Camden Council is calling for a forensic audit of the budget for High Speed 2 (HS2) after doubts were cast on the amount set aside for compensation by government.
While the HS2 budget has set aside £400 million for compensation in Camden, an independent report has revealed that the cost of compensation in the borough will top £1 billion.
To adequately compensate for ‘bricks and mortar’ impact in Camden would require 77% of HS2 Ltd’s entire compensation budget, raising serious questions about the ability of HS2 and government to adequately mitigate the impact of the scheme locally and nationally.
Analysis undertaken by Lambert Smith Hampton, Regeneris and Pell Frischmann looking at immediate costs of the impact on ‘bricks and mortar’ costs on housing, businesses, education and transport has shown that the total compensation budget for the entire line from London to Birmingham of £1.3 billion has been under-estimated.
For more details of the research, and where the costs come, please see the Camden Council website.
That businesses, community facilities and homes will be seriously affected by the construction and operation of HS2 has been clear from the start: the deliberate under estimation of the costs of HS2 has inflated the business case for the railway. The government should come clear on the true costs of HS2.
Can you all go to 38 degrees and sign the Stop HS2 high speed train in the transport section By stan mason .It is in the suggestions for saving the environment.just behind the Fracking one.It would be great to get them on board with the fight.