14-05-2025
Network Rail ‘devastated' valley by felling more than 100 oaks
Network Rail has been accused of 'devastating' a valley by felling hundreds of trees, including ancient oaks.
Contractors were brought in to clear vegetation across the Midland Mainline near Higham, Derbyshire, but have been accused of causing widespread destruction.
Distraught residents questioned why healthy oak and birch trees had been chopped down during nesting season, and described the 'heartbreaking' scene of watching birds returning to nests that lay in piles of logs on the ground.
The taxpayer-funded company has been accused of illegally felling without an ecologist on site, before putting the remains through a chipper in an effort to remove evidence.
In September, a handful of residents were said to have received correspondence from Network Rail outlining plans for 'vegetation management' between November and March.
It said the work was designed to 'remove or reduce trees and vegetation that could disrupt railway operations' and laid out plans to 'clear all vegetation within 6.5 metres of the tracks'.
But this was extended to include overnight work during weekends in May, as horrified locals awoke to the sound of chainsaws.
They found hundreds of trees, including more than 100 oaks, felled along a three-mile stretch of the line between South Wingfield and Ogston Bridge, near Higham.
Devastated residents said the stacked piles of trunks and branches – containing nests to which birds still returned – were then put through a large chipper.
Cllr Heather Liggett said the work had devastated the area, a unique area of greenery that had remained mostly untouched aside from when the train line was built in 1840.
She added: 'Some of those oaks will have been there before the train line was even built. The residents have been woken up by the chainsaws overnight. To know what is happening and be able to hear it makes it even worse.
'They took out every single tree that was in front of them, even if they were healthy.'
Workers initially took out hawthorn trees, but soon reached mature oaks that were home to many birds.
Cllr Liggett accused the train company of operating illegally because it did not have an ecologist on site and questioned how it could justify such sweeping removals on health and safety grounds.
The local community has shared its distress, confronting workers and vowing to tie themselves to trees to try and stop the contractors.
Sarah McRow, 56, who co-owns a nearby alpaca farm, said: 'What they are doing is bordering on corporate malfeasance. Nobody in the valley can believe it, it's truly horrifying.
'I was devastated beyond belief. I actually burst into tears. This is hundreds of trees and thousands of years of tree heritage wiped out in a couple of nights.'
She said the trees up to 6.5m did not need to be felled as that was only for electrified lines.
Ms McRow added that the biggest cause of cancellations had been industrial action and nothing to do with trees or overhanging vegetation, making it even more 'appalling'.
A Network Rail spokesman said: 'Our railway lines are important corridors for wildlife and biodiversity, but safety comes first, and we sometimes must remove trees.
'There are strict rules around undertaking essential vegetation management during the bird nesting season.
'That's why we have a qualified ecologist who works closely with us to ensure that our teams on site are carefully briefed on the rules and follow them.'
