Wickes has been given the go-ahead to open a store in Canterbury, but a bid to chop down a dozen healthy trees has been turned down - for now.

More than 100 people had lodged objections against the DIY retailer’s proposals to fell mature London Planes on the Wincheap Industrial Estate.

The controversial plans, which would make the store more visible from the road, were part of Wickes’ scheme to open a new branch in the former Homebase unit in Cow Lane.

Members of Canterbury City Council’s planning committee discussed the proposals at a virtual meeting on Tuesday evening, where rules on the legality of the tree felling were eventually made clear.

In the application, Wickes had clearly highlighted a number of trees were to be felled.

But it has now been established the firm will need to submit further applications to gain permission to uproot the long-standing trees.

Those lining Cow Lane next to the road are on land owned by Kent County Council, while those in the site’s car park are owned by the city council.

Wickes would therefore require separate permission from both authorities before it can start up the chainsaw.

Committee chairman Cllr Colin Spooner said: “I can see the headline in the paper, ‘planning committee approves slaughtering of healthy trees’. So I am very much keen on not seeing anything like that.”

It was made in clear the meeting that approving the planning application, which also included installing a customer entrance lobby and covered trolley park, was not granting permission for the tree felling.

Wincheap is classed by the council as “an area of concern” for pollution and the heavily congested suburb is deemed the worst zone in the district for levels of harmful nitrogen oxide emissions.

Cllr Neil Baker said protecting the trees is the “damn right thing to do”.

As the council is the landlord of the site, he stressed it was “crucial” that permission was not granted for the trees’ removal further down the line.

A vote gave Wickes approval to make modifications at the site, but not chop down the trees.

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