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Welcome to the WLDstopHS2 Site
Whittington & Lichfield District StopHS2 action group has been formed by local residents and is run entirely by volunteers, accountable to its members brought together by common aims: To oppose the construction of the proposed high-speed rail line known as HS2 and to promote the alternatives.
The Government’s proposal for high speed rail is to link London with Birmingham in phase one of the project, then to go on to Manchester and Leeds in phase two. In doing that it will cut through some of the most beautiful countryside and village communities in England. The Government propose to do an environmental study only after they confirm the route in December 2011, having closed the consultation!
It affects you directly if you are a resident of: Lichfield, Armitage, Curborough, Fradley, Fisherwick, Handsacre, Hanch, Hints, Huddlesford, Kings Bromley, Streethay, and Whittington. You will not only pay for it, you will see it, you will hear it, you will suffer massive disruption, and those close enough will feel it vibrate. Yet you will get no benefit – it does not stop here!
The cost of £32 billion (Government estimate of construction cost) will affect everyone and will never be recovered over the lifetime of HS2. It amounts to a permanent subsidy of a transport line that will benefit a few, and will just add to our legacy of national debt. This at a time when we are slashing other public spending, cutting public services and increasing taxes.
We all recognise that our country’s transport system needs significant improvement but HS2 does not do that. A transport system to benefit us all needs to be integrated, it needs to cater for regional and local demands as well as linking in to the national rail system. It must involve improvements to rail and roads, improving local and regional bus services and integrating them with better regional and national rail services. HS2 does not do that. It is a political vanity project, it sounds impressive, costs a lot but delivers little or no benefit to the country as a whole.
The HS2 proposals benefit the few at the expense of the many. They are not just impractical from a noise and disruption perspective, they also fail to make good business, economic or environmental sense.
HS2 is not just a local or environmental issue, it is an economic and political issue but it is not a party political issue, it was put forward by the last Labour government and then taken on by the Coalition. It needs a change of political will to stop it. Sign the e-petition now!
Write to your MP now, objecting to the cost, route, environmental or business case. Don’t leave this to others, it’s your money, your transport system, your government, who you elect. Join us and help in our fight to change these damaging proposals, and protect your district and your country.
If you can help or have any questions please e-mail us at info@wldstophs2.com
Whittington & Lichfield District StopHS2 action group is affiliated to the AGAHST Federation (Action Groups Against High Speed Two) which includes many other local action groups along the line and the two national groups StopHS2 (visit http://stophs2.org/) and the HS2 Action Alliance (visit http://www.hs2actionalliance.org/).
