HS2 – Update 6

On 20 December the Secretary of State for Transport, Philip Hammond MP, announced that the Coalition Government has chosen route three as its preferred option on which to hold a public consultation regarding HS2. This news will have come as a heavy blow to many residents. At the time of the announcement I placed a statement on my website giving my reaction to the proposals (please see post dated 20-12-10).

In his statement, Mr Hammond said that steps to mitigate the impact of the rail line have been taken at Hartwell House, and between South Heath and Wendover. At the former, the Department for Transport is proposing to realign the route away from Hartwell House, bringing the line roughly 75 to 100 metres closer to the outskirts of Aylesbury and Fairford Leys. HS2 Ltd believes that this would not significantly add to the noise impact on those areas. This is a view not shared by residents of Fairford Leys, and I want to see evidence of the noise assessment studies that HS2 Ltd have carried out. Details of the alterations, and a map of the proposed route, can be found on the Department for Transport’s website (please see below). I would be grateful if residents affected by these changes could contact me with their views so that I can make their case to the Department. Broadly speaking the proposals for Aylesbury, Stoke Mandeville and Wendover village are the same as before the announcement.

The public consultation is due to begin in the second half of February and will look at four main areas:

• The principle of high-speed rail
• The choice of corridor
• The detail of the route
• Compensation for blighted properties

To date, there has been no announcement as to how the consultation will operate. On compensation, the Secretary of State has said that the Department are looking at a scheme to assist those whose properties would not be required for the construction of the railway, but who would nonetheless see a significant loss as a result of the building of the line. This of course will be in addition to the statutory blight regime which covers those properties that would be needed to build HS2.

On 5 January the interim Exceptional Hardship Scheme panel was replaced by a permanent panel. As a result HS2 Ltd has now published revised guidance for the Exceptional Hardship Scheme, which includes more details on the qualifying criteria and evidence required for the scheme. This means that constituents who were turned down by the previous panel now have the opportunity to reapply under the new guidelines. I strongly recommend that anyone who has been turned down look at the new guidance and consider reapplying for the scheme. More information about the revised guidelines can be found on HS2 Ltd’s website (please see below). I have recently also written to the Parliamentary Ombudsman to ask whether she can investigate the decisions of the Exceptional Hardship Scheme panel, as their conclusions in a couple of constituency cases seem to me to have been unreasonable.

The Secretary of State has said that when the consultation is launched he will publish a revised business case, a full appraisal of sustainability, noise contour maps and route visualisation. I am continuing to press Mr Hammond and HS2 Ltd to release this information without delay. It is a matter of justice that local residents should be able to study and analyse this data ahead of the consultation. It is crucial that residents respond to the consultation as it is at this point in the policy making process where there is the greatest opportunity for concerns to be heard.

I will be meeting with local councillors and residents’ groups to discuss the best way to respond to the consultation, and to help ensure that Aylesbury constituency gets as much out of the process as possible. I shall of course be contacting residents with further details of the consultation as soon as it is announced, and to urge constituents to take part in the process. Transport Ministers are in no doubt, from my conversations with them, about my opposition to this route and I shall of course continue to urge them to change their minds. Even if you have already written to the Department of Transport, it will be important to make a submission to the public consultation to set out your views.  My understanding is that this will be a national consultation, and I expect supporters of HS2 in Northern England and Scotland to make vigorous representations in favour of the project, so it is extremely important that everyone in Buckinghamshire and beyond who opposes the scheme also makes their voices heard. Those of you who are members of national organisations like the National Trust, the Campaign to Protect Rural England and the Wildlife Trusts may want to urge those organisations to encourage their members nationwide to respond to the consultation. The proposed HS2 route affects only a small number of the 650 parliamentary constituencies (and some of those only marginally), and MPs representing other seats are not so far receiving representations from their constituents about the scheme.    

In addition, I will be writing to English Heritage, the Environment Agency and the Campaign to Protect Rural England, to find out what work they have carried out on the environmental impact that HS2 will have, especially on the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Yours sincerely,

David Lidington

 

HS2 Ltd: Revised Guidance (Exceptional Hardship Scheme)http://www.hs2.org.uk/publications/Exceptional-Hardship-Scheme-Revised-65536

Department of Transport: Alterations to the proposed route www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/rail/pi/highspeedrail/proposedroute/

HS2 – Letters

Please find below the replies that I have received from the Transport Minister, HS2 Ltd and Virgin Trains, to my letters regarding HS2 (see high-speed rail posts dated 07-12-10 and 15-12-10). The letters talk about the construction of HS2, public rights of way and the issue of capacity on the West Coast Main Line. At present, I am still waiting for a reply from the Secretary of State for Transport about the impact of HS2 on the local economy, which I will put on this website once it is received.

Super-Fast Fibre Optic Broadband is Coming to Wendover

I have received notification that BT will be installing super-fast fibre optic broadband capability in Wendover.

The investment project, which should be completed by Spring 2012, will allow roughly 3,500 Wendover premises to enjoy internet speeds of up to 40 Mb/s.

BT plans to invest £2.5bn to deliver fibre-optic capabilities to up to sixty-five per cent of homes and businesses in the UK, in what is at present one of the largest civil engineering projects being undertaken in Europe.

The technology will be sold wholesale to numerous broadband service providers.

I am delighted that the residents and businesses of Wendover will have access to high-speed broadband.  This development will allow homes to communicate more easily, and will permit businesses to improve and expand their operations.

Hemley Hill Action Group – Thank You Letter

HS2: Transport and the Economy

Below is a link to the transcript of oral evidence that was given to the Transport Select Committee on 30 November as part of their ongoing study on transport and the economy. At the meeting evidence was taken from Alison Munro, Chief Executive, HS2 Ltd and Joe Rukin, Convenor, Stop HS2. The transcript may be of interest to residents affected by HS2.  

Transport and the Economy, Oral Evidence, 30 November 2010

HS2: Standard 5 Follow Up Letters

Please find below two letters that I have sent to the Department of Transport regarding HS2. The letters follow on from the standard HS2 letter that I sent out last month, and highlight concerns about the business case for HS2 and capacity on the WCML. I will of course post up the replies once I have received them.

Hemley Hill: Secretary of State’s Decision

On 9 December the Secretary of State, Eric Pickles MP, dismissed the travellers’ appeal to allow development of a currently unauthorised travellers’ site at Hemley Hill. 

Mr Pickles upheld the Planning Inspectorate’s report, which was submitted to the Secretary of State on 5 October, but extended the compliance period from 6 to 18 months. This means that the travellers will have to leave the site within that time period.

The travellers’ have the right to appeal Mr Pickles’s decision, but would need to make an application to the High Court within the next 6 weeks.

David said:

“I welcome this decision, which will come as a relief to many local residents, and hope that the travellers will now accept the decision and move out quickly from land that they had no right to develop in the first place.

“The Secretary of State, Eric Pickles, has made it clear that he is determined to protect the rights of established residents, along with the status of the green belt and AONB”.

Arla Diary: Public Consultation

Please find below a press release from Arla. The press release has details about public meetings regarding plans for a new diary in Aylesbury.  

Starts:

Arla Foods to host public consultation events regarding proposed fresh milk dairy

Aylesbury residents are invited to two public consultations to discuss the proposed £150 million investment into the world’s first zero carbon fresh milk dairy, near to Aston Clinton.

Arla Foods has assessed sites across the Midlands and South of England in a bid to find the ideal site for its new dairy. Aylesbury was selected due to its access directly onto the strategic road network minimising the impact on any local villages. The town also offers access to a strong workforce and the dairy will create more than 680 skilled jobs.

This unique scheme will bring a windfall investment into the local economy as well as providing education, training and apprenticeship opportunities and delivering high quality commercial space to foster new business growth in the area.

Arla Foods is keen to engage with local people and three drop-in exhibitions will be held on the following dates:

Wednesday 8 December 2010 from 6pm until 8:30pm at Weston Turville Village Hall, School Approach, Weston Turville HP22 5RW

Thursday 9 December 2010 from 4pm until 7:30pm at Anthony Hall, London Road, Aston Clinton HP22 5HG

Thursday 9 December 2010 between 8.30pm and 9.30pm at Buckland Village Hall, Buckland Village, Aylesbury HP22 5HU

Tim Evans, senior director UK projects and engineering at Arla Foods, says: “We are keen to discuss the emerging master plan with local people prior to submitting a planning application, which is why we are hosting two public consultation events to present our plans and give the local community the opportunity to discuss them with the project team.

“We believe the site we have identified is the ideal location for this unique proposal. Not only will it deliver high quality employment and training opportunities, it will process milk from British farms, which will support the country’s farmers.”

A website will launch on 3 December 2010 allowing residents an additional opportunity to review the proposals and comment. It can be viewed at 

www.arlafoods.com/aylesbury.Following the consultations, Arla Foods will review the master plan, considering the comments raised at the exhibition, before submitting a planning application this winter. If planning permission is secured, Arla Foods will be in a position to invest by 2011.

Ends

HS2: Additional Letters

Please find below a number of letters that I have recently sent to HS2 Ltd, the Department of Transport and Virgin Trains about HS2. In particular they are about construction, the local economy, capacity and public rights of way. I will of course put up the replies once I have received them.   

HS2: Update

My last correspondence to you was shortly after the Secretary of State, Philip Hammond MP, visited Aylesbury on 30 September. As a result of that meeting, I wrote to Mr Hammond about two issues that needed further discussion. The first letter was about fare prices and whether the probable high cost of tickets will undermine demand for HS2 travel. The second letter raised concerns over the expectation that HS2 will contribute significantly to the regeneration of northern cites. This has now become one of the principal arguments for HS2. In addition to these letters, I have also written to Mr Hammond to ask how spending on HS2 can be justified when the public finances are in such a mess. All of the letters that I have written about HS2, and the recent replies that I have received from the Department and HS2 Ltd about noise impact, route refinement north of the Chilterns and Wendover HS2 Action Group can be viewed on my website at http://davidlidington.wordpress.com/category/high-speed-rail/. 

The Transport Committee (TC) is a panel of MPs made up from both sides of the House, whose job it is to scrutinise the government’s transport policy. The TC has agreed to call HS2 Ltd to give evidence as part of its ongoing inquiry into Transport and the Economy. This means that an independent parliamentary body will be looking at what effect the proposed high-speed rail link is likely to have on the British economy. This is good news, but it should be remembered that the Committee will only be looking at the economic impact as part of its wider inquiry, and not at HS2 as a separate issue. I will be contacting the Chair of the TC about this matter and will be back in touch when I have further details. In the meantime, the uncorrected transcript of oral evidence given to the committee on 19 October 2010 contains some interesting points about HS2, which constituents may want to take up with the Secretary of State for Transport. The full transcript can be viewed here.      

On 25 October there was a High Speed Rail Lobby Day hosted by Andrea Leadsom MP. Because I was representing this country at an EU Ministerial meeting, I was unable to attend the lobby, but my Parliamentary Assistant, Lee Crouch, attended on my behalf and has reported back to me.  The meeting started with transport experts giving presentations on the issues surrounding HS2.  Prof. Mike Geddes and Christopher Stokes made particularly strong arguments against HS2’s business case. The Lobby ended with a question and answer session to Philip Hammond MP, Secretary of State for Transport. Theresa Villiers MP, Minister of State for Railways, also attended the Lobby and took questions from the audience.

One argument that came up at the Lobby Day is that the government is being forced to build HS2 as the best solution to the capacity problem on the West Coast Main Line (WCML). The government believes that capacity on the WCML will be exhausted in a maximum of seven to ten years. Many people at the Lobby questioned the accuracy of the data that this argument is based on. I will be writing to Mr Hammond to follow up this point and will put the letter on my website.      

An important recent development is the feeling that the government’s reasons for building HS2 are shifting. The original business case is being replaced by an argument that says HS2 is about more than just empirical data, and that it is in the national interest, even if areas like Buckinghamshire will not directly benefit. The message coming from the Department and HS2 Ltd is that a high-speed rail link will help regenerate northern cities and focus the British economy away from London. A number of local groups argue that the evidence to back up this claim seems to be limited, and I made this point to Mr Hammond in my letter dated 5 October about HS2 and the regeneration of northern cities. As I stated in the letter, HS2 Ltd’s report (March 2010) says that it is difficult to predict if the benefits of HS2 will fall in the north or in London (please click here to view the letter in full).. The Secretary of State has said that the business model for HS2 is always evolving, and clearly a project of this size is not just about making the numbers stack up. However, it is vital that the case for HS2 is properly and clearly laid out so that residents and opponents can accurately respond to the consultation that is due in the New Year. I will be writing to the Secretary of State for his assurances that constituents will have an updated and accurate account of the business case for HS2 from the Department when they respond to the consultation. 

When any government of any party undertakes a major public project such as HS2 there is a formal process that has to be followed. Within this process, the official time for a government to listen to criticism of their proposals is at the consultation. This does not mean that constituents should not make their feelings known before the consultation, and it is right that residents have already done so. What it does mean is that before the consultation period a government will always defend its chosen policy. After this period it is possible that a government’s plans will change, or at least will be altered, as a result of the evidence that has been given during the consultation.   

The opportunity that the consultation presents to affect the proposals should not be underestimated. Theresa Villiers MP said at the lobby that the consultation would be wide ranging and will include the following four key areas: the principle of a high-speed rail link, the corridor of the line, the detail of the route and further provision for those affected by blight. I am aware that some constituents have picked up on the Secretary of State’s exchange with Tony Baldry MP at Transport Oral Questions on 28 October 2010, when he appeared to contradict Mrs Villiers by not including the principle of a high-speed rail link in next year’s consultation, when he said:

“The consultation next year starts from the premise that the Government believe that a high-speed rail network will be in the United Kingdom’s interest, but it will consult on issues to do with the design of that network, the route and the details of the proposals for the London to Birmingham link” (Hansard, Column 443: 28 Oct 2010).

I will be taking up this matter with Mr Hammond to seek his assurance that the consultation will look at the fundamental question of a high-speed rail link as he and the Minister have previously stated.

When carrying out a consultation there is a legal process that governments have to comply with. In addition to the legal requirements of UK Law, governments now also have to abide by EU regulations. For example, there is an EU Directive that requires governments to carry out a proper Environmental Impact Assessment when undertaking projects on the scale of HS2. Initially this assessment is likely to be carried out during the government’s consultation period. I am not a lawyer, so cannot offer an opinion about the government’s actions, but it is up to constituents and HS2 Action Groups to consult a lawyer as they see fit.

It is essential that residents and the local HS2 Action Groups start to co-ordinate their efforts and think about what they want to achieve out of the consultation. That way, we can help to ensure that all the different aspects of the project are covered when responding to the consultation.    

I met Wendover residents recently to discuss HS2 and also attended the rally in Great Missenden on 5 November. To keep up to date with my latest actions regarding HS2 please view my website at http://davidlidington.wordpress.com/category/high-speed-rail/.    

Yours sincerely,

David Lidington

Member of Parliament for Aylesbury