Carving up the countryside
The proposed HS2 line cuts through the countryside and, in some cases, even cuts entire villages in half. With the level of opposition that’s built up so far, it was only a matter of time before changes to the route were made. That’s exactly what happened last month, and Peter Plisner has been looking at the latest proposals
Stafford Hints Hinckley Nuneaton N Birmingham Coventry Burton Green Warwick Southam Ladbroke Boddington Chipping Warden Banbury Brackley
Mitigated Route 3 Alignment Unchanged Route 3 Alignment Urban areas
PAGE 14 OCTOBER 2010 Rugby Stoneleigh London
o one expected plans for a high speed rail line between London and the West Midlands to be anything other than controversial. Back in March, when the plans for High Speed Two (HS2) were unveiled, many were surprised at the level of detail that was released by the then Labour government.
Normally when projects are first talked about you get a vague line on a map. What we got with the HS2 proposals was a definitive set of highly detailed maps for a preferred option, called Route 3, which the government intended to use for a public consultation during the autumn of this year. The release meant that those affected were quickly able to see just how bad the impact would be.
While those who planned the route did their best to protect
areas of outstanding natural beauty, like the Chilterns, further north there were also areas that could potentially be devastated by the line. It’s in these places that opposition has so far been the most vocal – and, interestingly, it’s the issues relating to the same places that the latest set of proposals appear to go some way to addressing.
New instructions
Many had thought that major changes to the route alignment were unlikely. The scheme enjoys cross-party support in parliament, but after the change of government, fears were raised by some that the new transport secretary, Phillip Hammond, would make changes, aside from those connected with the need to find alternatives following his decision to scrap plans for a third runway at Heathrow Airport. Indeed, new instructions issued by Hammond in June to
the HS2 Ltd, the government-backed company that’s planning the route, also appeared to rule out a major review of the route ahead of the public consultation. However, changes were indeed
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