// Hundreds of people sign petition against new Lidl supermarket
// Lidl faces criticism for chopping down trees in Linthorpe
// Middlesbrough councillor Philippa Storey has urged authorities to refuse planning permission
Lidl is reportedly under fire for chopping down trees to build a supermarket as hundreds of people sign a petition to protest the new site.
Middlesbrough councillor Philippa Storey has urged the authority to refuse planning permission for the store, which is set to be built in Linthorpe.
Storey launched the petition and said the number of signatories showed the level of anger felt in the area, BBC News reported.
READ MORE: Lidl to swap out single use fruit & veg plastic bags for compostable alternatives
Lidl said it would consult residents and had planned a “planting scheme”.
Until a planning application was submitted, residents needed a “vehicle” to express how they feel about the removal of the trees and about a potential supermarket on the site,” Storey said.
Last week, Lidl felled trees at the site of the former Northern School of Art campus.
Residents said habitats for local finches, robins and blackbirds and other wildlife had been lost.
The petition has received more than 1680 signatures since Wednesday.
The town’s mayor Andy Preston and MP Andy McDonald have also expressed their concerns, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
Lidl has not announced a date for submitting a planning application.
However, it would undertake a thorough consultation with the local community.
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