Newmarket Town Council call for Network Rail to tidy up former railway station

The owners of Newmarket’s former railway station have enlisted the support of the town council to press Network Rail to clear an area of undergrowth which is affecting offices based in the building.

Members of the Fairbairn family, who inherited the station as part of the estate of Sir James Brooke Fairbairn after his death in 2017, have told Network Rail that a recent survey found that the area on the track side of the station was ‘completely unkempt’ and required immediate attention to prevent further overgrowth which posed a risk of dampness in the buildings.

Businesses with offices in the station include Rapido Racing Ltd and Cooleraid Ltd, which already have significant areas of damp on their walls.

And staff at Smarter Metering Services Ltd are putting up with branches of shrubs growing through their windows, dampness and a lack of light due to the height of the undergrowth.

Newmarket town councillors agreed at a recent meeting that the area was in an ‘unacceptable condition’ and are to write to Network Rail endorsing the comments made in the Fairbairn family’s letter.