Plans to chop down 500 mature trees in an orchard to make way for a guided busway have been approved by councillors on the grounds it will help reduce .

Coton Orchard, near , has around 1,000 trees producing 26 varieties of apples, as well as plums and pears, and is a designated habitat of primary importance.

But county councillors voted 33 to 26 in favour of the new bus-only route which will link the university city with Cambourne, a growing new town eight miles away.

The decision came despite 2,300 opponents signing a petition and impassioned pleas during the full council meeting to reconsider the ‘utterly destructive' proposal.

Anna Gazeley, whose family own the orchard which was planted in 1922 to produce apples for wholesale trade in Covent Garden, told councillors: ‘Traditional orchards are hotspots of biodiversity in the countryside, supporting a wide range of wildlife as well as an array of nationally rare and nationally scarce species.

Coton Orchard, near Cambridge, is the eighth largest traditional orchard left in the UK, according to Anna Gazeley

An example of what the guided busways look like in Cambridge 

‘They are designated habitats of primary importance and rightly accorded protections.

‘ 

Steve Oram, orchard biodiversity manager at the People's Trust for Endangered Species, said the £160million bus route was an ‘utterly destructive proposal', adding the environmental loss ‘cannot be compensated for'.

Coton Parish Council has previously warned the guided busway would save just 1.5 to 3.5 minutes on a typical journey compared to using an on-road bus lane.

But Lib Dem council leader Lucy Nethsingha referred to a UN report this week which highlighted the need to decarbonise economies.

She said: ‘Quality public transport links are a key part of decarbonisation. Moving to a net zero economy cannot be done without changing the way we travel.' 

The council will seek approval from the Government and a public enquiry will take place before a final decision is made.

The scheme was devised by the Greater Cambridge Partnership, which is already under fire for hugely unpopular proposals to introduce a £5-a-day charge for pornoviking.com cars - more for vans and lorries - on weekday journeys to, from and within a zone that covers virtually the entire city.

Plans to chop down 500 mature trees in the orchard to make way for a guided busway have been approved by councillors

Coton Parish Council has previously warned the guided busway would save just 1.5 to 3.5 minutes on a typical journey compared to using an on-road bus lane