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Tunnel idea delays HS2 decision and angers opponents
An aerial view of the new High Speed 1 rail link in Kent, built by London and Continental Railways. Photo by Mac Hawkins/LCR
CAMPAIGNERS will have to wait until the new year to find out if HS2 will go ahead – because the coalition wants to know if it can build a £500 million tunnel under the Chilterns as a suspected ‘sweetener’.
The final decision was expected this month, but has been put back by Justine Greening while a feasibility study is undertaken to see if a tunnel could minimise the line’s impact on the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Martin Tett, leader of Bucks County Council and chairman of the 51m group of 18 councils that oppose HS2, said: “There’s no evidence yet where the £500 million is to come from, nor do we know who will suffer as a result.
“The proposed HS2 route does irreparable harm not only to the Chilterns AONB, but to towns, villages and beautiful countryside all along the route.
“This would bring immediate benefits at a time of austerity, when investing in UK infrastructure is imperative.
“We need to spend on a decent transport infrastructure for the entire country – not sink every spare penny into one superfluous rail line.
Chairman and social media director of Stop HS2, Penny Gaines, of Quainton, said: “Justine Greening told the Transport Select Committee she intended to make a rational decision about HS2.
“It looks like she is delaying the decision, but meanwhile her officials are scrabbling round looking for a way to buy off a few people in the Chilterns.
“We hope that she realises that opposition to HS2 is because the project is a bad project for the nation.”
Shirley Judges, Stop HS2 director and chairman of the Great Missenden HS2 Action group, said: “As far as the AONB is concerned this proposal makes things very much worse.
“We know that the greatest damage and disruption will be at tunnel entrances – materials and equipment depots, massive caravan sites for the work force. If the tunnel is extended by 1.5 miles the entrance and associated devastation will no longer be on the southern border of the AONB, it will be right inside it.”
Mike Fox, Chairman of the Chilterns Conservation Board, said: “The damage that would be caused by HS2 would be massive, so we welcome the secretary of state for transport’s decision to delay her announcement on whether it will go ahead or not.
“This will give much-needed time for the government to reflect on the enormous number of objections submitted by people across the UK to this very costly project.”
A longer tunnel north of Amersham is a better option than excavating deep cuttings, but the rail line will still run across the surface for 8 miles through the Chilterns AONB.
“The scale of environmental damage to this nationally-protected area would still be huge and unacceptable.”
Steve Rodrick, chief officer at the board, added: “We recognise the government’s attempts to ensure the national protection given to an AONB means something.
“A longer tunnel, whilst welcome, would make little overall difference to the environmental impact of the railway which will still consume huge amounts of energy and damage many, many important sites for wildlife.
“The conservation board still believes that there is no sound case for building HS2.”
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Comments
There are 10 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
Padav
Tuesday, December 27, 2011 at 01:44 PM@Dave2 - I am an ordinary individual with no special position (I work in Commercial Shipping) and no benefit (direct or indirect) to gain from the implementation of current HS2 policy (save for being someone who would definitely utilise the rail services it will facilitate). I live in Alderley Edge and when HS2 proceeds, during the period between completion of phases 1 & 2, the classic compatible trainsets will run on the WCML approx 600m west of my house. When phase 2 is completed the new line will run (if my assumptions are correct) approx 3000m east of my house, probably in cutting at the point of closest proximity. I detest campaign groups, such as those amongst the anti-HS2 brigade, attempting to mislead public opinion (and thus derail the democratic political process) via means of a toxic brew of misleading half-truths, selective editing and downright lies. That's why I seek to place factual information, debunking their myths, on forums debating this vexed topic. Above all I want my Region (NW.England) to benefit from the step change improvement in connectivity and capacity only possible via means of a new rail line. I've looked at the facts surrounding HS2 and whilst I agree it is possible to suggest peripheral improvements, the current proposals present a compelling case we dare not eschew if we want Britain is to remain competitive on the global stage in the 21st century.
Dave 2
Friday, December 9, 2011 at 03:07 PMPadav - can you put a suspicious mind at rest and confirm if you work for anyone involved in the promotion of HS2 in any form? can you also confirm where in the country you are based?
JR
Wednesday, December 7, 2011 at 11:38 AMNIMBYISM - is this the new word to describe how fed up we all are of the constant drain on our wallets? This train track is set to cost the public £33billion, run by public companies, I expect the public will never see that money paid back. On the news last night, the olympics are set to go over their budget - so the public can expect to be funding this as well? Has nobody stopped to think why Greece is in such a mess after spending billions on bringing the olympics home? We are constantly told how the public benefits from all these massive spends, but the public doesn't, large companies do. All we ever get is a few crumbs - rather like the bank bailouts, execs still getting huge paycheques and massive bonuses yet we are still being squeezed for loan repayments or suffering because of crap interest rates. If high speed travel brings prosperity to the country, how is it that Europe (which is crisscrossed with high speed lines) is in financial difficulties? Maybe it is because of the huge investment into HS rail that was never repaid?
kingsnewclothes
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 10:37 PMYou implied the spending in the future didn't matter because the fiscal deficit would have been dealt with by then . Believe me chum it won't have .
kingsnewclothes
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 10:34 PMIf Padav thinks the delay is to do with feasibility studies he must be living on planet Zog. It is all about damage control, trying to twist political arms and split the opposition to the scheme -- and that won't work. Labour backed by the TSC have given the government a massive headache and they know it. This potentially loses an election when guys like Austin Mitchell and the businessman Andrew Cook from Sheffield start objecting and that bit of the country that doesn't live in Manchester realise we are being sold a pup. .......................................... The government may give the green light in January but remember the last government wanted to expand Heathrow and look waht happened to that !
Padav
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 10:30 PM@steved - where in my comment did I mention the fiscal deficit - please point it out so I can have it removed. I am merely highlighting harsh, unavoidable fact - there is no magic pot of money right now flowing from cancellation of HS2 - the public is deceived by the carefully calculated, spin, deceit and distortions pedalled by an articulate and very self motivated propaganda machine, with its HQ in Kenilworth, tapping into a well of public dissatisfaction with the current classic network. Unsurprisingly, decades of under investment and neglect on the part of successive administrations has nurtured this widespread public discord and anti-HS2 groupings are all too willing to exploit it via the tried and trusted divide and conquer method - let's set this town against that one or that Region against another (see story on Shadow Welsh Secretary urging cancellation of HS2 so a new link to South Wales can be built). The only current pot of strategic money, about £2bn per annum, is currently being consumed by ThamesLink (TL) and CrossRail(CR) - go and ask the people of Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham if they think that strategic funding would be better spent elsewhere and you'll get a rather obvious answer - HS2 merely carries on where CR and TL - HS1 connected London and SE.England to the burgeoning pan-European HSR network, paid for by ALL UK Taxpayers, including me - in 2016 it will be our turn!
Padav
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 10:16 PM@kingsnewclothes - well you carry on deluding yourself if you want to but perhaps you like to stop for a moment and consider why the decision has been delayed for 30 days - might not be anything to do with allowing the engineers a bit more time to work through the proposal to join two tunnels from the existing plans into one larger tunnel, thereby removing the line entirely from view in and around Amersham and consequently reducing the long term environmental impact within the AONB - this would enable a more rounded proposal to be announced in due course, mid-Jan 2012, rather than mid-December 2011 Of course not, all of the national media have got this story wrong and you are the sole voice of sanity? Meanwhile back on planet reality, everyone else knows that Route3 is going ahead - even today I read that the Scottish Govt is seriously considering a plan to construct a new line to meet up with the northern end of the Y shaped phase 2 section, timed for completion during the same timeframe?
kingsnewclothes
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 08:19 PMNaughty Padav, using the "N" word. I'm going to tell Louise Ellman about you. You know the same Louise Ellman, chair of the Transport Select Committee, who thinks that Hammond's proposals are deeply flawed and effectively told the government to go back to the drawing board.
steved
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 03:33 PMYes of course Padav, the huge deficit we have will all be cleared then, there will be plenty of spare money to waste on this hugely expensive project. If you believe that you are lving in cloud cuckoo land! HS2 will have minimal buiness benefit, will do nothing to ease commuter conjestion, most likely run at a loss for many many years and have a negative impact on large areas of the country, part of which, is a national asset, being an AONB. There are far better things to invest such money in that will benefit far more people, the empty houses shown on Channel 4 for one, investment in deprived areas to encourage commercial growth and employment. HS2 will not help with any of the problems this country faces but if it goes ahead, it willl certainly add to them!
Padav
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 02:07 PMYet more anti-HS2 propaganda masquerading as reasoned, informed debate - witness the brazen implication that cancellation of HS2 would somehow release a massive stream of funding for other (more worhwhile?) projects "This would bring immediate benefits at a time of austerity, when investing in UK infrastructure is imperative." - NO IT WOULDN'T because there is no pot of money right now, during this period of austerity - more than 95% of the projected budget is allocated to the period 2016-2033 so NOT during this period of public service cutbacks at all - it's spurious, distorted reporting of stories surrounding this vexed topic that does those against the project no favours whatsoever because it merely fuels the widely held suspicion that the central motivation driving opposition is plain and simple NIMBYISM
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