Residents of Ballsbridge in Dublin have compared the BusConnects plan to a "savage, unnecessary attack" on their area.

The re-design of the city's bus network will mean that some people are set to lose their front gardens, while hundreds of trees will be chopped down.

Concerned locals held a meeting last night over two of the proposed new corridors from Ballsbridge to the city centre and from Blackrock to Merrion.

Earlier this month, red ribbons were tied around trees in the Dublin 4 area that would be chopped down under the plans.

Some locals said that the plan is "killing neighbourhoods".

Linda O'Shea-Farren from the Pembroke Road Residents Association said that the long-term solution is rail and Luas.

"This is, by their own admission, a short to a medium-term solution," she said.

"So why are they killing our neighbourhoods, riding roughshod through our communities for a temporary solution?"

A spokesperson for the NTA said it was working to balance the concerns of local residents with the need to improve public transport.