Chilterns heavyweights come out fighting in round two of HS2 bout

Oct 20 2010 By Lawrence Poole

“WE will fight it all the way - how can we spend £33bn on Labour's white elephant?” was how bullish Bucks County Councillor Martin Tett closed the second summit on the future of the High Speed Two (HS2) rail line.

Around 120 heavyweight players in the fight to stop the HS2 line running through the Chilterns and beyond joined him at Aylesbury Vale District Council on Friday to grill representatives from the company advising on the rail line, the Department for Transport (DfT) and key MPs about the controversial London to Birmingham link.

HS2 Ltd chairman Sir Brian Briscoe and DfT deputy director Philip Graham faced a barrage of questions at the four-hour session, while local Conservative MPs Dominic Grieve and John Bercow continued to raise their opposition to the plans.

Mr Grieve, the MP for Beaconsfield, said: “My colleagues in Government are perfectly entitled to look at HS2 lines – the issue is whether there's a business and environmental case for it. I continue to have serious doubts. It's clearly going to have a negative impact on the Chilterns.”

On the approach being taken by protesters, Mr Grieve did call for common sense though.

“Rational criticism and expert analysis is the only way to get results, not rallying against individuals - we need to provide persuasive arguments.”

Sir Briscoe spoke about the national interest importance of the line for the economy, but when it was put to him what the benefits for Bucks residents would be, he said it was difficult to show yet how economic benefits would outweigh environmental ones.

Mr Bercow, MP for Buckingham and Speaker of the House of Commons, received huge cheers when he retorted: “This national interest argument is the sound of goal posts being moved. It's difficult to identify a benefit for the people of Bucks is a massive understatement – there ain't one!”

Sir Briscoe and Mr Graham proceeded to confirm further details of the line and the latest plans to take the 225mph trains on up to Manchester and Leeds in the Y-network extension, while re-instating their belief it would improve connectivity and, contribute to a low-carbon economy and reduce overcrowding on the West Coast Mainline.

The second half of the summit saw various speakers talking about the negative environmental impact of the rail line, included a very detailed presentation on the Buckinghamshire Landscape Information System (BLIS), which is a tool for predicting and assessing environmental impact, by natural environment team manager Mark Bailey.

Prior to that Pete Raine, former Kent Wildlife Trust chief executive, delivered an enlightening talk on how best to ensure the best possible outcome is achieved from the negotiations over the line following his experiences with HS1 in the late 1980s; including the importance of taking the early deals, working in partnership and cultivating personal relationships.

A date on when the proposed five-month consultation period will begin in 2011 is due to be announced later this autumn, Sir Briscoe confirmed, to coincide with a series of road shows for the public to attend.

Though the continued call for the environment impact report to be released prior to this consultation – which was echoed in a letter to the Secretary of State for Tranport Philip Hammond MP from Chesham and Amersham MP Cheryl Gillan – was rebuffed by Sir Briscoe, much to the condemnation of the room.