HIGH SPEED RAIL (LONDON – WEST MIDLANDS) BILL (HS2)
Cabinet Member: Councillor Hugh McCarthy
Ward(s) Affected: Ellesborough, Great and Little Kimble, Princes Risborough, Bledlow cum Saunderton, Bradenham, West Wycombe, Piddington and Wheeler End, Stokenchurch and High Wycombe unparished area.
Officer contact : John Callaghan Ext No. 3507 Email: [email protected]
PROPOSED RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL
That:
(i) Taking account of the Council’s response to the HS2 Environmental Statement, this Council reiterates its opposition to the HS2 project as contained in the High Speed Rail (London- West Midlands) Bill;
(ii) Delegated authority be granted to the Head of Planning and Sustainability, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, Deputy Leader of the Council and the Cabinet Member for Planning and Sustainability, to take all reasonable steps to ensure that the impact of HS2 on Wycombe district is minimised, including the appointment of professionals and specialists, within a maximum budget of £30,000; and
(iii) A further report be brought back to Cabinet for further consideration if this financial limit of £30,000 is reached.
Reason for Decision
1 To confirm the Council’s position and to ensure that the Council is able to effectively influence the proposals for HS2, including if necessary parliament’s consideration of the High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Bill insofar as it affects Wycombe district.
Legal implications
1. A response to a government consultation is incidental to, or otherwise facilitates or is conducive to, the discharge of the Council’s various statutory functions relating to Town and Country Planning and transportation and is accordingly authorised by section 111 of the Local Government Act 1972.
2. This could involve petitioning of parliament, i.e. making a request to the House of Commons to take action on a specific issue.
1 Wycombe District Council meeting on 13.12.10 discussed the matter and agreed to support the position of Steve Baker MP, who opposes the Government’s current proposals for High Speed Rail 2 as they are: I. Economically unsound II. Environmentally damaging III. Do not support the national interests Resource implications
3. The Council has already spent or committed £30,000 towards technical work including noise, landscape impact, economic assessment and legal advice related to HS2.
4. The extent to which any further costs will be incurred will depend on what options might be pursued to express the Council’s opposition and to influence the proposals, including any mitigation. This could entail a range of actions, from continued dialogue with HS2 and with other Councils to submission of a petition(s) to parliament in respect of the Bill. These could involve potentially significant expenditure of time and costs and petitioning of parliament would require a resolution by full Council.
5. Given the range of actions which might be pursued to express the Council’s opposition and the fact that costs largely relate to the level of specialist and professional input required and the time input required an exact cost cannot be calculated. A budget of £30,000 is considered appropriate however every effort will be made to minimise the call on this budget, taking account of the opportunities to work jointly with other authorities and to pool resources. A further report would be brought back to Cabinet for further consideration if this financial limit of £30,000 were reached and further funding were to be sought.
6. In making use of any funds it will be necessary, amongst other considerations, to ensure that whatever resources are employed are proportionate to any reasonably desired outcome. The use of any funds would not be directed towards lobbying efforts but to specialist technical, professional and legal advice to ensure that the Council’s concerns are made clear and presented effectively so as to ensure that the impact of the HS2 proposals upon the district are effectively mitigated.
7. As far as possible opportunities for the pooling of resources and coordination of work are being shared with other Buckinghamshire Councils and by those in the 51m network and forums for the Phase 1 authorities.
Executive Summary
8. That, taking account of the Buckinghamshire Blueprint for HS2 and comments made in response to the HS2 Environmental Statement, Cabinet considers delegating authority to ensure that all reasonable steps are taken to ensure that the impact of HS2 on Wycombe district is minimised, and makes appropriate provision to resource this work area.
Sustainable Community Strategy/Council Priorities - Implications
9. One of the Council priorities is Place which includes the protection of the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The Council’s other priorities are People and Pounds.
Background and Issues
10. The proposed HS2 project is now being progressed through a Parliamentary 2 process. The hybrid Bill for Phase 1 (London – West Midlands) was deposited and given a formal first reading in the House of Commons on 25 November 2013. The second reading of the Bill is expected to take place around Easter time. This was accompanied by an extensive Environmental Statement. Whilst the overall proposals for HS2 have changed significantly along a number of sections since the Council resolution in 2010, including some greater use of tunnelling, (e.g. a green tunnel south of Wendover) the proposals that are being put forward are likely to still have an impact on Wycombe district.
11. Amongst other things, the Bill would authorise:
a. the construction of significant works in and adjacent to the District Council’s area, much of which will be above ground in the Chilterns AONB. The proposed line through Wycombe district is half a mile in length, and outside of the AONB, however it will be visible in long distance views from Coombe Hill which is a popular public viewpoint, the highest point in the Chilterns, and within the district.
b. the compulsory acquisition of a significant amount of land in the district to accommodate and construct the route;
12. Taking account of the Buckinghamshire Blueprint for HS2, the District Council has made comments on the HS2 Environmental Statement. A summary description of the key elements of the scheme affecting Wycombe district, potential impacts and the Council’s response to the Environmental Statement are at appendix 1. Issues raised include noise, landscape & visual impacts, including potential mitigation such as bunding, construction impacts, and ecology. The route of the line goes through an old orchard which is a Biodiversity Action Plan priority habitat.
13. There is concern about the reliance that can be placed on the information included within the Environmental Statement as information such as vertical levels may change significantly.
14. Once the second reading of Bill has taken place, the principle of the Bill cannot be challenged however petitions could be submitted to argue for changes to the scheme design so as to reduce the negative impact of the scheme if these were not otherwise secured, for example as a result of comments made in response to the Environmental Statement.
2 A Hybrid Bill mixes the characteristics of Public and Private Bills. The changes to the law proposed by a Hybrid Bill would affect the general public but would also have a significant impact for specific individuals or groups. Hybrid Bills often propose works of national importance but in a specific area of the UK. An example would be the Crossrail Bill to build a new east to west rail link through central London passed in 2008. The main High Speed 2 legislation is expected to be a hybrid bill.
15. Petitioning may result in the Bill being amended, the Environmental Statement being supplemented (or rewritten) and/or mitigation being secured through undertakings and assurances which are legally binding.
16. Officers are working with other Councils in Buckinghamshire and in the 51m group to assess where we can pool resources and share costs. It is possible that if other petitioners are successful in securing changes (e.g. tunnelling of the route through the Chilterns AONB) that there may be consequential impacts on Wycombe district. These will be kept under review but cannot be pre-empted in our response, (i.e. one can only respond to what is being proposed rather than what may – or may not be - proposed in future).
17. Whilst the District Council has made it’s response to the Environmental Statement, there remains work to be done to clarify some issues, share thinking and to coordinate with the other Councils in Buckinghamshire. In this context it is not yet timely to take a view on whether the Council should petition, although this remains an option.
Consultation
18. Ellesborough Parish Council have been contacted to confirm whether or not they have not taken a formal position in response to HS2. A response is awaited.
19. Princes Risborough Town Council at their November meeting resolved a formal position on HS2 and the route for construction traffic as follows:
“18. Cllr A Turner gave a resume on the information gained at his meeting with HS2 Ltd. Vehicle movements and routes were given. Vehicle movements would continue for 2-3 years and no mitigation for damage to roads will be paid. Cllr Bendyshe-Brown recommended making a formal decision immediately. Cllr J Coombs proposed the Town Council opposes HS2 on the grounds of the detrimental impact it will have on the town and the area. Seconded by Cllr G Hall. All present agreed.”
20. Environmental Health : The Environmental Statement assesses the noise impact on a number of residential properties in the area
21. In most cases for the premises assessed as being affected by the proposal the noise impact is assessed as adverse but not at a level that is considered significant. Three assessment locations closest to the proposal in the vicinity of Nash Lee Road have been assessed as suffering a minor or moderate significant effect. This is because this area will see an increase in noise levels (up to 5dB) that will affect the acoustic character of the area.
22. One residential property in Wycombe is close to the proposed scheme but being away from Nash Lee Road, it is believed that inadequate account may have been taken of the potential lower baseline noise level at these premises. However no premises in our district are within the area where the absolute sound level from the scheme is more than 65dB LAeq during the day and 55dB LAeq at night, where an individual dwelling is likely to experience a significant observed adverse effect. 23. At all premises within our district the effects of construction activity have been assessed as generally not an adverse effect. The assessment of construction noise includes indirect effects arising from temporary changes in traffic patterns on the existing road network as a consequence of constructing the proposed scheme.
24. A bilateral meeting was held between WDC and HS2 in September 2013. This highlighted WDC concerns including landscape and visual impact, construction impacts and the level of information available. A copy of the meeting note is available as a background paper.
25. Buckinghamshire County Council/ Transport for Buckinghamshire – comments are awaited.
Options
26. The recommendation reiterates the Council’s opposition and leaves open how the Council most effectively progresses the case for mitigation. The alternatives would be
a. Not to reiterate the Council’s opposition and/or
b. To decide at this point whether or not to petition. Given that the information base to come to a view is not yet complete. This is not recommended.
Conclusions
27. The District Council has raised a number of concerns in its response to the Environmental Statement. Work is continuing to clarify issues, share thinking and to coordinate with other Councils. In order to ensure that the Council is able to effectively influence the proposals for HS2, including if necessary parliament’s consideration of the High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Bill insofar as it affects Wycombe district,then Cabinet is asked to delegate authority to ensure further action is taken as appropriate and that the necessary resources are allocated to enable this.
Next Steps
28. The Council has made comments on the Environmental Statement. Together with other consultation responses these will be summarised as part of a report to be prepared by an assessor appointed by the parliamentary authorities, which will be presented to Parliament.
29. Discussions and liaison with other agencies is continuing to coordinate responses with other Councils and consider the extent to which petitioning would be appropriate. The Leader, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Planning and Sustainability will be kept appraised of developments.
30. If required procurement arrangements will be put in place to ensure appropriate external support is available. 31. If it is considered appropriate to petition, it will be necessary for Council to agree an appropriate resolution under section 239 of the Local Government Act 1972.
Background Papers
Note of bilateral meeting held between WDC and HS2 in September 2013.