Residents disturbed by early morning tree felling
LDRSResidents living near a train line say they have been left with a "lunar landscape" and disturbed sleep after trees were cut down in the early hours of the morning.
Tyne and Wear Metro operator carried out the works near Percy Avenue as part of a major line closure, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.
Steven Shiel, head of rail infrastructure maintenance at Nexus, said the work at Cullercoats was "essential for the management" of the line, with the trees posing a "risk to the safety of our railway".
However, resident Sophie McGlinn said the trees had grown for 30 years and their removal was a "a hatchet job".
McGlinn, who stood as a Green Party candidate in elections earlier this year, said the majority of trees were taken down overnight between Monday and Tuesday, with more taken down during the day.
"Everyone had their sleep disturbed," she said.
Nexus said some trees required removal or had undergone pruning, with the works being "carefully planned" to coincide with a nine-day line closure between St James and Monkseaton.
Ruth Lambert, another Percy Avenue resident, said chainsaws and chippers had been used between midnight and 04:00 GMT on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Submitted"I have been left with a lunar landscape, it's dreadful," she said.
"There were chainsaws 20ft from my bedroom window and a big chipper machine, and it went on for four hours."
Lambert also said she feared a wildlife corridor had been "decimated".
Shiel said Nexus recognised the use of specialist equipment had created noise for nearby residents, saying "we appreciate their patience while essential work is carried out".
He said railway lines were natural wildlife corridors and there would be "regrowth over time".
"We will also consider opportunities for future planting of appropriate native species where suitable," he said.
