Network Rail says the works were necessary but there is widespread local anger
00:01, 13 May 2026
Kay Inckle, from Wavertree, and the trees cut down on rail embankments(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
A woman says she feels sick every time she visits her favourite Liverpool park after what she terms a “massacre of nature”. Kay Inckle previously spent her evenings hand-cycling through Wavertree Playground, known as The Mystery, watching bats she said used to flit through the trees along the rail line.
But she said she can’t go back after trees were “massacred” along the boundary of the popular South Liverpool park in Network Rail works. Network Rail has been removing trees along a five-mile stretch of the West Coast Mainline from South Parkway, Garston, to Edge Hill since February, with works expected to continue into 2027.
A fact-finding meeting was held Tuesday afternoon between the Tree Council and Network Rail. The Tree Council describes itself as an “independent critical friend” of Network Rail, looking at its management of trees on its land. Network Rail maintains that the works were necessary to protect its infrastructure.
Works took place in Mossley Hill and Wavertree in April. Previously densely-wooded areas of railway embankment have been almost entirely cleared of vegetation, with piles of logs and wood-chippings replacing towering ash and oak.
In a letter to local residents late last month, Network Rail warned residents that, “due to a lack of maintenance in recent years”, the work would “create a visual change to the appearance of the railway from surrounding properties”.
‘It has ruined this park for me’
Kay Inckle visited the park with the ECHO for the first time since the trees were felled, saying she was too upset to return previously(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
““It’s ruined this park for me,” Kay Inckle, from Wavertree, told the ECHO on her first visit to The Mystery since the works took place. “I used to handcycle down this path all the time.
“Now it makes me sick. I can’t come here anymore. The trees have been massacred, and each tree is an ecosystem. They’ve killed those ecosystems, which have been here for decades.”
Referring to the railway which runs along the southern edge of the park, she said: “It was so beautiful, and densely wooded, with bluebells in the early spring. It was a wonderful place to come, but there has been a massacre of nature.”
Trees cut down on the rail embankments in Wavertree(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
Network Rail notified residents of works and held a meeting with residents in Garston in February. The publicly-owned body said sites were assessed by its ecologists ahead of the works, that daily ecology checks were carried out, and that it cuts back only that which is necessary.
The ECHO understands trees were checked by ecologists for the presence of bats, and that such trees were lowered to the ground slowly if no evidence was found.
‘I’ve felt powerless’
Jo Ridley in the community garden between Tiverton Street and the railway, Wavertree
Jo Ridley, 56, lives close to the rail line in Wavertree and received a letter from Network Rail ahead of the works. She said: “We’ve had those letters before and it’s just been a little bit of management, not virtually obliterating the whole forest of trees all the way along the railway line.
“My first view of what they were actually doing was going through the park and seeing all these stumps of really mature trees low down the bank. Many weren’t even close to the railway.
“I was so shocked when I saw Garmoyle Road. They just took it all out. What must these people be feeling that live along here? What’s happened to the wildlife? Where are these birds going to go?
The embankment behind Garmoyle Road.(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
“Wildlife corridors in cities are so essential at a time of biodiversity loss and climate crisis. In what universe do they think what has happened is okay?”
Jo is a member of the Concerned Residents of Wavertree, which runs a community garden alongside the railway behind Tiverton Street. She said: “We have always seen bats at dusk, but we haven’t seen any since the works began. We’ve also had a tawny owl which arrived in the winter, and it’s been a delight, but since the work, we’ve not been hearing it.”
Jo added: “For many of us in South Liverpool, we haven’t got gardens, so these green spaces are so essential to our wellbeing. I’ve found it so stressful and so upsetting. I’ve felt powerlessness, and that something really unjust is happening and I’m not feeling able to do anything.”
‘Treegate’
The embankment close to The Mystery(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
Network Rail is one of the UK’s largest landowners, with control over 52,000 hectares of land and more than 6 million trees. The Department for Transport noted in 2019 that the railways “provide important corridors for wildlife”.
In 2018, then-Rail Minister Jo Johnson commissioned the independent Varley Review, which analysed Network Rail’s approach to vegetation management.
Mr Varley found a “lack of strategic vision and ambition, and limited evidence of a culture that values the environment as a national asset” at Network Rail. He analysed the clearance of trees along the line through Hadley Wood, north of London, in 2018, when Network Rail removed trees from the railway line to the boundary fence, 60 metres away.
The ‘Treegate Campaign’ was launched by local campaigners, who raised concerns about the ecological impact and the potential impact on slope stability.
A month after the works took place, Mr Varley found, it “became clear that Network Rail had been unaware of the level of work undertaken by the contractor”.
The railway seen from The Mystery(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
Mr Varley said Network Rail should “lead a cultural change for valuing nature” and “must improve its communication with communities”.
Network Rail welcomed the review, saying it was “developing an ambitious vision” for managing lineside habitats. Chief Executive Andrew Haines said at the time that he wanted to “confirm our commitment to valuing and enhancing nature alongside Britain’s railways.”
In 2019, the Department for Transport said it expected Network Rail “to achieve no net loss in biodiversity on its existing lineside estate by 2024 and to achieve biodiversity net gain on each route by 2040.”
The Department was approached for comment but said Network Rail was best-placed to respond.
‘You have acted in a spirit worthy of illegal Brazilian loggers’
Trees cut down on the rail embankments in Wavertree.(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
Local councillor and former Lord Mayor Richard Kemp described Network Rail’s approach as “to say the least, barbaric”. Cllr Kemp is leading a campaign for redress as he demands a “green environment line” alongside the rail line, with shrubs and bushes being planted on the embankment in place of the felled trees.
He said the works had “badly damaged the appearance” of Wavertree Playground, known locally as The Mystery.
In a letter to Network Rail, seen by the ECHO, Cllr Kemp said: “All this was done in a consultation which can only be described as crass and half-hearted.”
He added: “If you see the way that you have acted here in a spirit worthy of the illegal Brazilian loggers perhaps your company would think differently about other unsympathetic actions of this type.”
Cllr Richard Kemp(Image: Liverpool Echo)
The ECHO understands Network Rail officials met with members of the Tree Council on Tuesday afternoon (May 13). The Tree Council has worked with Network Rail following similar incidents previously, including the clearing of Hadley Wood in 2018.
Last year, Network Rail contractors removed dozens of trees from the rail line through the Amber Valley, Derbyshire. Local residents expressed their outrage, forming the Save Amber Valley Environment group.
The Tree Council worked with the the group in an effort to “begin to restore” the valley after the clearances.
The ECHO approached Network Rail for comment. A spokesperson said: “Woodland management has to take place on the railway in order to allow trains to run effectively and safely. However, we take our environmental responsibilities seriously and complete extensive checks before work begins.
“Our ecology teams complete an appraisal of the site before any work can begin and then daily checks on areas where tree felling is due to take place. This includes monitoring for nesting birds and other protected species including bats.
“We aim to retain trees wherever it is safe to do so. But trees within striking distance of overhead lines, the track itself or third-party properties can be a danger to the safety and operation of the railway.”