Residents were upset by tree felling on the Midland Mainline earlier this year

Network Rail will host a meeting with residents over the "horrifying" felling of trees along a railway line near Higham.

The firm said it will discuss "what went wrong" with vegetation management along the Midland Mainline, which "fell short of our standards".

Work was carried out by an external contractor earlier this year to ensure rail services would continue to be safe and reliable, but residents said the work near Higham, Derbyshire, included the felling of healthy oak and birch trees.

Sarah McRow, 56, co-owner of Brackenfield Alpacas, described the felling as "unnecessary and an extreme overreach" and has called for Network Rail to set out a restoration plan. "I want them to admit wrongdoing and I would like to see changes in their vegetation management procedures," she added. Ms McRow said she believes the contractor responsible for the work was terminated by Network Rail.

Network Rail said fencing work had been delayed because of a "change of contractor" but declined to comment further.

The BBC has contacted the contractor believed to have carried out the work initially, but has not received a response.

A report completed in June 2025 by the Tree Council charity said "good work" was carried out at Duffield and north of Wingfield station/Higham Bridge.

However, it added there was "much poorer work" between Wingfield and Higham. The report said that south of Higham Bridge, contractors had felled oaks which could have been retained but left ash and other live trees that were "showing signs of ash dieback."

The report added that Network Rail should "seek answers" from the contractors as to why "such different specifications had been applied to very similar stretches of line – north and south of Higham bridge." The charity said this had "not helped Network Rail with both its vegetation management in the area and its relations with the community."

A spokesperson for Network Rail, which is holding the meeting at The Santos Farm Hotel from 18:00 GMT, said: "We agreed to hold this week's public meeting to discuss with the community what went wrong with the initial vegetation clearance and why, and what's been done since to rectify matters, including our replanting work with the Tree Council."

Wadworth Brewery buildings conversion given go-ahead


Developers have given an idea of what they hope the redeveloped brewery site will look like

Permission has been granted for the redevelopment of Grade II* listed Victorian brewery buildings into homes.

Dating back to 1875, the Wadworth and Co brewery site in Devizes has been empty since the firm moved to new premises, away from the town centre, in 2023.

Most of the Victorian site's industrial buildings were demolished last month to make way for 102 new homes, with only the listed Wadworth building, White Lion pub and adjacent buildings remaining.

Wiltshire Council has now given consent to change these into 23 new apartments, a house and commercial space, which developers hoped, alongside existing plans for the site, would create a new "cultural quarter" for the town.



The developers, Nash Partnership, said that the cultural area would be formed with developer Backhouse's development on the northern portion of the site, and the revamp of the historic Assize Court as the new home for Wiltshire Museum to the west, and would have the "regenerated heritage buildings at its heart".

Simon Williams, town clerk for Devizes, said: "The town council has been supportive of the application throughout and is delighted to see this historic site being developed." He added that the council was "pleased to see the town centre having investment made which connects with other developments in a supportive way".

The plans include re-using specific artefacts from the site such as copper vessels, engines and brewery equipment, as part of the designs.

Perhaps there were some acting civil servants ... bearing in mind that many of them work for a company that receives £1 million per day from the public purse, and who's operation of GWR will be part of the public sector within a year from now.   Several times during the meeting, it was asked that we reduce the time being spent on background information highlighting some of the positives that can be presented, and the intent and analysis, and move more closely onto customer issues.  It is natural for people who are or will be, directly or indirect, paid by civil servant masters to want to protect their positions.

And from comments on the BBC article ...
.....Comment by millkeeper at 11:14.....
.....I'm surprised this hasn't included rail companies and airlines who all say prices from but there are so few of those seats available they shouldn't be able to advertise like this

A gritting lorry has blocked a road after overturning while heading out ahead of expected wintry weather conditions.

The crash happened on the A382 near Moretonhampstead and Lustleigh on Dartmoor at about 15:20 GMT with a road closure set up while emergency services deal with the incident.

Devon and Cornwall Police said the driver of the lorry is believed to have sustained minor injuries and motorists have been asked to avoid the area.

Councils across Devon and Cornwall have sent gritters out to prepare roads for snow and ice which have been forecast and led to a Met Office weather warning which is active until 23:59 on Thursday.

(BBC article continues)

The damage done by one particular former member who wrote a destructive script (in 2013) could be repeated more easily if we turned in back on.

Worcester railway mural project divides opinion


Tewkesbury-based artist Sarah Brown has been chosen to lead the mural project

Plans for a mural under a railway bridge in Worcester have divided opinion.

The project, which has been approved by the city council, is to be placed underneath the bridge near Foregate Street Station and will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the modern railway.

The council and Severn Arts said they hoped the project would draw attention towards the arches and the walkway that links Foregate Street to the river.

But the Conservation Advice Panel has objected to the scheme, saying recently exposed brickwork should be celebrated and potentially cleaned up.

In response, council officers said the mural would not be painted directly on to the bricks but on an aluminium panel that could be removed in the future.

The project has been described by planning officers as "a sensitive and reversible cultural intervention that celebrates Worcester's railway heritage by enhancing the public realm".

Tewkesbury-based artist Sarah Brown, who has recently created a large mural in Redditch, has been chosen for the Foregate Street project.

She will be working with residents of Platform Housing and students from Heart of Worcestershire College.

Inspiration will be taken from vintage railway posters that used to be displayed under the bridge in the 1960s.

Councillor Alan Amos said the project was "excellent" and asked for railway staff to be included in consultations.

... if any member wants the removal of something they posted, but which they are unable to edit for whatever reason, I can help. CfN.

Increasingly as we move to "One Railway" and to avoid finger pointing, they are just identified as "trains" rather than freight or passenger.