Plans by a nursery to remove a mature tree and knock down a Victorian wall have provoked strong objections from nearby residents.

Piper's Nursery, Southport Road, Chorley, has submitted an application to Chorley Borough Council to create four car parking spaces and access to their property from the rear on Shaftesbury Place.

Protestor Vicky Smith, 33, of Shaftesbury Place, said: "I have spoken to people living here and without exception they are all angry at these plans and will be objecting.

"Creating a car park there would mean the knocking down of an original Victorian wall and felling the beautiful horse chesnut tree which has stood in the cu-de-sac for decades.

"I understand that there is a tree preservation order in place and a previous application was turned down because of that but they are now trying to destroy it again.

"We believe the tree is part of Chorley's civic heritage and to contemplate the destruction of it disrespectful to the community and wildlife."

If approved, the proposals would also take away several parking places from the north side of Shaftesbury Place which is currently a 30-minute parking zone. It is one of the few parking zones in the area where non-residents can park.

There is currently only gate access to the nursery from Shaftesbury Place.

Councillor Ralph Snape, who represents the area, said: "I have viewed the plans and it's my opinion that this should not go ahead.

"The trees appear to be healthy and I'm also concerned about access because the roadside opposite is residents' parking so I can see difficulties entering and leaving on to the road."

A spokesperson for Piper's Nursery said: "If we were to gain some onsite parking, this would ease problems that occur now at times when children attending the nursery are dropped off and picked up.

"With regard to the tree, the roots have been rising up through the concrete and damaging the wall and footpath for quite a while now.

"There are no plans to increase our capacity, we just want to help the parking situation."