Ruislip Residents’ Association Petition in the House of Lords Against the High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands Bill)
To the House of Lords
Session 2015–16
PETITION against the
High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Bill
THE PETITION OF RUISLIP RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION
Declares that:
1. The petitioners are specially and directly adversely affected by the whole Bill.
2. Your petitioners
Your petitioners are the Ruislip Residents’ Association, founded in 1919 as a non- political organization to represent the community of Ruislip, in the county of Middlesex. Your petitioners have a subscribed membership of over 3,000 households in Ruislip. Your petitioners have taken every opportunity to engage with HS2 Ltd and have been active members of the South Ruislip to Ickenham Community Forum. Your petitioners also petitioned against the Bill in the House of Commons.
3. Your petitioners’ concerns
3.1 Extending the Old Oak Common / Ruislip Tunnel
Your petitioners are aware that the Old Oak Common / Ruislip tunnel, as planned, ends at Ruislip Public Golf Course, and the route then continues overland, across the Colne Valley Regional Park to another tunnel under the M25. This will involve damaging Ruislip Public Golf Course, building a tunnel portal directly behind a residential street, bridging the River Pinn and an important local road, Breakspear Road South, demolition of several houses and part of the MSD Animal Health labs, one of the local employers, and may cause disruption to the Chiltern Line.
At the time of petitioning the House of Commons there was a requirement to provide provision for junctions to and from the Heathrow Spur on this section of the line and these junctions were one of the major reasons HS2 Ltd gave for not extending the tunnel, claiming that building underground junctions would be unnecessarily expensive. The Heathrow Spur provision has now been dropped from the bill and so these objections no longer stand. The location of the tunnel portal at West Ruislip has also led to the tunnel under the residential areas of Ruislip between West End Road and West Ruislip Bridge (the western tunnel portal) is shallower than your petitioners
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were led to believe by HS2 Ltd by up to 5m. This has led to considerable concern to homeowners in the area.
Your petitioners request your Honourable House to require the nominated undertaker to ensure that the tunnel is extended to meet up with the M25 tunnel, or alternatively, the start of the Colne Valley Viaduct. This will allow the tunnel portal to be built away from residential properties, avoiding up to seven years of 24-hours-a- day noise and disruption to the houses in The Greenway. It will also mean that no bridge works, are needed to cross the River Pinn and Breakspear Road South, and this will reduce the damage to community facilities. Your petitioners also request that the nominated undertaker be required to use the resulting longer length of tunnel to increase the depth of the tunnel beneath the residential areas of Ruislip between West End Road and West Ruislip Bridge (the western tunnel portal).
3.2 Closure or Suspension of Hillingdon Outdoors Activity Centre (HOAC)
Your petitioners are concerned that the construction of the Colne Valley Viaduct, through the middle of HOAC, will force the Centre to close or relocate. This is an important local facility providing services to the youth of the London Borough of Hillingdon, and beyond, and especially disabled youngsters. It is a jewel in the community’s crown.
Your petitioners request your Honourable House to require the nominated undertaker to ensure that this important local facility is preserved, without any lengthy period of non-operation. This will require a new site and full relocation. Your petitioners consider it important that the new HOAC should have all the facilities of the previous one (including high wire climbing, cave simulator, etc.) but in a purpose designed setting with full disabled facilities. Your Petitioners request your Honourable House to require that relocation should take place before the old site is forced to close so that service can be continuous.
3.3 Removal of Two/Three Holes at Ruislip Public Golf Course
Your petitioners are concerned that the taking of land for the Ruislip Tunnel Portal from Ruislip Public Golf Course will leave it with only 15 or 16 holes and that the proximity of the large tunnel head house to the existing Golf Centre will damage its use as a recreational amenity.
Your Petitioners request your Honourable House to require the nominated undertaker to ensure that the golf course be reconfigured before work begins on the tunnel and head house. There is additional land to the north of the existing course that could be incorporated into it and the whole course could then be professionally
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redesigned so that the land needed by HS2 Ltd is freed up and the course can continue in full use whilst HS2 is being constructed. Your petitioners request your Honourable House to require the nominated undertaker to ensure that the tunnel head house be redesigned so that it does not dominate the Golf Centre, or that the Golf Centre be re-sited elsewhere in the course as part of the reconfiguration.
3.4 Construction Traffic
Your petitioners are concerned about the very high levels of construction traffic mentioned in the Environmental Statement and later plans, including running lorries through already congested residential and shopping streets, passing several schools, without any plans as to how the roads will cope with the added traffic, and very few plans to improve the road system to cope with at least seven years of construction.
Since the Environmental Statement was written a large new housing estate has been constructed adjacent to the Ickenham High Road (a construction route for the tunnel portal site) and another is in the process of being built next to it. These are both on the site of the former RAF West Ruislip.
A recent murder on Ickenham High Road led to its total closure for a day. Within an hour of the closure the entire north of the Borough of Hillingdon was gridlocked. This demonstrated just how sensitive the local road system is to any obstruction or delay.
Your Petitioners have been informed by their police liaison officer that the Metropolitan Police are not meeting their response time targets in the north of the London Borough of Hillingdon, and that they fear that the congestion caused by large quantities of HS2 construction traffic will exacerbate the problem. The inference of this is that the same problem will apply to other emergency services, but your petitioners do not have direct contact with them.
Your petitioners request your Honourable House to require the nominated undertaker to produce and operate properly designed traffic plans that take into account the current and growing level of traffic in your Petitioners’ community, and, if necessary, propose and fund suitable road improvements and/or relief roads to ensure the smooth flow of traffic at all times. Your petitioners request that the communities of Ruislip, Harefield and Ickenham should be able to carry on their lives with the minimum of traffic problems whilst HS2 is being constructed.
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3.5 Disposal of Tunnelling Spoil
Your petitioners are appalled at the plan to dispose of the tunnelling and earthwork spoil on the green fields of Ickenham and Harefield. At the very last Community Forum meeting, HS2 Ltd announced that instead of removing the tunnelling spoil to use in building other parts of the line, they would now dump it on the rare green fields of Ickenham and Harefield, some of the few fields in Greater London. Your petitioners had no opportunity to discuss this development.
Your petitioners are concerned over the safety of this proposal and the appalling effect it will have on the landscape of the area, destroying existing views across London. From what your petitioners can deduce from the information provided by HS2 Ltd this will lead to the destruction of many mature trees including a large number of lone “focus” trees that help create the traditional English landscape look.
Your Petitioners request your Honourable House to require the nominated undertaker to ensure that this plan is abandoned and for the tunnelling spoil to be re- used as earlier planned, or disposed of in a more environmentally-sound manner, such as backfilling open mine workings, etc. It could be transported from the railhead that HS2 Ltd plan to build between Ickenham and Harefield.
4. The prayer
The petitioners therefore ask the House of Lords that they, or someone representing them in accordance with the rules and Standing Orders of the House, be given an opportunity to give evidence on some or all of the issues raised in this petition to the Select Committee which considers this Bill.
AND the petitioners remain, etc.
GRAHAM BARTRAM, Chairman & Roll B Agent, Ruislip Residents’ Association For and on behalf of Ruislip Residents’ Association 17 April 2016
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HOUSE OF LORDS
SESSION 2015-16
HIGH SPEED RAIL
(LONDON - WEST MIDLANDS) BILL
______
PETITION
OF
RUISLIP RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION
______
AGAINST,
BY COUNSEL, & c.
Graham Bartram Chairman & Roll B Agent Ruislip Residents’ Association 14 Bell View Manor Ruislip Middlesex HA4 7LH
01895 673310 (Home)
07941 295248 (Mobile)
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