Council secures positive outcome from HS2 Limited about impacts of rail scheme

Cheshire West and Chester Council has been successful in securing a full package of positive assurances from HS2 Ltd. in its ongoing and lengthy fight to try to minimise the significant detrimental impacts of HS2 construction on its borough.

As a result, it will not have to attend Select Committee to defend its Petition against HS2 Phase 2b: High Speed Rail (Crewe – Manchester) Bill 2022 and an Additional Provision (AP1). The Council originally lodged its Petition in August 2022 on the understanding that if the issues raised were not satisfactorily addressed, it would present its case to the House of Commons HS2 Phase 2B Select Committee in July this year.

The High Speed Rail (Crewe – Manchester) Bill was introduced to Parliament on 24 January 2022, seeking the powers to build the section of the HS2 network between Crewe and Manchester. Although legally the Council or others cannot prevent HS2 Ltd. building the new line, measures can be introduced to mitigate the scheme’s impact.

The Council has been actively involved in negotiations with HS2 Ltd. over the past year to ensure its concerns are addressed. It now feels the issues detailed in its Petition have received satisfactory responses.

The issues the Council has taken up with HS2 Ltd. have been wide-ranging and include those relating to; enhanced engagement and support for the most significantly and disproportionately affected areas - Lostock Gralam, Lach Dennis and Lostock Green, Stanthorne and Wimboldsley. The impact on highways, provision of safe active travel routes, protection of public rights of way, impacts on landscape, loss of biodiversity, effects on local schools, acknowledgement of ground conditions, the significant impact of Crewe North Rolling Stock Depot, the need for improved engagement, and how to manage waste and mineral loss.

Councillor Karen Shore, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Environment, Highways and Transport said:

“We are pleased to have achieved a positive outcome. The agreements we have secured will be written into the Bill and guaranteed by the Secretary of State.

“The issues we identified are based on ongoing engagement with residents and businesses directly affected by the HS2 plans. We petitioned against this Bill to make sure the voice and concerns of our residents and businesses were being heard at the highest level.

“This is the biggest infrastructure project in a generation. We know that the construction of HS2 Phase 2b will have a significant impact on the lives, communities and countryside of west Cheshire, and we are actively conducting an ongoing, detailed scrutiny of HS2 to ensure that the impact on the Borough is kept to a minimum.

“We have assertively pursued our concerns and those of our residents and businesses with HS2 Ltd. and will continue to do so. From HS2 Limited’s response, we are confident we have achieved the necessary additional measures raised in our Petition, including the agreement that improved engagement with communities and businesses will take place. This sets us in a much stronger place to have continued and influential dialogue with HS2.

“We are pleased that HS2 Ltd. have acknowledged and responded to our initial concerns, so there is now no longer a need for the costly Select Committee with the risk that would have brought to retaining the outcomes we have already achieved. We will continue to work hard on behalf of our residents on behalf of our residents and businesses.

“Our Parliamentary Agent and Leading Counsel both take the view that the Council has achieved a great deal and advanced a very substantial case in securing necessary mitigations from HS2 Ltd.

“We will continue to support the general principle of HS2, with the benefits it can bring for residents and local businesses and will also stand up for the rights of all those directly affected by its construction.”