PHASE ONE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT Community Forum Area Report 23 | Balsall Common and Hampton-in-Arden HS2 London-West Midlands May 2013 ENGINE FOR GROWTH DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT Community Forum Area Report ENGINE FOR GROWTH 23 I Balsall Common and Hampton-in-Arden 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]. 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CFA Report – Balsall Common and Hampton-in-Arden/No 23 I Contents Contents Draft Volume 2: Community Forum Area Report – Balsall Common and Hampton-in-Arden/No 23 5 Structure of the HS2 draft Environmental Statement 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: Balsall Common and Hampton-in-Arden – overview of the area and description of the Proposed Scheme 10 2 Balsall Common and Hampton-in-Arden 11 2.1 Overview of the area 11 2.2 Description of the Proposed Scheme 15 2.3 Construction of the Proposed Scheme 22 2.4 Operation of the Proposed Scheme 33 2.5 Community forum engagement 34 2.6 Route section main alternatives 34 Part C: Environmental topic assessments 39 3 Agriculture, forestry and soils 40 3.1 Introduction 40 3.2 Policy framework 40 3.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 40 3.4 Environmental baseline 40 3.5 Construction 42 3.6 Operation 45 1 CFA Report – Balsall Common and Hampton-in-Arden/No 23 I Contents 4 Air quality 47 4.1 Introduction 47 4.2 Policy framework 47 4.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 47 4.4 Environmental baseline 47 4.5 Construction 48 4.6 Operation 49 5 Community 50 5.1 Introduction 50 5.2 Policy framework 50 5.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 51 5.4 Environmental baseline 51 5.5 Construction 53 5.6 Operation 55 6 Cultural heritage 56 6.1 Introduction 56 6.2 Policy framework 56 6.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 56 6.4 Environmental baseline 56 6.5 Construction 59 6.6 Operation 61 7 Ecology 63 7.1 Introduction 63 7.2 Policy framework 63 7.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 63 7.4 Environmental baseline 64 7.5 Construction 67 8 Land quality 75 8.1 Introduction 75 8.2 Policy framework 75 8.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 76 8.4 Environmental baseline 76 8.5 Construction 78 8.6 Operation 80 2 CFA Report – Balsall Common and Hampton-in-Arden/No 23 I Contents 9 Landscape and visual assessment 81 9.1 Introduction 81 9.2 Policy framework 81 9.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 82 9.4 Environmental baseline 82 9.5 Construction 83 9.6 Operation 86 10 Socio-economics 90 10.1 Introduction 90 10.2 Policy framework 90 10.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 90 10.4 Environmental baseline 90 10.5 Construction 91 10.6 Operation 92 11 Sound, noise and vibration 93 11.1 Introduction 93 11.2 Policy framework 93 11.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 93 11.4 Environmental baseline 93 11.5 Construction 93 11.6 Operation 94 12 Traffic and transport 97 12.1 Introduction 97 12.2 Policy framework 97 12.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 97 12.4 Environmental baseline 98 12.5 Construction 100 13 Water resources and flood risk assessment 105 13.1 Introduction 105 13.2 Policy framework 105 13.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 105 13.4 Environmental baseline 105 13.5 Construction 107 13.6 Operation 109 14 References 112 2 3 CFA Report – Balsall Common and Hampton-in-Arden/No 23 I Contents List of figures Figure 1: HS2 Phase One route and community forum areas 8 Figure 2: Area context map 13 Figure 3: Indicative construction programme for the area 33 Figure 4: Business sector composition in Solihull and West Midlands 91 List of tables Table 1: Location of construction site compounds 23 Table 2: Location of temporary worker accommodation sites 24 Table 3: Demolition works 26 Table 4: Watercourse diversions 26 Table 5: Highway and road diversions 27 Table 6: Footpath, cycleway and bridleway diversions 28 Table 7: Restricted accesses 29 Table 8: Viaducts, underbridges and overbridges 31 Table 9: Embankments and cuttings 32 Table 10: Holdings affected by the Proposed Scheme 42 Table 11: Preliminary evaluation of likely value of protected and/or notable species occurring within this section of the route 66 Table 12: Significant residual construction effects on ecological receptors within this section of the route 72 Table 14: Significant landscape effects during construction 84 Table 15: Significant visual effects during construction 85 Table 16: Significant landscape effects during operation year 1 (2026) 87 Table 17: Significant visual effects during operation year 1 (2026) 88 Table 18: Options for further mitigation 96 Table 19: Typical vehicle trip generation for site compounds in this area 101 4 CFA Report – Balsall Common and Hampton-in-Arden/No 23 I Contents Draft Volume 2: Community Forum Area Report Balsall Common and Hampton-in-Arden/No 23 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; • 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 communities.1 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 Balsall Common and Hampton-in-Arden CFA (CFA 23). 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 5 CFA Report – Balsall Common and Hampton-in-Arden/No 23 I Contents Part A: Introduction 6 CFA Report – Balsall Common and Hampton-in-Arden/No 23 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 is 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.