We have received the following update from the Buckinghamshire County Council HS2 team
We now have just one more week until the Select Committee sits again following recess, hearing Birmingham and Solihull based petitioners in September and mid-October. Although the timetable beyond mid-October has not yet been released, based on the current rate of progress Buckinghamshire based petitioners are unlikely to appear before the end of the year. However, we are aware of the importance of being prepared for an earlier appearance. In order to help ensure local communities are prepared we will be continuing to provide support, including another set of local area meetings in September and a county-wide Summit in October.
Properties owned by HS2 Ltd
A new resource has been launched that allows you to find out which properties are owned by the Government, including by the Department for Transport (DfT) for HS2. The website can be found hereand if you click on search ‘by location’ you can enter either a place name or post code. This will bring up a list of properties owned by the Government. If you click ‘details’ you can find out which department and organisation they are owned by. Those owned by HS2 will say ‘DFT-High Speed Two’.
Economic Impacts of HS2 on Chiltern District
A report commissioned by Chiltern District Council to assess the range and extent of socio-economic impacts of HS2 on the area is now complete, and can be accessed here. This report includes impacts of travel delays; road maintenance costs of the eight-year construction period; amenity loss; health and wellbeing impacts; productivity loss and visitor spending loss. The report suggests that the minimum total economic cost to Chiltern district alone is estimated to be £170.4m in present value.
Your Select Committee appearance
For those who intend on appearing before the Select Committee, we recommend attending at least one Select Committee hearing before you appear in order to familiarise yourself with the process. The most representative sessions to attend are likely to be those where individuals, community groups and parish councils are appearing on similar topics to those you are petitioning on.
If you are unable to attend or would like to watch more sessions they can be watched on Parliamentary television here. We are now aware that the evidence and slides from these sessions can be seen here. When individuals, community groups and parish councils appear it may be useful to look at the types of evidence they present.
Summit
As mentioned in previous updates, Buckinghamshire councils will be hosting a HS2 Summit on the 8 October between 10.00-13.00 at the Oculus, Aylesbury Vale District Council, Gatehouse Road, Aylesbury. This event is open to all residents and community groups across Buckinghamshire, and will cover a number of countywide concerns including appearing before the Select Committee and collecting evidence.
Booking to attend this event is essential and spaces are filling up rapidly. Please email HS2Blueprint@buckscc.gov.ukto register. If you have registered to attend and have not yet received a confirmation email please let us know.
September local area HS2 meetings
We will be holding another set of local area HS2 meeting in September, following on from those in July. Based on feedback from previous events we will be holding both afternoon and evening meetings for all CFAs that lie fully within Buckinghamshire. Both meetings will cover the same topics, and therefore there is no need to attend both.
Area | Date | Time | Location |
Chalfonts and Amersham | 1st Sept | 2-4pm | Amersham |
Chalfonts and Amersham | 1st Sept | 6.30-8.30pm | Amersham |
Colne Valley | 2nd Sept | 2.30-4.30pm | Denham |
Central Chilterns | 4th Sept | 2-4pm | Amersham |
Central Chilterns | 4th Sept | 6.30-8.30pm | Great Missenden |
Dunsmore, Wendover and Halton | 5th Sept | 2-4pm | Wendover |
Dunsmore, Wendover and Halton | 8th Sept | 6.30-8.30 | Aylesbury |
Waddesdon and Quainton | 9th Sept | 2-4pm | Waddesdon |
Waddesdon and Quainton | 9th Sept | 6.30-8.30 | Aylesbury |
Stoke Mandeville and Aylesbury | 11th Sept | 1.30-3.30pm | Aylesbury |
Stoke Mandeville and Aylesbury | 11th Sept | 6.30-8.30pm | Aylesbury |
Calvert, Steeple Claydon, Twyford and Chetwode | 15th Sept | 2-4pm | Steeple Claydon |
Calvert, Steeple Claydon, Twyford and Chetwode | 15th Sept | 6.30-8.30pm | Steeple Claydon |
Turweston and Westbury | 17th Sept (TBC) | TBC | TBC |
Booking to attend these meeting is essential as they do fill up. If you would like to attend please email HS2Blueprint@buckscc.gov.uk.If you have emailed to register and have not yet received a confirmation email please let us know.
We would like to develop the agenda together for these meetings to ensure we are discussing your key concerns. Therefore if there is anything you would like to be discussed specifically please let us know.
Buckinghamshire County Council HS2 team:
Jackie Copcutt jcopcutt@buckscc.gov.ukTel: 01296 383793
Alex Day alexday@buckscc.gov.ukTel: 01296 382409
HS2 Blueprint Mailbox HS2Blueprint@buckscc.gov.uk