MPs in Commons debate on HS2

THE initial proposed route for the HS2 high speed railway would be “bad for the town ” and is, increasingly economically unjustifiable according to Warrington North MP Helen Jones.
She was speaking during an adjournment debate in the House of Commons applied for in the name of both Warrington MPs – herself and the Warrington South MP David Mowat.
The high speed line would inflict huge disturbance and environmental damage as well as housing blight, Ms Jones said.
This was as a result of a perverse decision o send the route to join the West Coast main line north of Warrington rather than north of Crewe.
Ms Jones highlighted the economic costs of the route – 500 jobs lost at Taylor Business Park near Culcheth and the consequent loss of jobs among businesses in Culcheth that depend on trade from the business park.
She said: “The estimate for the loss of business rates from the business park is more than £635,000 per annum. The economic loss to Culcheth, including lost salaries and wages, is estimated at £10.2 million per annum. None of those are included in the costings for the line.”
Ms Jones said Rixton-with-Glazebury would see a big viaduct and raised embankments going through the villages, cutting one half of the parish from the other.
The ancient village of Hollins Green would be dominated by the viaduct and a network of footpaths around Hollins green would be destroyed.
She went on: “The Culcheth linear park will also be destroyed. Ironically, in the consultation, it is down as a ‘dismantled railway’ line – well, it used to be, but it is not now. It is a park with plant and tree conservation programmes, access for the disabled, and routes for walkers and riders.
“These facilities cannot be replicated elsewhere in the village, and there is no attempt to calculate the cost to public health and the consequent cost to the public purse from getting rid of these facilities.”
Ms Jones said planning blight was the most serious of all.
She went on “In Rixton-with-Glazebrook, 505 properties will be within 500 metres of the line. In Culcheth, the total is 947 properties. Many of those do not qualify for the exceptional hardship scheme.
“They are not owned by wealthy people, but by people who have struggled and sacrificed to buy their own home, and who now see buyers walking away. We also see stories of people being refused mortgages because of the uncertainty about the route. In total, if we look at the PricewaterhouseCoopers report on the property bond and the loss of values, it is estimated that even a 10 per cent drop in property prices in Culcheth wipes £23 million off the value of property in the area, and that is at today’s prices.”
Ms Jones concluded by referring to proposals for a transport hub at Crewe.
“Part of the reason for not joining the line north of Crewe was the work that would have to be done to Crewe station.
“If it is being done anyway, the Minister has a real chance to look again at these proposals to ensure that we get the line joining the west coast main line north of Crewe and that that line is upgraded, so we can connect Liverpool, Warrington and many of the other towns and cities around the route as well.
“If he does that, he will not only be avoiding a loss of habitat, environmental destruction and economic problems in my constituency, but providing a better service to the region as a whole and saving £1 billion.”
Mr Mowat said: “Try as I might, I cannot find the benefit of that spur line to Warrington or anywhere else in the country.”
He said neither he nor Helen Jones were speaking as “nimbies.”
“If there was a purpose in the line scything through our constituencies, her constituency in particular, we could have a more balanced discussion.”
Transport minister Robert Goodwill stressed that no decisions had yet been taken on the final route nor station options.
He said: “The secretary of state has committed to respond to the phase two consultation by the end of the year and that remains his intention.”