LONDON-WEST MIDLANDS ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT ENVIRONMENTAL MIDLANDS LONDON-WEST | Vol 2 Vol LONDON- | Community Forum Area report Area Forum Community WEST MIDLANDS ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT Volume 2 | Community Forum Area report CFA17 | Off church and Cubbington | CFA17 | Off church and Cubbington Cubbington and church Off November 2013 VOL VOL VOL ES 3.2.1.17 2 2 2 London- WEST MIDLANDS ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT Volume 2 | Community Forum Area report CFA17 | Offchurch and Cubbington November 2013 ES 3.2.1.17 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. CFA Report – Offchurch and Cubbington/No 17 | Contents Contents Structure of the HS2 Phase One Environmental Statement v 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Introduction to HS2 1 1.2 Purpose of this report 1 1.3 Structure of this report 3 2 Overview of the area and description of the Proposed Scheme 5 2.1 Overview of the area 5 2.2 Description of the Proposed Scheme 9 2.3 Construction of the Proposed Scheme 14 2.4 Operation of the Proposed Scheme 29 2.5 Community forum engagement 30 2.6 Route section main alternatives 31 3 Agriculture, forestry and soils 35 3.1 Introduction 35 3.2 Scope, assumptions and limitations 35 3.3 Environmental baseline 36 3.4 Effects arising during construction 42 3.5 Effects arising from operation 49 4 Air quality 51 4.1 Introduction 51 4.2 Scope, assumptions and limitations 51 4.3 Environmental baseline 52 4.4 Effects arising during construction 54 4.5 Effects arising from operation 56 5 Community 59 5.1 Introduction 59 5.2 Scope, assumptions and limitations 59 5.3 Environmental baseline 60 5.4 Effects arising during construction 62 i CFA Report – Offchurch and Cubbington/No 17 | Contents 5.5 Effects arising from operation 68 6 Cultural heritage 69 6.1 Introduction 69 6.2 Scope, assumptions and limitations 69 6.3 Environmental baseline 70 6.4 Effects arising during construction 75 6.5 Effects arising during operation 78 7 Ecology 81 7.1 Introduction 81 7.2 Scope, assumptions and limitations 81 7.3 Environmental baseline 82 7.4 Effects arising during construction 92 7.5 Effects arising from operation 100 8 Land quality 103 8.1 Introduction 103 8.2 Scope, assumptions and limitations 104 8.3 Environmental baseline 104 8.4 Effects arising during construction 108 8.5 Effects arising from operation 117 9 Landscape and visual assessment 119 9.1 Introduction 119 9.2 Scope, assumptions and limitations 119 9.3 Environmental baseline 120 9.4 Temporary effects arising during construction 123 9.5 Permanent effects arising during operation 135 10 Socio-economics 153 10.1 Introduction 153 10.2 Scope, assumptions and limitations 153 10.3 Environmental baseline 153 10.4 Effects arising during construction 156 10.5 Effects arising during operation 158 11 Sound, noise and vibration 161 11.1 Introduction 161 11.2 Environmental baseline 162 11.3 Effects arising during construction 164 11.4 Effects arising during operation 167 12 Traffic and transport 171 12.1 Introduction 171 12.2 Scope, assumptions and limitations 171 12.3 Environmental baseline 171 ii CFA Report – Offchurch and Cubbington/No 17 | Contents 12.4 Effects arising during construction 173 12.5 Effects arising from operation 179 13 Water resources and flood risk assessment 181 13.1 Introduction 181 13.2 Scope, assumptions and limitations 182 13.3 Environmental baseline 183 13.4 Effects arising during construction 192 13.5 Effects arising from operation 197 14 References 199 List of figures Figure 1: HS2 Phase One route and community forum areas 2 Figure 2: Area context map 6 Figure 3: Schematic of site compounds for civil engineering works 18 Figure 4: Schematic of site compounds for railway installation works 19 Figure 5: Indicative construction programme 27 Figure 6: Business sector composition in Warwick District and West Midlands 155 Figure 7: Employment by industrial sector in Warwick District and West Midlands 155 List of tables Table 1: Satellite construction site compounds 23 Table 2: Estimated construction, demolition and excavation waste 25 Table 3: Operational waste forecast for the Proposed Scheme 30 Table 4: Summary characteristics of holdings 41 Table 5: Agricultural land required for the construction of the Proposed Scheme 44 Table 6: Summary of temporary effects on holdings during construction 45 Table 7: Agricultural and forestry land required permanently 47 Table 8: Summary of permanent effects on holdings from construction 48 Table 9: Protected and/or notable species 86 Table 10: Summary of receptors 108 Table 11: Summary of baseline CSM* for sites which may pose a contaminative risk for the Proposed Scheme 111 Table 12: Summary of temporary (construction) effects 112 Table 13: Summary of permanent (post-construction) effects 113 Table 14: Summary of temporary effects for mining and mineral resources 115 Table 15: Summary of permanent effects for mining and mineral resources 116 Table 16: Train flows and speeds 167 Table 17: Typical vehicle trip generation for construction site compounds in this area 175 Table 18: Surface water features potentially affected by the Proposed Scheme 184 Table 19: Summary of geology and hydrogeology in CFA17 185 iii CFA Report – Offchurch and Cubbington/No 17 | Contents iv CFA Report – Offchurch and Cubbington/No 17 | Structure of the HS2 Phase One Environmental Statement Structure of the HS2 Phase One Environmental Statement The Environmental Statement (ES) documentation comprises: Non-technical summary (NTS) – which provides a summary in non-technical language of the Proposed Scheme, the likely significant environmental effects of the Proposed Scheme, both beneficial and adverse, and the means to avoid or reduce the adverse effects. Volume 1: Introduction to the ES and the Proposed Scheme – This describes High Speed Two (HS2), and the environmental impact assessment process, the approach to consultation and engagement, details of the permanent features and generic construction techniques as well as a summary of main strategic and route-wide alternatives and local alternatives (prior to 2012) considered. Volume 2: Community forum area reports and map books – 26 reports and associated map books providing a description of the scheme and of environmental effects in each area. Volume 3: Route-wide effects – provides an assessment of the effects of the Proposed Scheme where it is not practicable to describe them within the CFA descriptions in Volume 2. Volume 4: Off-route effects – provides an assessment of the off-route effects of the Proposed Scheme. Volume 5: Appendices and map books – contains supporting environmental information and associated map books. Glossary of terms and list of abbreviations – contains terms and abbreviations, including units of measurement, used throughout the ES documentation v CFA Report – Offchurch and Cubbington/No 17 | Structure of the HS2 Phase One Environmental Statement vi CFA Report – Offchurch and Cubbington/No 17 | Introduction 1 Introduction 1.1 Introduction to HS2 1.1.1 High Speed Two (HS2) is a new high speed railway proposed by the Government to connect major cities in Britain. Stations in London, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, South Yorkshire and the East Midlands will be served by high speed trains running at speeds of up to 360kph (225mph). 1.1.2 HS2 is proposed to be built in two phases. Phase One, the subject of this ES, will involve the construction of a new railway line of approximately 230km (143 miles) between London and Birmingham. Construction will begin in 2017 and the line will become operational by 2026; with a connection to the West Coast Main Line (WCML) near Lichfield and to the existing HS1 railway line in London. 1.1.3 During Phase One, beyond the dedicated high speed track, high speed trains will connect with and run on the existing WCML to serve passengers beyond the HS2 network to destinations in the north. A connection to HS1 will also allow some services to access that high speed line through east London and Kent and connect with mainland Europe via the Channel Tunnel. 1.1.4 Phase Two will involve the construction of lines from Birmingham to Leeds and Manchester; with construction commencing in approximately 2023 and planned to be operational by 2033. Section 4 of Volume 1 describes the anticipated operational characteristics of HS2, including the anticipated frequency of train services. As Volume 1 shows, the frequency of trains is expected to increase over time and to increase further upon opening of Phase Two. In assessing the environmental effects of the Proposed Scheme the anticipated Phase 2 operational frequency has been used. For further detail of the anticipated operation of the Proposed Scheme in the Offchurch and Cubbington area (CFA17), see Section 2.4. 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.