A group of local campaigners against the proposed high-speed railway between London and the West Midlands (HS2) have been given the chance to express their concerns to the Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin MP.
The meeting came as the direct result of two letters written to the Transport Secretary by Kenilworth and Southam MP, Jeremy Wright. When this resulted in a meeting being scheduled with the Transport Secretary, Mr Wright invited a delegation from his constituency, of four action group representatives and a local county councillor, to take part.
Topics covered in the short meeting included the arrangements for community engagement with HS2 Ltd, changes to the route design and other mitigation, noise and vibration and the business case for HS2.
The following views were expressed by some attendees after the meeting:
“I was very pleased that the Secretary of State agreed to meet us, to hear at first hand, from the Action Groups, how HS2 is affecting the lives of my constituents along the line. The Secretary of State was left in no doubt about their views on the variety of issues discussed at the meeting and I look forward to further discussion with him on these and other issues.” – Jeremy Wright MP.
“The meeting was an excellent opportunity to demonstrate to the Secretary of State the close working liaison between the County Council and the HS2 Action Groups, in our joint fight for the best possible outcomes for the people of Warwickshire.” – County councillor John Whitehouse, chair of WCC’s Communities Overview & Scrutiny Committee.
“I am very grateful to Jeremy Wright for arranging this opportunity for us speak to the Transport Secretary, who gave us a very fair hearing. I hope that the quality of the engagement between HS2 Ltd and local communities will be significantly improved as a result.” – Peter Delow, Chairman of Cubbington Action Group against HS2.
Notes to editors:
- The meeting took place at the Department for Transport on Monday 17th December.
- Jeremy Wright’s letters to the Transport Secretary may be viewed at the entry dated 18th December 2012 on his website at http://www.jeremywrightmp.co.uk/latest-news.php#news182.
- The members of the delegation were Cllr John Whitehouse, Chair of the Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee of Warwickshire County Council, Dr Dan Mitchell, Temporary Chairman of Action Groups Against High Speed Two (AGAHST) and member of Southam Area Action Group, Professor Mike Geddes, Chairman of Offchurch Action Group, Andrew Gibbs, Chairman of Burton Green Action Group, and Peter Delow, Chairman of Cubbington Action Group against HS2.
- HS2 Ltd is company wholly owned by the Department for Transport, charged with the responsibility for developing and promoting the delivery of the HS2 high speed rail network (see http://www.hs2.org.uk)
