A controversial plan to open a new Aldi supermarket - which would involve felling several trees up to 170 years old - could be given the go-ahead by councillors tonight.

The German discounter wants to replace the Co-operative store in Park Street, Deal, with one of its own.

But the scheme involves removing 10 trees to make way for 10 parking spaces, including two mature white poplars, an oak of about 120 years old and a beech aged about 170.

The scheme has been met with a wave of local opposition with 13 letters of and two petitions totalling 252 names.

The application will be heard by Dover District Council's planning committee.

Aldi is offering to replace the trees with 12 new ones.

But Simon Phillips, tree warden for Deal, said: "There is likely to be a very large carbon footprint associated with the loss of 10 mature trees and their replacement with young trees.

"This is because they aren't capable of soaking up a fraction of the amount of carbon dioxide that a mature tree is."

Aldi has also offered £15,000 to plant three semi-mature trees off-site, somewhere in central of Deal.

But Sarah Gleave, Kingsdown tree warden, said: "This is a PR red herring because the pressure on land in the town is such that it will be difficult to find any land to plant on in the centre of Deal."

Council officers are recommending approval of the scheme.

It is also being backed by other local residents who have sent in 25 letters of support.

They say the new store will bring more people into the town and that the existing building is outdated and needs replacing.

They say this will provide new jobs and development in the area and add that the existing trees are damaging the surface and causing accidents and this will get worse if they are kept.

The German supermarket said that 93% of respondents to the pre-application consultation supported this planning application.

The Dover District Council planning committee meeting is from 6pm tonight at the council chamber at the White Cliffs Business Park, Whitfield.