Disappointment at railroading serial destruction

With the news that Network Rail stands accused of destroying birds’ nests on railway land in Islington and then hiding behind a shield of Health and Safety excuses. I’m reminded of when their contractors came calling on a stretch of railway in Kent that I’ve know since childhood.

The line runs through the downs and was fringed by scrub and woodland largely untouched for decades. Then apparently out of the blue the felling and clearance began – in May. The rate of clearance was breathtaking but, at pace, I was able to assemble a rough and ready assessment of birds holding territories along the next section (lucky a public footpath ran parallel) and I made this information available to Network Rail.

I spoke to a helpful lady who assured me that a full environmental assessment had been carried out – I asked when and she went to the trouble of finding out. The answer was a surprise and I could tell by her tone that it was as much of a shock to her. The survey work had been carried out the previous November. Now it doesn’t take a fully qualified ecologist to spot that a November survey ahead of work in May might be inadequate ... as a result of the intervention the work was postponed until after the breeding season.

One not insignificant silver lining of the line-side work was the re-growth of scrub with its promise of warblers and nightingales – and this indeed came to pass, last spring a nightingale sang from the edge of the railway.

This spring, I was contacted by a neighbour to say that they (Network Rail’s contractors) were back – and the three year old scrub was razed.  This time I failed to get the work postponed and it was all over for the nightingales for this spring at least.

But this wasn’t an isolated incident. Further east the residents of Whitstable were drawing a very clear line in the sand and the intransigent approach of Network Rail was to be effectively challenged.

While public safety is paramount, Network Rail’s approach is distinctly heavy handed.

In yet another case, diggers and staff cleared trees, shrubs and scrub from a stretch of trackside land near Islington’s Emirates Stadium over the weekend of 9 – 10 June.

Outraged local residents and Green Party activists moved to halt the work and have staged a sit-in at Network Rail’s HQ in Camden’s York Way.

Local residents claim active nests were destroyed, contravening the Wildlife and Countryside Act. British Transport Police are investigating the claims.

Chris Corrigan, our Regional Director for South East England says: “The RSPB was hoping Network Rail would have learned from the Whitstable experience. This case in Islington suggests that for them, the Act is meaningless and it’s back to business as usual.”

The case has angered MP’s. Jeremy Corbyn, who represents the Islington North constituency, has tabled a Parliamentary motion, supported by Green MP Caroline Lucas, describing Network Rail’s behaviour as “insensitive toward the natural environment, nesting birds, [and] the local community”.

We’re calling on Network Rail to radically overhaul their practices to ensure that necessary work is planned and scheduled so that it doesn’t leave wildlife destroyed and communities distraught.

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