Less than a week after the Government announced the route of the second stage of HS2, three meeting have already been organised for concerned residents in Staffordshire and North Yorkshire.
Bill Cash, the Conservative MP for Stone has organised two meetings in his constituency on Saturday 2nd February, whilst another meeting has been organised in the most northerly outpost affected by HS2, Church Fenton for the evening of Monday 4th February.
Cash said the announcement of the proposed route for the second phase of HS2 was a ‘grave concern’ and vowed to strongly opposed the plans. The meetings in his constituency will take place on Saturday 2nd at 1pm at Swynnerton Park Cricket Club, Park View, ST15 0GC and at 3pm at the Madeley Centre, New Road, Madeley, CW3 9DN .
On Monday 4th at 7pm Church Fenton Village Hall, Lockton Court, LS24 9UT will be the venue for a meeting. Andrew Mason, from Church Fenton Parish Council, said; “If you look at the route, where it’s going, we’re a lovely village at the moment, we have got a rural background and this will completely decimate it and create an urban island. I am sure when we have consulted with the village everybody will take the view that it’s just not going to happen”.
The drawings showing the favoured route have been released showing plans to build a huge 14m high viaduct on the edge of Church Fenton. The viaduct would be needed to elevate the track as it heads over local roads and the flood plain of Dort’s Dyke.
As it stands, it would appear that a number of homes in the village would need to be demolished as part of the scheme. Properties on Common Lane and Sandwath Lane are shown to lie directly under the proposed route.
I’ve produced a web site showing detailed maps of the route of the proposed HS2. It has now been updated to include the route of Phase 2. In my opinion, it offers the easiest way of finding how close the HS2 comes to a particular place. http://www.thehs2.com
And so it begins again …. we who have lived with this for the past three years empathise and sympathise. The stop hs2 group, the HS2AA and others have a phenomenal amount of information, background and advice for you all to draw on, and are with you every step of the way.
Such blight, such pain, for such a wretched scheme. Phase 1 now has recognised total blight extending far further than the compensation proposals. Where we lead so shall you follow.
If we want decent mitigation and fair compensation we have to fight for it up to the bitter end.
I still contend that when a Planning Minister advises the cheap purchase of landed blighted by policy that development within that transport corridor will occur. The development of services into the Hub (London, Heathrow and Birmingham) from the Chilterns stations will be likely be the next development or revision. Remember the current HS1 was radical redevelopment of the original HS plan.
This may be of interest:
Stealth Confiscation
How governments regulate, freeze
and devalue private property—
without compensation
Mark Milke
http://www.fraserinstitute.org/uploadedFiles/fraser-ca/Content/research-news/research/publications/stealth-confiscation-how-governments-regulate-freeze-devalue-property.pdf