A HUGE campaign has been launched to save a "beautiful oasis" in the centre of a New Forest town.

Hundreds of Lymington residents have signed petitions and protest slips in a bid to prevent the Fairwinds Garden Centre being bulldozed by a developer.

The centre, which opened nearly 30 years ago, occupies a medieval strip of land known as a burgage plot.

Customers include a large number of elderly and disabled gardeners who live nearby - many of whom are unable to reach out-of-town nurseries.

They were horrified when Frobisher, which owns the site, submitted plans to demolish the centre and replace it with shops and a restaurant.

Campaigners won the first round of their battle last month, when New Forest District Council rejected the application after receiving more than 1,300 protests.

Now Frobisher has lodged an appeal with the government's planning inspectorate, which has the power to overturn the council's decision and approve the scheme.

Customers are busy sending letters of objection to the inspectorate's offices in Bristol.

They are also urging the council to reject a separate application by Frobisher to build an office on the site of a greenhouse.

Fairwinds manager Edward Oliver said: "About 40 per cent of our customers can't travel because they are elderly, disabled or simply don't have a car.

"Many of them rely on us to obtain plants and deliver them to their homes.

"The site itself is a beautiful oasis - and so many people describe it in those terms that we are thinking of changing the name."

Mr Oliver said six staff would lose their jobs if the business were forced to close.

He added: "The garden centre means everything to us - it's our whole life. We even come in on our days off."

New Forest West MP Desmond Swayne said: "Fairwinds is part of Lymington. It would be much, much better if the site stays as it is."

A Frobisher spokesman was unavailable for comment.

But last year its managing director Nigel Wolstenholme defended the scheme, saying the courtyard design of the proposed development would maintain the shape of the burgage plot.