Since Porterbrook took over the Long Marston Rail Innovation Centre in 2021, we’ve been committed to maintaining and enhancing the biodiversity on the site.

In addition to seeding wild meadows on unused areas of land, we recently planted 46 new trees of various UK-native species to replace trees that had to be removed due to ash dieback.

The disease is increasingly common across woodland in the UK, and removing those trees was essential to minimise its chances of spreading further. Having a variety of newly planted trees, including Yew, Beech, Alder and Pear, supports the biodiversity of the site and reduces the chance of ash dieback reoccurring.