This week we have written to Douglas Oakervee who is responsible for leading the review that will asses whether the HS2 project should go ahead after all.
In our letter, we reiterate our longstanding concerns about HS2 and our arguments against the project, including:
- our suggestion to increase capacity on existing lines, rather than build a new one
- the costs associated with HS2, which are set to rise substantially
- the environmental devastation that the project would cause in the Chilterns; including the loss of hedgerows, farmland and ancient woodland
- the threat to wildlife including the cutting of migration routes for wild animals
- the risk to the Misbourne aquifer through tunnelling and the loss of the Misbourne, a rare chalk stream
- the projected usage of 1 million litres of water per day to build the line and the unprecedented pressure this would put on our local water supply
- tunnel safety concerns, and how passengers would be safely evacuated in the instance of a fire
- several grave geological concerns
We also outline some suggested alternatives, including our support for further investigation into an alternative route which would follow the M1, be substantially cheaper and offers better integration with the existing rail network.
To read the letter in full, please click here.
