Villages may have won a battle in HS2 “war”

RESIDENTS of the Culcheth area may have won a battle in the long-running “war” over the HS2 rail line and its impact on local villages.
The Department for Transport has informed Culcheth and Glazebury Parish Council that it is aware of local concern over the proposed closure of Wigshaw Lane and is working to try and resolve the issue.
Cllr Margaret Webber, chairman of the parish council, said the council would like to thank residents for the way they had responded to the HS2 public information event in November.
She said: “The parish council and CADRAG (Culcheth and District Rail Action Group) urged the hundreds of people who attended the event to comment on the proposals.
“They appear to have done so in droves.”
Representatives of HS2 Ltd and the Department for Transport were present at the information event and heard first hand the concerns of local people – particularly about the controversial proposal to close Wigshaw Lane – effectively rupturing the direct road link between Culcheth and Croft.
The parish council wrote to Chris Grayling, Secretary of State for Transport and have received the following reply from the Department for Transport
“We are acutely aware of the issues that this road alignment presents and HS2 Ltd are currently working on alternatives and have already engaged with Warrington Borough Council on the issue of the closure of Wigshaw Lane.
“We are very much aware of the strong response from the community in Culcheth, and the wider area, to the current road realignments proposed in the Working Draft Environmental Statement (WDES). We are keen to develop a design for the railway and the associated mitigation measures that meets the needs of both the local community and HS2.”
Cllr Webber said: “We want to thank the very many people who sent in responses, whether as individuals, or as representatives of businesses, educational organisations, health services, churches or social and leisure groups, to the HS2 plans for the Crewe to Bamfurlong link.”