Disappointment at Tree Report's findings - residents' fight continues
(February 2007 - updated March 2007)

by Simon Battle

Network Rail's report on the rail cutting between Addison Road and Highdown Road is a major disappointment. This was commissioned after a concerted campaign by residents which culminated in a public meeting with Network Rail at Hove Town Hall at the end of last year.

It is not independent and does little to strike a reasonable balance between safety concerns and environmental protection.

Residents have commissioned their own independent studies into both the trees and the site geology. These suggest an alternative approach to Network Rails clearance policy would be to coppice the trees once every ten years or so. Vince and I are bringing a letter to Environment Committee on 15 March to highlight this issue again.

The report seems to solely serve the purpose of Network Rail's interests and does not address the concerns of residents. There is a lack of acknowledgement of the company's failure to manage the land effectively over many years. It even seems to weaken the public committment provided by the company at the public meeting to retain a screen of trees of some sort at the end of people's gardens.

The report, if accurate, does at least appear to confirm "numerous" Elm trees in the cutting. These will be removed to prevent the spread of Dutch Elm Disease to the City's reknowned Elm tree collection. The work will begin in March.

However, the proposed programme of works implies the destruction of all trees, Elm and otherwise, over the course of the next two years.

The full report is here in PDF format. It is a large file and may take a while to download or open:

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