THE woman in charge of HS2 faced up to about 100 opponents of the project in Bucks yesterday – urging them to ‘engage’ with the controversial scheme.

Though campaigners pledge to fight the high speed rail route “every inch of the way”, work has started to save what they can if the controversial project goes ahead.

An HS2 Stakeholder Summit was held in Aylesbury yesterday, bringing together seven community forums from around Bucks, which have been set up to help compensate residents and mitigate against the scheme.

Alison Munro, chief executive of HS2 Ltd, attended the event in the afternoon and said: “We do recognise that many of you, most of you here, may not be in favour of HS2.

“That doesn’t in our view need to stand in the way of you engaging with us in these forums. Participating certainly doesn’t mean you’re in favour of the route. We very much welcome any ideas and observations that have emerged from your discussions today.”

Martin Tett, leader of Buckinghamshire County Council, as well as anti-HS2 group 51m, stressed the forums were not an acceptance that the rail scheme would go ahead.

But he said they must act together to avoid the process becoming a ‘box-ticking exercise’ for HS2 Ltd, the company leading the project for the Government.

Steve Rodrick, of Chilterns Conservation Board, told the groups to find every special tree, landscape or scene that could be spolied by the line.

He said: “We’ve got to find everything we’ve got. They don’t appear as valuable on a map, but we’ve got to record and articulate its importance.”

But he urged the forums, currently made up of councillors, to “keep telling yourself there’s a bigger game out there” and “the best way of looking after the environment is to stop the railway”.

Bucks County Council has created a new role for an officer to engage with HS2 Ltd, to which Rosie Brake was posted six weeks ago.

She told the Bucks Free Press it was important to have “unity of response” to strengthen their case in any negotiations.

She added: “The feedback we’ve had is that enough isn’t shared and there’s a risk of divide and rule, as well as a risk of conflict between local groups.”

There is also a “real thirst” for more information and technical support, so the council brought various independent speakers to the meeting to give advice to the groups.

Giles Parker, of Sound Barrier Solutions, stressed the importance of getting the right kind of noise barrier in each location, saying the groups should demand specific details from HS2.

Meanwhile, Richard Lindop, of engineering firm Jacobs, said several new access roads would need to be built along the route for the construction to take place.

Cheryl Gillan, a cabinet minister and MP for Chesham and Amersham, said in a statement: "Whilst I fully appreciate that there are people in the constituency who oppose HS2 on principle, we can no longer simply say no; all groups and individuals who have opposed the project, including myself, have failed to halt it and we must take this into account when moving forward.

"I am of course happy to make representations to my colleagues in Government on behalf of my constituents who completely oppose HS2, yet I believe it is also my duty to help secure the best refinements so that, should it proceed, the project will impact as little as possible on Chesham and Amersham."