A petition against Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s plan to cut 67 oak and three beech trees at Oakdown Farm in Dummer has crossed 99,000 digital signatures.

The online petition was launched by Dummer residents after the council approved plans for a warehouse close to Junction 7 of the M3.

The campaign against the warehouse plan has garnered huge support, both online and offline, in the past two months.

It is now just short of 300 signatures to cross 100,000.

The controversial project was first announced last summer, before The Gazette exclusively revealed that Amazon is set to occupy one of the units.

Those who support the campaign include Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, who said she is horrified at plans to destroy historic trees to build a warehouse.

Writing exclusively in The Gazette last month, Sarah said the plans “must be brought to a halt before it’s too late”.

The 61-year-old has fond memories of the countryside around her childhood home in Dummer and said the trees earmarked for demolition inspired her book, The Enchanted Oak Tree.

She wrote: “The proposals will destroy the woodland corridor of 67 mature oaks and three mature beech trees of Grade A status on the old road into Dummer, plus a further 13 oak trees.

“Wildlife experts say that some of these trees are 130 years old, and each one supports up to 2,300 species of wildlife, including important bird and insect species and bats.

“In my view, this development is unsustainable and completely at odds with Basingstoke and Deane’s recent declaration that we are facing a climate emergency and commitments to a net zero borough by 2030.

“I really cannot bear the thought that anyone would think it possible to cut down these incredible trees that have inspired me for decades for storage space. These plans must be brought to a halt before it is too late.”

Six MPs, including Maria Miller, have already called on central government to ‘call in’ the decision.

You can read the petition here.