Rail Minister promises to 'remedy' damage caused by HS2 construction across Aylesbury Vale

Buckingham MP Greg Smith challenged Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris to address the issues HS2 construction has caused in his constituency.

Yesterday (August 24), Mr Smith took the Rail Minister around his constituency to see how badly East West Rail (EWR) and HS2 construction traffic has damaged roads.

Mr Smith drove him all over the constituency visiting: Newton Longville, Mursley, Middle Claydon, Verney Junction, Twyford, Charndon, Marsh Gibbon, Calvert and Steeple Claydon.

Mr Smith said: "For many months I have been pushing both East West Rail and HS2 to repair the roads that their construction traffic has so badly ripped apart. This was a subject that came up in an East West Rail/High Speed Two forum meeting which Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris earlier in the year, and he committed to come and see the damage for himself.

"This morning, I spent two hours driving him around our affected roads, so he could see first hand what we all have to navigate on a daily basis. He has committed to talking with East West Rail to get more remedy where EWR are the culprits, on top of the works already agreed for Queen Catherine Road in Steeple Claydon.

"I'll keep pushing on this (with EWR and HS2) until we have roads that come up to the standard and quality we all expect."

Mr Heaton-Harris responded, saying: "We will make sure that action is taken where it is East West Rail construction traffic that has caused problems. We will take the appropriate action to remedy this."

Last week Mr Smith confronted the HS2 Minister Andrew Stephenson over his concerns with the rail project. The Buckingham MP stated that he raises issues with HS2 'every single day'.

Aylesbury MP Rob Butler also raised his concerns with HS2 to Mr Stephenson, when HS2 Minister visited Wendover last month.

On September 13 a petition will be discussed in Parliament, pleading with the Government to cancel construction plans in the Chilterns. The petition quickly passed the 100,000 marker needed to gain a parliament discussion, with over 150,000 people signing up.