High Speed 2 The decision and next steps

Background As per the Coalition commitment, the Government developed a proposed strategy for a high speed rail network in the UK Ran a 5 month public consultation process which closed at end July 2011, and extensive public engagement 41 days of road shows along the proposed London to West Midlands line of route 7 regional seminars across the UK Consultation received almost 55,000 responses Select Committee inquiry – generally supportive of the Government’s proposals for HS2

The need for HS2 Capacity Britain’s railways are becoming more and more crowded, and the demand for rail travel, will continue to grow. We need to provide for this demand to support the needs of the public. A combination of new high speed lines and released capacity on the current network can support growth across all key markets – long distance, commuter, regional and freight. Growth The economic geography of the UK needs to change to address the wealth divide in the UK. Major cities other than London need to be able to operate competitively as unique markets on a global stage. Carbon Rail is comparatively less carbon intensive as road and air travel. We need to encourage modal shift onto rail if we are going to meet our targets.

The decisions National high speed rail network linking London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds, with stops in the East Midlands and Sheffield, and direct links to HS1 and Heathrow Deliver network in phases: phase 1 links London and the West Midlands, and phase 2 extends the lines to Manchester and Leeds, with a spur to Heathrow The network will link into the existing East and West Coast main lines to serve places not on the HS2 network through ‘classic compatible’ running, including Scotland The route corridor proposed in the consultation for the London to West Midlands line is the right one – but we have tweaked detail of the route in light of consultation responses to further reduce its impacts

The line of route We have made changes to the consulted route which have significantly enhanced sustainability: Moved the line further from Middleton Shallower cutting and more green tunnelling at Burton Green Mitigation of impacts at Balsall Common Route moved slightly further east to avoid Kenilworth Golf Club, lowered into cutting through the National Agriculture Centre, and introduced a retained cutting through South Cubbington Wood (ancient woodland) Longer green tunnel past Chipping Warden and Aston le Walls, and route curved to avoid heritage sites at Edgcote Lower alignment and introduce green tunnel past Greatworth, and short green tunnel at Turweston Altering alignment to take it further from Twyford Lower alignment past Aylesbury and Stoke Mandeville Longer green tunnel at Wendover and an extension to the green tunnel at South Heath Longer, continuous tunnel from Little Missenden to the M25 through the Chilterns AONB Introduce a 2.75 mile bored tunnel along the Northolt corridor Increase the clearance over the Trent and Mersey Canal near Lichfield Introduce a longer bored tunnel at Long Itchingham Wood Benefits of changes Less than 2 miles of line at surface level through the Chilterns AONB – more than half of the line would be in tunnel or cutting 170 fewer properties at risk of demolition – almost half that of the consulted route 1600 fewer properties would experience noticeable noise - around a third less than the consulted route Significantly reduced impacts on heritage sites, and on ancient woodlands

Next Steps

Property and Blight Further consultation on property blight proposals in spring 2012, and a decision on the final deal will be agreed later in London to West Midlands HS2 Ltd will be working with those communities affected by the line in order to consider local views and discuss proposals to inform the Environmental Impact Assessment. This includes a national environmental forum, planning framework forums, and community forums. Manchester and Leeds legs March 2012 HS2 Ltd preparing advice on proposed routes north of Birmingham Autumn 2012 DfT to publish preferred routes Engagement on Y leg proposals 2014 Public consultation We need to start thinking about how HS2 and wider city and spatial planning work together – both for the London to West Midlands line, and the Y legs. Engagement

Questions