05 Nov 2024
Thousands of trees across Harpenden and East Hyde are being chopped down as part of Network Rail’s track maintenance programme, but residents have accused the company of being disingenuous in its publicity for the work.
According to Network Rail, it is “a careful balancing act between keeping trains running safely for thousands of passengers and freight services and the needs of the environment”.
Homeowners living near the railway line say the company’s contractors have gone too far and are chopping down trees when all that was promised was they would be trimmed.
At a public meeting Network Rail held in the town in July they suggested the work would have minimal impact on residents.
Rushton Scranage, who has lived at East Common for 18 years, was one of those who attended.
He said: “We were mainly seen individually as we all live on different roads and they showed us drawings of the limited work to be carried out, the rough dates of the works etc.
“We were told that both the disruption and effect of the works would be minimal to us as any trimming of trees would only be subject to the track-side of the line.
“Network Rail presented it such that there was basically nothing to worry about and there would be no change to the local environment or outlook, noise would be the only thing we would have to put up with whilst work was ongoing.
“However they have been totally disingenuous, carrying out far more destruction that is necessary or indeed what they presented in the scope of their works. Undoubtedly if at the meeting they had presented their real intentions there would have been an uproar from the vast majority of Harpenden residents present and possible protests.”
He has spoken to the contractors in charge of the tree felling: “I was told by them that trees overhanging the fields, away from the railway line were being cut down as well as trees that had the potential to fall onto the line or overhead cables even if they posed no danger to the railway line at all. They said it was easier to take all the trees out rather than being selective.”
Another local resident, Nicola Lloyd, was horrified to see the destruction in Ayres End Lane.
She said: “Network Rail has a statutory undertaking to look after the land either side of the railway line – but that undertaking doesn’t give them the right to just chop down the trees!
“Every day in the news we hear about climate change, flooding, environment destruction, noise pollution and here is a huge corporation using their weight to save money by cutting down trees they used to trim in an annual basis. This is nothing more than a money saving exercise and to hell with the environment!
“The neighbourhood is furious about this as Network Rail has been disingenuous about what they were doing!
“The drawings they showed at the public meeting were of trimming back – not destroying!”
A Network Rail spokesperson said: “We’re sorry to local people who’ve have raised concerns about the work to remove trees between Harpenden and East Hyde. Our teams have to follow strict guidelines when carrying out work of this kind and it’s a careful balancing act between keeping trains running safely for thousands of passengers and freight services and the needs of the environment.
“Recently, we have had multiple cases of trees in this area falling onto the railway and damaging the overhead lines, causing expensive delays for passengers. This is a serious safety risk and can potentially cause injury as well as travel chaos.
“We issued letters to residents and held a public information event back in July where we invited local people to attend so we could explain in person what we intended to do, why we’re required by law to do it and how we will mitigate the impact for local wildlife. The work began in August and will continue till March 2025 and will be carried out sensitively, one site at a time, over many months.”
But Nicola added: “We have commuted into London for years and we have never had trains cancelled because a tree has fallen on the line! All they need to do is trim the trees as they have done for the eight years that I’ve lived here!”
