the Newark we want to leave our children and grandchildren."

Banners have been put on some of the trees

A council spokesman said more car parking spaces were needed "to maintain a thriving and sustainable town centre".

He added tree planting would see a net increase of 16 trees and "significant and proper consideration has been devoted to ensuring that the area remains visually appealing".