Drayton Bassett, Hints and Weeford HS2 London-West Midlands May 2013
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PHASE ONE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT Community Forum Area Report 21 | Drayton Bassett, Hints and Weeford HS2 London-West Midlands May 2013 ENGINE FOR GROWTH DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT Community Forum Area Report ENGINE FOR GROWTH 21 I Drayton Bassett, Hints and Weeford High Speed Two (HS2) Limited, 2nd Floor, Eland House, Bressenden Place, London SW1E 5DU Telephone 020 7944 4908 General email enquiries: [email protected] Website: www.hs2.org.uk © Crown copyright, 2013, except where otherwise stated. Copyright in the typographical arrangement rests with the Crown. You may re-use this information (not including logos or third-party material) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/ or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or e-mail: [email protected]. Where we have identified any third-party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned. To order further copies contact: DfT Publications Tel: 0300 123 1102 Web: www.dft.gov.uk/orderingpublications Product code: ES/27 Printed in Great Britain on paper containing at least 75% recycled fibre. CFA Report – Drayton Bassett, Hints and Weeford/No 21 I Contents Contents Draft Volume 2: Community Forum Area Report – Drayton Bassett, Hints and Weeford/No 21 5 Part A: Introduction 6 1 Introduction 7 1.1 Introduction to HS2 7 1.2 Purpose of this report 7 1.3 Structure of this report 9 Part B: Drayton Bassett, Hints and Weeford – overview of the area and description of the Proposed Scheme 10 2 Drayton Bassett, Hints and Weeford 11 2.1 Overview of the area 11 2.2 Description of the Proposed Scheme 14 2.3 Construction of the Proposed Scheme 17 2.4 Operation of the Proposed Scheme 26 2.5 Community forum engagement 27 2.6 Route section main alternatives 28 2.7 Proposals for further consideration 28 Part C: Environmental topic assessments 30 3 Agriculture, forestry and soils 31 3.1 Introduction 31 3.2 Policy framework 31 3.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 31 3.4 Environmental baseline 31 3.5 Construction 34 3.6 Operation 37 1 CFA Report – Drayton Bassett, Hints and Weeford/No 21 I Contents 4 Air quality 38 4.1 Introduction 38 4.2 Policy framework 38 4.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 38 4.4 Environmental baseline 38 4.5 Construction 40 4.6 Operation 41 5 Community 42 5.1 Introduction 42 5.2 Policy framework 42 5.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 42 5.4 Environmental baseline 42 5.5 Construction 44 5.6 Operation 47 6 Cultural heritage 48 6.1 Introduction 48 6.2 Policy framework 48 6.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 48 6.4 Environmental baseline 49 6.5 Construction 50 6.6 Operation 52 7 Ecology 54 7.1 Introduction 54 7.2 Policy framework 54 7.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 54 7.4 Environmental baseline 55 7.5 Construction 58 7.6 Operation 61 8 Land quality 63 8.1 Introduction 63 8.2 Policy framework 63 8.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 63 8.4 Environmental baseline 64 8.5 Construction 66 8.6 Operation 67 2 CFA Report – Drayton Bassett, Hints and Weeford/No 21 I Contents 9 Landscape and visual assessment 69 9.1 Introduction 69 9.2 Policy framework 69 9.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 70 9.4 Environmental baseline 70 9.5 Construction 71 9.6 Operation 80 10 Socio-economics 87 10.1 Introduction 87 10.2 Policy framework 87 10.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 87 10.4 Environmental baseline 87 10.5 Construction 88 10.6 Operation 89 11 Sound, noise and vibration 90 11.1 Introduction 90 11.2 Policy framework 90 11.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 90 11.4 Environmental baseline 90 11.5 Construction 90 11.6 Operation 91 12 Traffic and transport 93 12.1 Introduction 93 12.2 Policy framework 93 12.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 93 12.4 Environmental baseline 94 12.5 Construction 96 12.6 Operation 99 13 Water resources and flood risk assessment 100 13.1 Introduction 100 13.2 Policy framework 100 13.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 100 13.4 Environmental baseline 101 13.5 Construction 103 13.6 Operation 104 14 References 106 2 3 CFA Report – Drayton Bassett, Hints and Weeford/No 21 I Contents List of figures Figure 1: HS2 Phase One route and community forum areas 8 Figure 2: Area context map 12 Figure 3: Indicative construction programme for the area 26 Figure 4: Business Sector Composition in Lichfield District and West Midlands 88 List of tables Table 1: Location of construction site compounds 19 Table 2: Demolition works 21 Table 3: Watercourse diversions 21 Table 4: Highway and road diversions 22 Table 5: Footpath, cycleway and bridleway diversions 23 Table 6: Viaducts, underbridges and overbridges 24 Table 7: Holdings affected by the Proposed Scheme 33 Table 8: Preliminary evaluation of likely value of protected and/or notable species occurring within this section of the route 57 Table 9: Significant residual construction effects on ecological receptors within this section of the route 60 Table 10: Significant residual operational effects on ecological receptors within this section of the route 62 Table 11: Significant landscape effects during construction 72 Table 12: Significant visual effects during construction 73 Table 13: Significant landscape effects during operation year 1 (2026) 81 Table 14: Significant visual effects during operation year 1 (2026) 82 Table 15: Satellite compound by size, number, workforce number, average duration of use and daily trips 97 4 CFA Report – Drayton Bassett, Hints and Weeford/No 21 I Contents Draft Volume 2: Community Forum Area Report Drayton Bassett, Hints and Weeford/No 21 Structure of the HS2 draft Environmental Statement The draft ES documentation for the purpose of this consultation comprises: • A non-technical summary (NTS) – providing a summary of the Proposed Scheme, the likely significant effects of the Proposed Scheme, both beneficial and adverse, and the means to avoid or reduce the adverse effects; and • A main report – consisting of two volumes: ȃ Volume 1: Introduction to the Environmental Statement and Proposed Scheme which provides an introduction to HS2, an overview of the hybrid bill process and the environmental impact assessment (EIA) methodology, an introduction to consultation and engagement, the main strategic and route-wide alternatives considered; and ȃ Volume 2: Includes 26 Community Forum Area (CFA) reports, each with a separate corresponding set of drawings, which together provide the assessment of local environmental effects. An assessment of the effects of the Proposed Scheme on a route-wide basis is presented in Report 27. HS2 Ltd set up 26 community forums along the line of route of the Proposed Scheme, as a regular way of engaging with local communities1. Volume 2 of this draft ES supports this engagement strategy by providing a draft ES report for each CFA. This is a report for the Drayton Bassett, Hints and Weeford area, CFA 21. The draft ES has been written in a clear and accessible manner; however, on occasion it has been necessary to use technical terms. Given this, a glossary of terms and list of abbreviations for all draft ES documentation is provided. 1 Details of these community forums are provided on the HS2 Ltd website at http://www.hs2.org.uk/have-your-say/forums/community-forums. Accessed 26 April 2013 5 CFA Report – Drayton Bassett, Hints and Weeford/No 21 I Contents Part A: Introduction 6 CFA Report – Drayton Bassett, Hints and Weeford/No 21 I Introduction 1 Introduction 1.1 Introduction to HS2 1.1.1 HS2 is planned to be a Y-shaped rail network with stations in London, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, South Yorkshire and the East Midlands, linked by high speed trains running at speeds of up to 360 kilometres per hour (kph) (225 miles per hour (mph)). 1.1.2 HS2 is proposed to be built in two phases. Phase One (the Proposed Scheme), the subject of this draft ES, would involve the construction of a new railway line of approximately 230km (143 miles) between London and Birmingham that would become operational by 2026; with a connection to the West Coast Main Line (WCML) near Lichfield and to the existing HS1 line in London. The Phase One route and the 26 CFAs are shown in Figure 1. 1.1.3 On opening, Phase One would run up to 14 trains per hour (tph). HS2 trains would be up to 400 metres (m) long with 1,100 seats during peak hours. Beyond the dedicated high speed track, these high speed trains would connect with and run on the existing WCML to serve passengers beyond the HS2 network. A connection to HS1 would also allow some services to run to mainland Europe via the Channel Tunnel. 1.1.4 Phase Two would involve the construction of lines from Birmingham to Leeds and Manchester; with construction commencing around 2027, and planned to be operational by 2033. After Phase Two opens, it is expected that the frequency of train services on some parts of the Phase One route could increase up to 18tph. 1.1.5 The Government believes that the HS2 network should link to Heathrow and its preferred option is for this to be built as part of Phase Two. However, the Government has since taken the decision to pause work on the Heathrow link until after 2015 when it expects the Airports Commission to publish its final report on recommended options for maintaining the country’s status as an international aviation hub.