So what does that mean?

What has happened is the government have decided to put forward a bill for parliament to approve. The bill though is not a normal parliamentary bill it’s called a Hybrid Bill, which gives the government the powers to build Phase 1. Which means before it can be voted on it has to be reviewed by a committee of MP’s and that will take around 2 years, only then can it be put to a vote in the Commons and from there to the House of Lords. During the 2 year review by committee we as the general public, MP’s and other interested parties can make our case against it, to prove why it should not go ahead at all, ask for it to be changed or ask for just local details to be changed. That’s all before it goes for a vote!

Because the government have to do an environmental assessment and a new consultation on compensation it will not in fact go to the Hybrid Bill stage until 2013, so at best will emerge to be voted on in 2015. There has to be a general election in May of 2015 so any slippage will move it beyond the election.

So it is not over yet and we and many others intend to fight on to defeat it and we need your help.

One very likely next action is a challenge in the court’s, this is called a Judicial Review. At least 3 anti HS2 groups are preparing their legal challenges the main one being that the governments so called consultation last year was not properly conducted and so the decision reached is invalid. At worst a Judicial Review will delay the process described above and if the court’s agree with the case, force the government to start the process again or abandon it all together. Either way it looks like it could push the Hybrid Bill beyond this parliament and give us more time to fight and possibly defeat it completely.

During the spring of this year the government have announced that two further things will happen:

1. The government will define construction boundaries and “safeguard” them. This is a legal process which then stops anybody building in those boundaries and stops councils granting planning permission inside those boundaries. They will consult on this and then announce what’s Safeguarded in the Autumn of 2012.
2. The government will consult for 12 weeks on the effects of blight caused to those affected by HS2, with a view to “possibly” improving on the current compensation options. They will in the Autumn of 2012 then publish the compensation plan for those who are blighted.

During the spring of 2013 and based upon a preliminary design, a full Environmental Impact Assessment will be carried out and the outcome of that could affect the route or lead to changes to minimise the environmental impacts of HS2.

You may have seen comments in the press about compensation and mitigation which sound encouraging. The facts are that in their formal announcement on going ahead with HS2 the government said it was their “ambition” to offer better compensation, that’s a long way from being committed and at the same time they rejected all of the main proposals put forward during the consultation. On mitigation whilst it is true most areas did have improved mitigation for us locally they actually raised the height of the line significantly in certain places so increasing the visual and noise impact for us locally.

So whilst the government have said they want to proceed there is very long way to go and many opportunities to defeat it or change it, so the fight goes on. We will be announcing our next public meeting soon so please keep looking at the web site and come along when more information will be provided.

Thanks to everybody who has supported us so far.

Representatives from the Whittington and Lichfield District Stop HS2 group will be lobbying party members and other delegates at their forthcoming conference in Manchester, urging them to reconsider the controversial scheme.

The campaigners will be highlighting concerns about the cost of the scheme, as well as flaws in the business case during the four-day conference, which begins on Sunday, October 2.

The local group has an official stand at the heart of the conference in the Manchester Evening News Arena, where they will be joined by campaigners from around the UK.

John Heeler, one of the WLDStopHS2 members who will be attending the conference, said: “We will be calling on MPs up and down the country to consider the impact on their own constituents and to reconsider whether this is the best way to spend their – and our – money.

“As well as talking about our own local concerns about the route, we will remind visitors about the growing number of experts who are claiming the numbers don’t add up.

“We don’t want trains to be ‘a rich man’s toy’, as Transport Secretary Philip Hammond described them to the Commons transport committee earlier in the month.

“We would welcome improvements to our rail service, but we believe these plans are seriously flawed, and we will urge delegates to act now to avoid every UK household being left to pay for would we believe will be the country’s largest white elephant.”

Alternative proposals supported by WLDSTOPHS2 include: A Better Railway for Britain, which can be viewed online at: www.betterthanhs2.org

Information about Whittington and Lichfield District StopHS2 is available at:

www.wldstophs2.com

12 Sep 2011

New HS2 alternative promises immediate benefit for jobs and growth

Groups campaigning against the HS2 High Speed Train proposal have published a paper on HS2 alternatives that they say will bring immediate benefits in jobs and growth.

Spending up to £1bn in this parliament on planning High Speed 2 will do nothing for growth said Jerry Marshall, Chairman of AGAHST (Action Groups Against High Speed Two), which represents 74 local and national organisations. Instead, investing £2bn into current rail infrastructure would bring immediate growth and benefits. This will also meet our West Coast Mainline capacity needs into the second half of the century.

The document, A Better Railway for Britain is available on a new website, www.betterthanhs2.org .

Phase 1 of HS2 London to Birmingham costs £17 billion, and delivers no benefits until 2026. After that, every minute saved in journey time will have cost half a billion pounds.

HS2 only deals with routes into London from the North. These routes are already fast, not the most congested and have a high share of the market. The new paper looks at the broader needs for developing rail and encouraging modal shift and at direct alternatives to HS2, explained Jerry Marshall. These alternatives can meet forecast demand, aid economic growth, and benefit more people, more quickly, and at a much lower cost than HS2. We show how it is possible to triple standard-class West Coast Mainline capacity and double peak commuter capacity for a total infrastructure cost of £2.06 billion. This can be done incrementally, rather than the all or nothing approach of HS2, reducing risk.

A final session of the Transport Select Committee, including evidence from the Secretary of State for Transport Philip Hammond, takes place at Portcullis House on Tuesday 13 September.

For further information please contact Jerry Marshall on 0794 1017236 or jerry.c.a.marshall@gmail.com ).

Notes to editors:

1. Jerry Marshall is the Chairman of AGAHST (Action Groups Against High Speed Two) which is a federation of 74 local and national groups.

2. A Better Railway for Britain is available at www.betterthanhs2.org

3. AGHAST is one of a large and diverse range of groups challenging HS2 which include: 51m (17 councils challenging HS2 project); Campaign for Better Transport; Campaign to Protect Rural England; Chiltern Society; Civic Voice; Countryside Alliance; Environmental Law Foundation; The Green Party; Greenpeace; Institute of Economic Affairs; Chiltern Conservation Board; National Trust; RAC Foundation; Ramblers; RSPB; Taxpayers Alliance; The Wildlife Trust; Friends of the Earth; Railfuture; Society for Protection of Ancient Buildings; and the Woodland Trust.