CULCHETH And District Rail Action Group (CADRAG) are planning a public meeting to discuss the new proposals for HS2 and their impact on the village and surrounding area.
The new proposal has a revised route past Culcheth, now approximately 300m further away from the village, near Glazier’s Lane. It avoids the Taylor Business Park and the Culcheth Linear Park, which CADRAG had campaigned to protect, but will impact the fishing lakes.
However, there is still a massive viaduct over Hollins Green, and the rest of the route is unchanged. There will still be bridges to build where it crosses all three roads between Culcheth and Warrington. More details can be found on the HS2 website or the CADRAG facebook page.
Frank Allen ,Chair, CADRAG, said: “There is no formal consultation on this now, although there is a consultation on the decision not to build the Depot at Golborne. We can comment on this that there is now no need for the Golborne link since the Depot will move to Crewe and there will be a connection to the West Coast Main Line at Crewe as well.
CADRAG chairman Frank Allen
“However, we expect there to be local informal consultations on slight tweaks to the route through Warrington – tree screening, maybe putting it in cuttings to reduce the impact. In 2019 a Hybrid Bill will go to Parliament. There will follow the petitioning process, for the following four or so years to 2023/4. We will have the opportunity to petition Parliament at that stage.
“CADRAG has always campaigned for the Golborne Link to be abandoned in favour of local upgrades to the West Coast Main Line, which will be cheaper, less disruptive and damaging, and bring additional benefits by increasing freight capacity as well. This is still our preferred option.
“CADRAG welcomes the continuing support of Local Parish and Borough Councillors and MPs, and is pleased council leader Terry O’Neill is still opposing the Golborne Link.
“We will be organising a public meeting in Culcheth in the near future to discuss the new proposals and our next steps. Watch out for the posters in the village.
If any one would like to help, contact Frank Allen on 01925 765017.
Meanwhile local Conservatives believe HS2 does not go far enough for Warrington.
Warrington North Conservative Party spokesperson Paul Campbell said: “We have continuously argued for an upgrade of the current West Coast Line with a stop at Warrington Bank Quay Station. Now we find there is to be no stop in Warrington at all despite the town being one of, if not the fastest growing business town in the North West’.
“The statement regarding the proposed HS2 route has been amended and accepted some of our arguments with the Taylor Business Park and the jobs of over 500 people being protected. The Culcheth Linear Park will also be left alone but there will still be a large amount of disruption to the local communities of Culcheth, Croft and Hollins Green for a long period of time.
“The proposal improves things slightly for Culcheth in the main but makes things worse for others.
“It is not what we wanted, which was to use the upgraded West Coast Main Line instead.
“We believe that local Parish Councillors working together as the elected representatives of the whole community should now take the lead when challenging the future HS2 plans affecting our local area.”
