High Speed Rail (London- West Midlands) Health Impact Assessment
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HIGH SPEED RAIL (London- West MidLands) Health impact assessment November 2013 ESA 4.6 HIGH SPEED RAIL (London- West MidLands) Health impact assessment November 2013 ESA 4.6 High Speed Two (HS2) Limited has been tasked by the Department for Transport (DfT) with managing the delivery of a new national high speed rail network. It is a non-departmental public body wholly owned by the DfT. A report prepared for High Speed Two (HS2) Limited. High Speed Two (HS2) Limited, Eland House, Bressenden Place, London SW1E 5DU Details of how to obtain further copies are available from HS2 Ltd. Telephone: 020 7944 4908 General email enquiries: [email protected] Website: www.hs2.org.uk High Speed Two (HS2) Limited has actively considered the needs of blind and partially sighted people in accessing this document. The text will be made available in full on the HS2 website. The text may be freely downloaded and translated by individuals or organisations for conversion into other accessible formats. If you have other needs in this regard please contact High Speed Two (HS2) Limited. Printed in Great Britain on paper containing at least 75% recycled fibre. HIA Report | Contents Contents 1 Introduction 3 1.1 The purpose of the Health Impact Assessment and this report 3 1.2 Evaluating health issues and effects 4 1.3 Relationship to the Environmental Statement 5 2 HIA process 7 2.1 Overview 7 2.2 Evidence base 7 2.3 Community profiles 7 2.4 Consultation and engagement 8 2.5 HIA scoping 8 2.6 Assessment of health effects 9 2.7 Mitigation of health effects 10 3 General mitigation 11 3.2 Measures incorporated into the Proposed Scheme design 11 3.3 Environmental management 11 3.4 Ongoing engagement and mitigation 11 3.5 Community liaison 11 4 Potential health effects at the national and regional level 13 4.1 Employment and incomes 13 4.2 Rail network capacity 13 5 Potential health effects along the route 15 5.1 Introduction 15 5.2 Employment and income 15 5.3 Residential property 19 5.4 Local environment 22 5.5 Air quality 27 5.6 Noise and vibration 29 5.7 Physical activity 33 5.8 Access to services 40 i HIA Report | Contents 5.9 Traveller stress 43 5.10 Road safety 46 5.11 Social capital 46 Appendices Appendix 1 – Detailed assessment criteria Appendix 2 – Scoping Appendix 3 – Consultation and engagement Appendix 4 – Health evidence base Appendix 5 – Existing baseline Appendix 6 – Quantitative noise and vibration information from the ES ii HIA Report | Introduction 1 Introduction 1.1 The purpose of the Health Impact Assessment and this report 1.1.1 This Health Impact Assessment (HIA) Report presents the assessment of the potential health effects resulting from the construction and operation of High Speed Two (HS2), Phase One, London-West Midlands ('the Proposed Scheme'). 1.1.2 The construction and operation of any major infrastructure project has the potential to cause substantial changes to the surrounding environment and these may have consequences for the people who live and work there. Therefore, during the planning and design process for HS2, such changes have been considered as part of the environmental assessment process and measures have been incorporated into the Proposed Scheme to avoid or reduce them. The predicted resultant effects on the environment and people are reported in the Environmental Statement (ES) that has been prepared to support the Phase One hybrid Bill. 1.1.3 HS2 Ltd appreciates that such effects on people could, without appropriate controls or mitigation measures, lead to anxiety and/or other effects on people's health and wellbeing. Therefore, an HIA has been undertaken as part of the design and planning process for the Proposed Scheme prior to submission of the hybrid Bill. The HIA seeks to identify and understand the issues and to identify appropriate and reasonably practicable measures either to prevent them occurring or to reduce them, or to provide mitigation or compensation to those affected. 1.1.4 This HIA report describes the outcome of this process in that it reports HS2 Ltd's current evaluation of the issues and the means that are proposed to avoid, reduce or compensate for them. It has been prepared in accordance with established good practice for large infrastructure projects in the UK. In addition to providing decision makers with information about the proposed scheme, it is also intended to inform communities about issues with the potential to affect health and how these will be controlled. 1.1.5 Consideration of potential health issues has been an integral part of the planning and design of the Proposed Scheme to date, alongside consideration of other environmental, community and economic issues. They were considered in development of the draft Code of Construction Practice (CoCP), in environmental assessment and in the measures that are included in the design described in the ES to avoid causing impacts on people and to reduce, where reasonably practicable, those impacts that might otherwise be likely to occur. HS2 Ltd’s Sustainability Policy also contains policies that would address health issues. 1.1.6 Notwithstanding this, HS2 Ltd recognises that there needs to be an on-going process of assessment, engagement and communication throughout the detailed planning, construction and operation of the Proposed Scheme. This is particularly important since many of the measures to avoid or reduce effects will need to be implemented with the involvement of third parties, such as local authorities, or in partnership with them. 3 HIA Report | Introduction 1.1.7 The HIA is neither a statutory requirement nor a requirement of the Private Business Standing Orders of the Houses of Parliament that identify what documents are required to accompany the hybrid Bill. However, it will be submitted alongside the hybrid Bill as supporting information. 1.2 Evaluating health issues and effects 1.2.1 This HIA is based on the World Health Organization's (WHO's) definition of health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely an absence of disease or infirmity”. 1.2.2 The state of the health of individuals and communities is determined by many factors including their circumstances and environment. To determine the potential impacts of the project on health the HIA has evaluated the changes to a number of factors that can influence health (which are termed health determinants) and considered the effect of those changes. The health determinants include community and economic factors as well as the physical environment. 1.2.3 A person's response to such changes will also depend on very many factors, including for example the person’s individual characteristics and behaviours and factors such as their income and social status (higher income and social status are linked to better health), their level of education (low education levels are linked with poor health) and their social support networks (greater support from families, friends and communities is linked to better health). It is therefore not appropriate to assess the potential effects on individuals, but rather to assess whether a change is likely to improve or worsen the general health characteristics of the general population who will experience the change. 1.2.4 The health determinants identified as causing potential health effects are described in Section 2.5. The assessment sections of this report are organised according to health determinants. A summary of the linkages between the determinant and the health outcome is given at the start of each assessment section, with further information in Appendix 4. It should be noted that for some determinants the evidence of consequential health impacts is limited. This is because of the complex nature of links between an aspect of the project, effects on community or environmental factors, and the causal pathway leading to a health outcome, which may be influenced by many other factors. 1.2.5 Differential and disproportionate effects on Protected Groups (as defined by the Equality Act, 2010) are assessed in the Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA). This report highlights those differential and differential effects that relate specifically to health effects. 1.2.6 Health effects may be triggered or exacerbated by perceptions about the Proposed Scheme. These may comprise mental or psychological effects associated with anxiety, or health effects resulting from behavioural changes triggered by perceived effects. 1.2.7 Perceptions have the potential to affect the way that individuals and communities experience and respond to the effects of the proposed scheme, and can affect health outcomes in a number of ways, including: 4 HIA Report | Introduction increased levels of anxiety for local residents arising from concern about the perceived effects of the Proposed Scheme, such as reduced desirability of the areas along the route affecting local property markets, or crime and antisocial behaviour associated with construction sites; health effects resulting from behavioural changes, such as: • a decrease in the number of people walking and cycling due to road safety concerns, resulting in reduced levels of physical activity (see Sections 5.5 and 5.8); and • reluctance to use community services and facilities that are frequented by the construction workforce, resulting in a reduction in beneficial activities such as physical activity or social interaction. 1.2.8 Section 2 provides more information on how the scale of health effects has been evaluated. 1.3 Relationship to the Environmental Statement 1.3.1 The assessment of effects of the Proposed Scheme on health is based on the scheme information described in the HS2 ES. The HIA draws on the ES description of environmental and community effects and measures to avoid, reduce and, if possible, remedy significant adverse effects.