IT is with outrage and sadness that Bolton Green Party learns of the cutting down of healthy trees along the stretch of railway line in Moses Gate.

Network rail says it cut down the trees in preparation for electrification of the line.

We ask was it really necessary to cut them down, as opposed to the pruning the healthy trees?

This has also saddened and angered local residents.

Not only is it an attack on wildlife and the bird population that inhabit the trees.

We would like to remind Network Rail that trees are a vital element in tackling climate change,trees absorb carbon dioxide (CO2), removing, and storing it, and we must reduce our carbon footprint. Trees release oxygen back into the air.

It seems that Network Rail did not conduct a proper consultation process, according to some of the residents.

But the fact is there was no real need to cut down healthy trees, we can only conclude that this was tantamount to an act of vandalism on the part of Network Rail.

Alan Johnson

Media officer

Bolton Green Party