Plan to fell trees halted after protests by Chorley residents

Plans to fell up to eight trees to improve a car park have been halted by Chorley Council after protests.
Queens Road carpark, ChorleyQueens Road carpark, Chorley
Queens Road carpark, Chorley

The authority had planned to fell the mature, healthy, trees to resurface and create more spaces at Queens Road car park next to Astley Park.

Householders were informed of the plan and immediately objected.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Resident Emma Kilburn set up an online petition in a bid to halt the plan, scheduled for Monday (February 17).

She said: "If the car park requires resurfacing Chorley Council must find a resurfacing solution that doesn’t involve chopping down up to eight mature trees.

"If there isn’t a solution that does not enable the trees to remain then this is not an appropriate location for a car park. "

Emma said there were plenty of carparking spaces in Chorley.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She added: "Users of the car park (mainly walkers in the park, businesses on Queens Road and their customers), have had no issue in driving around these beautiful trees to access a parking spot.

"If there aren't enough spaces, there is a car park just around the corner, a couple of minutes away and further car parks at St Mary's, Devonshire Rd and Gillibrand Street."

There were also concerns about the local bat population, and the destruction of their habitat.

Today Coun Peter Wilson, Deputy Leader of Chorley Council said: "“We’ve been listening to what people have been saying and appreciate that residents have genuine concerns about what we propose to do.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"On the back of comments raised we’ll be looking at reviewing plans for the car park further so we can strike a balance between having a safe and secure town centre car park and making sure the Borough does what it can to tackle climate change.

"In the meantime, the plans for the tree removal next week have been postponed while we look to address the concerns raised.

"We will communicate further with residents when we have more information.”

Related topics: