Yesterday, the High Court found in favour of HS2 Ltd, and extended the injunction currently in operation around the Colne Valley park in Harefield. The original injunction which was granted last year had been due to expire on June 2nd, and whilst the new injunction includes additional land, the request from HS2 Ltd for the new injunction to run until construction has been completed was turned down and they were only granted a one year extension. The application from HS2 Ltd to seek costs from the people named in the injunction was also rejected.
In a display of typical HS2 Ltd competence, in applying to extend the geographical footprint of the injunction, they admitted that where Sarah Green and Lora Hughes had been when they accused of breaching the injunction wasn’t actually covered by the injunction, despite HS2 Ltd staff insisting to the police that it was. This admission was repeated in court by the barrister acting for HS2 Ltd, and that the map being touted as covered by the injunction was actually a map of all the land HS2 Ltd have taken possession of. This puts a rather large hole in the credibility of HS2 Ltd concerning the case they intend to bring against Hughes and Green at Uxbridge Magistrates Court on 17-19th July.
The exact text of the injunction is not yet available, as it needs to be tidied up and made clearer following the recent Inios case. Although the application for the extension to the injunction was submitted the day after a two day tree occupation which prevented HS2 Ltd from cutting down trees on Harvil Road, it is not felt this injunction would in any way impact a similar action in the future.
Reactions from Sarah Green and Paul Powesland, founder of Lawyers for Nature are below. There is a crowdfunding page to raise the £1500 of legal fees. More details can be found via these links to our live tweeting of the case from Day One and Day Two.
Paul Powesland, barrister and founder of Lawyers for Nature who has previously worked with @SaveSheffTrees, says it is becoming increasingly difficult to defend nature in the courts following today’s #ColneValley #HS2 injunction extension ruling. #StopHS2 #ExtinctionRebellion pic.twitter.com/9w2EyHGGSv
— Stop HS2 (@stophs2) May 16, 2019
Court has agreed to extend the #HS2 #ColneValley injunction for another year, and include the area where they intend to drill through contaminated landfill into an aquifer, without providing any risk assessment of the danger to the water supply. Here’s Sarah Green #StopHS2 pic.twitter.com/mTbS2NSkTm
— Stop HS2 (@stophs2) May 16, 2019
Sarah, Lora and Paul. Thank you for being there and trying to protect our unique and fragile chalk aquifers from the rape of HS2. Behind you all the way.
Does it take a Major Disaster to stop HS2 devastating all in its path? Everything else – reports, arguments, specialist statements, petitions etc.- seems to have been ignored.
Horrible corrupt system – thank you for highlighting and fighting against it!