Campaigners fear Bingley will lose its character if trees are felled to make way for a supermarket.

An online petition has been launched against Sainsbury’s plans to chop down about a dozen mature trees on the edge of the former Bradford & Bingley headquarters site in Main Street.

Supermarket bosses bought the B&B building in a multi-million pound deal and have tabled plans to build a two-storey store with underground parking.

Steve Wells, of Park Avenue, Bingley, started an online petition and has collected signatures in the town centre against the loss of the trees.

He said: “The new plans are to fill up the whole of the old B&B site with the new store. That will entail the loss of trees, mainly behind the site in Myrtle Grove. It would ruin the character of Bingley.”

Mr Wells, 48, said he had lobbied Bradford Council to put a Tree Preservation Order on the trees but without success.

The online petition has so far been signed by 84 people and two paper petitions have received 107 and 40 signatures respectively.

spokesman for Sainsbury’s admitted that trees would be lost. Development manager Kevin Macmillan said: “Sainsbury’s proposals for a new store on the Bradford & Bingley site include significant new landscaping, particularly at the rear of the building facing on to Myrtle Park.

“While some trees would be lost with the development, we are currently proposing more trees on and off the site, the extent and location of which will be agreed with Bradford Council."

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