Speakers rail against cost and environmental damage of HS2 at Wendover event

About 1000 people visited the Wendover HS2 marquee on Saturday to hear the latest about the campaign against the proposed HS2 rail line.

Speakers included Martin Tett, leader of Bucks County Council, Hilary Wharf from the HS2 Action Alliance, Shirley Judges from the Chilterns Conservation Board and Joe Rukin from Stop HS2.   David Lidington MP, who was absent due to an urgent meeting in Brussels, sent a video message of support.

Members of the Wendover action group were on hand with maps and models of the route, and detailed information about noise and environmental impacts of the proposal; there was entertainment from the Amersham Brass Band, plus games for children, a tombola and a roving elephant.

The two key themes of the day were the massive and wasteful cost of HS2 and the terrible environmental damage it would wreak. Martin Tett said it was “completely and utterly immoral” to spend at least £32 billion of taxpayers’ money on the project when alternative methods of improving passenger capacity on the West Coast Main Line could be implemented for about £3 billion. Shirley Judges, meanwhile, stressed the legal status of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty as a nationally protected landscape and outlined the devasting impact HS2 would have.

The message from all speakers was that the campaign is by no means over and that local authorities, environmental groups, and the campaigning groups will be pressing the new Transport Secretary to reject the current HS2 proposals and, if the Government decides to press ahead with the scheme, will continue to oppose the current scheme through all available means.

Everyone was encouraged to write to their own MP via http://www.highspeedrail.org.uk and to pass the website address to their friends living away from the route.

Originally published on http://www.wendoverhs2.org/news/935: reproduced with permission.

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