Network Rail’s plan to cut 13m trees ‘will cause deforestation’

NETWORK RAIL’S plan to cut down 13million trees along tracks means the country would be felling more than it was planting, the Woodland Trust says.

The government-funded rail body wants to remove the trees in a fiveyear, £800million programme to stop delays caused by leaves on the line. But it means more trees will be cut down than planted for the first time in 40 years, the Woodland Trust said.

Nick Atkinson, conservation adviser at the trust, said 13 million trees equated to around 12,000 hectares of woodland, twice the amount created in the UK last year and such a loss “would effectively ensure the UK would be in a state of net deforestation”.

He said it would “have a major effect on the environment in terms of pollution reduction, wildlife and carbon capture”, adding: “We are actively seeking a meeting with Network Rail to resolve the issue.”

Mary Creagh, chairman of parliament’s environmental audit committee, said the plans were “short-sighted”, adding: “Railside trees reduce pollution, protect biodiversity and provide our wildlife with habitat corridors.”

Network Rail said: “We have well thought-out standards and policies in place that have been developed over many years and that we believe strike the right balance and maintain a safe and biodiverse line-side.”

♦ Grass verges must be allowed to grow because plant diversity is falling and they are the last remaining refuge for many under-pressure bees, butterflies, birds, bats and bugs, Plantlife, a national conservation charity, has warned. It criticised councils for their “over-eager regime of mowing”.