HS2 Update 8 Aug 2014

We have received the following update from the Buckinghamshire County Council HS2 team

Parliamentary Recess is now underway, meaning that the Select Committee will not be sitting until the start of September. This update will provide information on the Select Committee timetable, an update on the community support we will continue to provide, and details on current consultations and inquiries that are underway.
 

Select Committee timetable

The Select Committee timetable for September and early October has now been released and can be found at http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/hs2/oral-evidence/September_programme.pdf. This includes appearances from Birmingham based petitioners, as well as site visits to the Birmingham Interchange to Lichfield section, and to Crossrail tunnels.

Once petitioners from Solihull have been heard in mid-October, petitioners from Staffordshire and Warwickshire will be heard, followed by petitioners from Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire. We are still no closer to knowing exactly when Buckinghamshire petitioners will be heard, and although it is looking likely that it could be early 2015, we continue to prepare for the worst case scenario.

Summit
 

Buckinghamshire County Council will be holding a HS2 Summit on the 8 October between 10.00-13.00 at the Oculus, Aylesbury Vale District Council, Gatehouse Road, Aylesbury. This is an opportunity to get residents and community groups across Buckinghamshire together. Key topics that will be covered include what we are doing to get the best for our residents; presenting to the Select Committee; collecting evidence; negotiating with HS2 Ltd; the Select Committee visit to Buckinghamshire; and the future support we will be providing.

Booking to attend this event is essential and it is filling up quickly. Please email HS2Blueprint@buckscc.gov.uk to book your place. The agenda will be sent out shortly.

July local area HS2 meetings

Thank you to everyone who attended our recent local area HS2 meetings and for the feedback and comments provided. Over 90% of attendees were satisfied or very satisfied with the meetings, and 98% stated that further local area meetings would be beneficial. However, we are conscious that many suggested improvements were made which we will factor in to the next round.

We are continuing to ensure that all comments raised at these meetings have been considered and addressed as necessary. We will also ensure that comments regarding the further information you would like are addressed. These topics will be covered in future local area meetings.

September local area HS2 meetings

Following the local area HS2 meetings in July, we will be holding another round of meetings in September. Based on feedback from the last meetings, we will be holding both daytime and evening meetings for all CFAs that lie fully within Buckinghamshire. Both daytime and evening meetings will cover the same topics and therefore there is no need to attend both.

Booking is essential as these meetings do fill up. If you would like to attend please email HS2Blueprint@buckscc.gov.uk. We want to ensure we discuss your key concerns, and therefore we would be very grateful if you could email us the topics that you would like to discuss when you register.

Consultations/ inquiries

In our previous update dated the 25 July we mentioned two consultations/ inquires that are currently ongoing. An inquiry into the economic case for the development of HS2 is being held by the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee. The Committee are inviting evidence on specific issues until the 15 September. Further information can be found at http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/lords-select/economic-affairs-committee/news/hs2-inquiry-launch/

Consultation regarding property compensation is also now open, and will be until the 30 September. Full details on the compensation proposal, including maps showing the various zones in different colours can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/hs2-property-consultation-2014 and responses to the consultation can be submitted at https://hs2propertyconsultation2014.dialoguebydesign.net/.

Safeguarding judicial review

In a previous update dated the 13 June we mentioned that HS2 Action Alliance had brought a Judicial Review alongside the London Borough of Hillingdon. This was to contest the decision made by the Secretary of State for Transport to introduce Safeguarding Directions without undertaking a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA).

On the 6 August this case was dismissed, with Mr Justice Lindblom concluding that a SEA was not required before Safeguarding Directions were put in place.

Contact details

We want to ensure we get the right information out to the correct people. If you have not received this update directly and would like to, please let us know using the email address below. If you would no longer like to receive these emails please also let us know and we will remove your details from our contact list.

Buckinghamshire County Council HS2 team:

Jackie Copcutt jcopcutt@buckscc.gov.uk Tel: 01296 383793
Alex Day alexday@buckscc.gov.uk Tel: 01296 382409
HS2 Blueprint Mailbox HS2Blueprint@buckscc.gov.uk