THE Government has not selected a route for a UK-wide high speed train plan feared for Buckinghamshire’s countryside, a minister told Parliament yesterday.
Theresa Villiers MP said: “There will be a detailed and inclusive process before final decisions are made about our approach to high-speed rail overall, and the route it should follow.”
The Labour Government announced in March that it was backing a route through the ‘protected’ Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty for the High Speed 2 project.
This would see the line tunnel under the Chalfonts, old Amersham and run overground through the countryside on a new line past Great Missenden and villages including Hyde Heath.
Many county residents have called for the route to follow the West Coat Mainline by Berkhamsted instead.
But the Conservatives have not announced a preferred route. The party sees the line as vital given its quick decision to scrap a third runway at Heathrow Airport after seizing power.
And Mrs Villiers yesterday said ‘enabling’ work would begin in five years, a ‘more aggressive’ timetable than that pursued by Labour.
Mrs Villiers told Westminster Hall yesterday: “The case for high-speed rail is undeniable.
“It has the potential to make a huge contribution to the long-term prosperity of the country and the efficiency of its transport system, and it can play a crucial role in achieving the goal of a lower-carbon economy.”
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She said existing routes will become ‘increasingly congested, with negative consequences for our economy and quality of life’.
The minister of state for rail and aviation said Labour had followed the Conservatives’ lead and the line would connect to the north of England to tackle ‘long-standing prosperity differences between the south-east and the rest of the country’.
But she said: “We all acknowledge that there is a downside to the proposals-the impact on the environment of the localities through which new lines could go.”
She went on: “It goes without saying that reducing and mitigating the local environmental impact of high-speed rail will always be a high priority for the Government in advancing the project. It will inform our decisions on the selection of the route.”
Burying power lines was one option, she said – and said the scrapping of the Heathrow plan would benefit those affected as there would ‘not be the massive uplift in aircraft noise’.
The plan must also provide ‘affordable’ fares, she said.
She concluded by saying: “I firmly believe that future generations will thank us for displaying determination and persistence in delivering this crucial upgrade to our transport system.”
Click the links below to read the full debate, read stories on the plan and support our campaign to stop the line going through Bucks.
