STOPHS2 gets extremely angry when the Government issues press releases promising environmental mitigation for HS2 when there are two key facts:
1. NO ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT (EIA), has been carried out on HS2.
2. The National Public Consultation on the principle and route of HS2 has not yet commenced.
Without a thorough and complete EIA, which is required by UK and European Law, it is impossible to assess and measure the true environmental cost of the project, and therefore conclude the national interest is being upheld. Also without an EIA it is not sensible to propose any form of mitigation / detailed design.
Yet again we find ourselves in a situation where Government propaganda is being used to distract attention away from the “wood” ie; the negative impact of HS2 by encouraging, literally, people to look only at the trees! The London Evening Standard reported in December “Trees are big bargaining chips these days” and “Politicians really can’t see the wood for the trees”.
Succinctly put by Julian Smyth-Osbourne of Transportsense:
“it does not address the key issue that this is the wrong investment priority for Britain. When hard-pressed commuters are footing the bill for the lack of investment in the railways do we really need the government to push on with spending £1,000 for every household in the UK on a railway that we don’t need?””
A spokeswoman for the Woodland Trust said:
“Whilst the planting of two million trees is a great contribution towards increasing the UK’s minimal native woodland cover, it is important that this isn’t seen as a token gesture in what could potentially see the loss and fragmentation of existing woodland habitats, which are of far higher conservation value and in some cases irreplaceable.”
My own walk of the entire route probably gives me more insight into the potential environmental impact than any other person on this planet. I have seen the landscape which will go, the thousands of square miles of habitat which will be destroyed and the millions of existing trees and shrubs, including many significant ancient remnants of the forest which once covered our land facing complete decimation.
Mr Hammond was misleading in his press release. He can not say it will reduce local impact when there is not an EIA to use as as a base – this is impossible. Saying it is a “bid to reduce” is the key point here. It is a hollow attempt to pacify those who will object to the Environmental Impact. He also refers to “offsetting of the carbon emissions of construction”. How does he know what these are without an EIA? He also refers to creating new habitats. For what species? They will not be new ie; additional. They may replace some of those destroyed. He fails to mention that the HS2 line will be a wall of death for wildlife; it is to be completely secure and enclosed, it will prevent essential movement of wildlife for food, water and breeding.
He does not mention the required non-vegetation zone either side of the track which will be treated with weed-killer and is likely to leach into the water table. Please do have a go at “Spot the Trees” on the official High Speed One site for photos of what a slower line looks like – remember HS2 is intended to go much faster and therefore will be completely enclosed. When STOP HS2 has discussed with the CPRE, what it was like working with HS1 “the answer was the scale of disruption was worse than you could ever imagine”.
My background is as a project manager. Landscaping is a significant part of any construction project budget. This press release appears to me to be using a rough cost estimate of “two million trees to be planted” as media spin. I do not see any real substance behind it as it would be impossible to be provide accurate detail at this stage in the design process. It is not a concession to plant trees on HS2 if it goes ahead it is an essential requirement. The “natural look” mentioned is again a requirement not a compromise.
STOP HS2 is not falling for it, and we need your help to ensure the country doesn’t either.
Lizzy Williams
Chairman STOPHS2
If someone can’t see the wood for the trees, they get so caught up in small details that they fail to understand the bigger picture.” Moreover, this is an idiom, an expression, word, or phrase whose sense means something different from what the words literally imply.
There is definitely a ‘done deal’ stench coming out of Government and it makes you wonder who has promised how much, to who and for how long???…..democracy is a wonderful thing eh….we pay our taxes to a bunch of administrators to run our country for us – I personally did not know that in a democracy the administrators then tell us ‘they know best’ and then do what the hell they like with OUR money??
Someobody needs to remind the ‘administrators’ that THEY work for US – angry face here!
Are these trees going to be a special variety that do not shed leaves on the track or just conifers that do not
support much wildlife and if they are native trees are they a decent size because they would take years to establish?,
what a lot of waffle.This track will be as though our own government will have bombed a track the width of a football
pitch from london to brum .straight through sports fields,, communities,listed buildings, slaved over business and
much loved homes,lakes of rare carp and countryside that lifts the spirit and makes you glad to be alive.Nothing
Hammond can do will be enough to repair the damage to nature or humans.
Has anyone from StopHS2 asked the DfT / HS2 Ltd how much this new addition to HS2 is going to cost? The tree planting idea hasn’t been mentioned before, so it clearly wont have been included in their initial costing. They must have worked out a budget for 2 million trees, labour for planting, initial maintenance etc etc…
‘Grimshaw wins rail design contract’
I have just read this news item on your website which is written in a way that assumes HS2 is a ‘done deal’. They will join three other engineering consultants to do the preliminary design work on Birmingham to Manchester and Leeds. If the HS2 consultation is about the route AND the rationale for doing it why is the government spending 100s of millions of our money on the route north of Birminham? Surely there would be time to do this work if London – Birmingam is approved? It certainly looks to me as if they want to present a ‘fait accompli’. ‘Look how much work we have done, it is nearly a reality’! ‘You can’t stop it now’.
I chuckled at the 2m trees story. You can bet your bottom dollar there will be a schedule of warm, fuzzy, ‘environmental’ press releases planned for the next few months. Can’t wait for the next one. Tunnels for hedgehogs?