Mr Aggett said: “Nobody is objecting to these new homes. But we don’t need to destroy the landscape to build them when simple layout tweaks can save these trees.
“This is a massive wasted opportunity – a little care and attention can incorporate Graven Hill’s natural heritage into beautiful parks and neighbourhoods for future generations to enjoy.”
Another resident, Bryony Core, said GHVDC had an “opportunity to show that they can act as stewards of the unique local environment rather than continuing with proposals to fell trees of environmental and historic significance and making the lives of the residents of Graven Hill all the poorer for it”.
Critics have suggested that adjusting park boundaries by a few metres could retain the trees without reducing the number of homes.
The BBC understands the outline application is a “worst case scenario”, with the possibility of identifying more trees to retain at future reserved matters planning stages, and that about 1,500 will be planted, more than those lost.