Steeple Claydon and Calvert Area Mitigation Plan
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Why are historic buildings a special case here? Because • Desire to preserve the special landscape setting as well as the historic structure • Historic structure will only be preserved if people want to live or work in it • Historic buildings are slighter, and sound insulation results in loss of Hammonds Hall Farmhouse historic character. A1446 (7) HOC/00520/0103 Heritage asks: HS2 to provide assurances that: • Even in the AONB the design process will take account of both the special landscape needs and the need to provide appropriate and adequate noise mitigation for the historic buildings • Details submitted under Schedule 16 will include sound assessments to demonstrate that the historic buildings will remain fit for people to use them as before. • If details do not demonstrate this, the Council will be able to refuse them or impose conditions on grounds that the historic buildings will not be preserved. • Sound impact will be monitored once the line is in operation, with further mitigation for any excess impact above the assessed level. (An amendment to the Bill may be necessary to achieve this purpose) A1446 (8) HOC/00520/0104 3) Hunts Green Farm: care in the event of vacancy Why would it become vacant? • Construction route adjacent • Half the farmland used for temporary stock-piling • 4 years to remove the piles • Up to 5 years to restore the land Tenant has not made any decision to stay. A1446 (9) HOC/00520/0105 Why should HS2 be responsible for preventing decline of the farm buildings? Because: • The buildings will decline if left empty • The railway will be the cause of the decline • No guarantee that compensation for the tenant would be spent on the buildings • Cost of repairs for farm buildings could be greater than value in present use. A1446 (10) HOC/00520/0106 Hunts Green Farm asks: HS2 to provide an assurance that, if the historic buildings become vacant: • The condition of the historic buildings will be monitored • The historic buildings will be safe-guarded and maintained • Works will be carried out as necessary to enable resumption of use. A1446 (11) HOC/00520/0107 View: Calvert Jubilee The Steeple Claydon and Calvert area Mitigation Plan Presented by Martin Tett - Leader of Buckinghamshire County Council “The mitigations proposed thus far have been very limited…HS2 has not even begun to reckon with the scale of what is required to alleviate the detrimental impact on the area” [John Bercow MP] A1447 (1) HOC/00520/0108 By 2026, the area will be a convergence point of several major infrastructure projects Chetwode Steeple Claydon Twyford Calvert NOTE: The Infrastructure Maintenance Depot mapped throughout this presentation is considered to also include the railhead. HS2 Select Committee (Oct 2015) Martin Tett - Leader of Buckinghamshire County Council A1447 (2) HOC/00520/0109 The cumulative impact of projects in the area EWR line 2% Permanent Land take EfW plant 7% HS2 line 1% Approximate Approximate Infrastructure land coverage cumulative area EfW plant 25 acres (10ha) - EWR line Sustainable 7 acres (3 ha) 32 acres (13 ha) placement in scope area 28% IMD 206 acres (83 ha) 238 acres (96 ha) Sustainable IMD 93 acres (38 ha) 331 acres (134 ha) placement 62% HS2 line 5 acres (2 ha) 336 acres (136 ha) in scope area 336 acres TOTAL - (136 ha) As shown, 91% of land affected by projects in this area will be affected by HS2. In addition, temporary land take in the area over 10 years will amount to 2,130 acres (862 ha) HS2 Select Committee (Oct 2015) Martin Tett - Leader of Buckinghamshire County Council A1447 (3) HOC/00520/0110 The Calvert area • This unique, diverse area is valued for its strong role in providing access to facilities for neighbouring communities, for its richness in recreational opportunities and its heritage and ecological assets. • The area is set to be carved in half to accommodate the HS2 line and potentially the only Infrastructure Maintenance Depot and Sustainable Placement along the entire route. Calvert Jubilee • HS2 Ltd has not given this area the attention it needs. We ask the Select Committee to appreciate the profound, prolonged, and irreversible damage HS2 will contribute to the cumulative detriment of this area. • We propose an improved, community led package to better mitigate this unique rural area against the widespread, cumulative and profound impact of HS2, which currently delivers HS1 at Singlewell no local benefit. HS2 Select Committee (Oct 2015) Martin Tett - Leader of Buckinghamshire County Council A1447 (4) HOC/00520/0111 A significant number of stops were needed during the June 2015 Select Committee site visit to North Buckinghamshire in order for all attending to grasp the enormity of the area that will be affected by HS2. HS2 Select Committee (Oct 2015) Martin Tett - Leader of Buckinghamshire County Council A1447 (5) HOC/00520/0112 HS2 Ltd – issues with the proposed mitigation Partial Limited Nominal flood Minimal noise Inadequate screening along landscaping/ management limitation Community the IMD tree planting works works Fund The area is one of the most severely impacted points along the entire HS2 route - traditional mitigation measures cannot address the overall major impacts of the proposals. The traditional mitigation offered by HS2 Ltd does not begin to address the effects on the community or the economic and social impacts of the introduction of this major project in this location. A strong sense of community must remain across this area if we are to live alongside HS2 HS2 Select Committee (Oct 2015) Martin Tett - Leader of Buckinghamshire County Council A1447 (6) HOC/00520/0113 Community engagement and our Asks Engagement with communities, businesses, environmental stakeholders and District and Parish councils in the local area has highlighted six major asks that are not addressed by the current mitigation proposed by HS2 Ltd. The delivery of these asks would enhance community links in the Steeple Claydon and Calvert area in the context of having to live alongside HS2: 1. To relocate the FCC rail sidings to the south of Sheephouse Wood* 2. To remove the Shepherds Furze farm “Sustainable Placement” 3. To provide a new station at Steeple Claydon to serve the local community and those working at the IMD. * FCC will be appearing separately on this point and are the waste operators of the Energy from Waste plant. HS2 Select Committee (Oct 2015) Martin Tett - Leader of Buckinghamshire County Council A1447 (7) HOC/00520/0114 Community engagement and our Asks 4. To be assured that all lighting impacts will be covered by Schedule 16. 5. To revise the screening proposals to adequately mitigate visual impact at the IMD and the rail head. 6. To address connectivity across the local area by facilitating Broadband provision, creating a new walking route to counter geographical severance and to undertake surfacing works on the existing Public Rights of Way network. A commitment to the above – in addition to the mitigation already proposed - will help to realise a more sustainable future for the local area. HS2 Select Committee (Oct 2015) Martin Tett - Leader of Buckinghamshire County Council A1447 (8) HOC/00520/0115 ASK 1: Relocation of the Rail sidings Leading: FCC Environment via separate Select Committee appearance For HS2 Ltd to relocate the proposed rail sidings: • The sidings are currently proposed to move further North - partly onto the site of the former Calvert Railway station (now a Local Wildlife Site) and in close proximity to properties in Calvert Green. • We ask HS2 Ltd to relocate the sidings to the FCC Environment site south of Sheephouse Wood. Further detail will be provided in FCC Environment’s Committee appearance. • This relocation is supported by the County Council, Aylesbury Vale District Council and Calvert Green, Charndon and Edgcott Parish Councils. HS2 Select Committee (Oct 2015) Martin Tett - Leader of Buckinghamshire County Council A1447 (9) HOC/00520/0116 The HS2 Ltd proposal: • Moves the sidings closer to the local community • Includes an overbridge – increasing noise and visual impact • Affects Local Wildlife and Ancient Woodland sites To our knowledge, HS2 Ltd have not examined the specific proposal FCC have put forward. HS2 line Current sidings location (indicative) FCC proposed sidings (indicative) HS2 proposed sidings Energy from Waste plant Newly designated Ancient Woodland (2015) Local Wildlife Sites A1447 (10) HOC/00520/0117 ASK 2: Removal of the Sustainable Placement Leading: Buckinghamshire County Council • For HS2 Ltd to make better re-use of the excavated material currently proposed for the Shepherds Furze Sustainable Placement immediately south of the IMD. • For HS2 Ltd to demonstrate that all other waste disposal and material re-use options have been exhausted before resulting to sustainable placement. • Ultimately, for HS2 Ltd to remove the Shepherds Furze Farm Sustainable Placement. HS2 Select Committee (Oct 2015) Martin Tett - Leader of Buckinghamshire County Council A1447 (11) HOC/00520/0118 ASK 2: Removal of the Sustainable Placement In Information Paper E19, HS2 Ltd quote the following reasoning for the use of ‘Sustainable Placement’ at Shepherd’s Furze Farm: • To avoid causing environmental effects that would otherwise be associated with off-site disposal of material. • Calvert within CFA13, has been selected to provide certainty of disposal of surplus excavated material from the bored tunnels in the London Metropolitan area. This material will be moved off‐site by rail as the location at which it arises and the volumes