Whittington to Handsacre HS2 London-West Midlands May 2013
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PHASE ONE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT Community Forum Area Report 22 | Whittington to Handsacre HS2 London-West Midlands May 2013 ENGINE FOR GROWTH DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT Community Forum Area Report ENGINE FOR GROWTH 22 I Whittington to Handsacre High Speed Two (HS2) Limited, 2nd Floor, Eland House, Bressenden Place, London SW1E 5DU Telephone 020 7944 4908 General email enquiries: [email protected] Website: www.hs2.org.uk © Crown copyright, 2013, except where otherwise stated Copyright in the typographical arrangement rests with the Crown. You may re-use this information (not including logos or third-party material) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/ or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or e-mail: [email protected]. Where we have identified any third-party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned. To order further copies contact: DfT Publications Tel: 0300 123 1102 Web: www.dft.gov.uk/orderingpublications Product code: ES/30 Printed in Great Britain on paper containing at least 75% recycled fibre. CFA Report – Whittington to Handsacre/No 22 I Contents Contents Draft Volume 2: Community Forum Area Report – Whittington to Handsacre/No 22 5 Part A: Introduction 6 1 Introduction 7 1.1 Introduction to HS2 7 1.2 Purpose of this report 7 1.3 Structure of this report 9 Part B: Whittington to Handsacre – overview of the area and description of the Proposed Scheme 10 2 Whittington to Handsacre 11 2.1 Overview of the area 11 2.2 Description of the Proposed Scheme 16 2.3 Construction of the Proposed Scheme 19 2.4 Operation of the Proposed Scheme 30 2.5 Community forum engagement 31 2.6 Route section main alternatives 32 2.7 Proposals for further consideration 36 Part C: Environmental topic assessments 38 3 Agriculture, forestry and soils 39 3.1 Introduction 39 3.2 Policy framework 39 3.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 39 3.4 Environmental baseline 39 3.5 Construction 42 3.6 Operation 45 1 CFA Report – Whittington to Handsacre/No 22 I Contents 4 Air quality 47 4.1 Introduction 47 4.2 Policy framework 47 4.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 47 4.4 Environmental baseline 47 4.5 Construction 49 4.6 Operation 50 5 Community 52 5.1 Introduction 52 5.2 Policy framework 52 5.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 52 5.4 Environmental baseline 52 5.5 Construction 55 5.6 Operation 59 6 Cultural heritage 60 6.1 Introduction 60 6.2 Policy framework 60 6.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 60 6.4 Environmental baseline 61 6.5 Construction 62 6.6 Operation 65 7 Ecology 67 7.1 Introduction 67 7.2 Policy framework 67 7.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 67 7.4 Environmental baseline 68 7.5 Construction 71 7.6 Operation 75 8 Land quality 76 8.1 Introduction 76 8.2 Policy framework 76 8.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 76 8.4 Environmental baseline 77 8.5 Construction 79 8.6 Operation 81 2 CFA Report – Whittington to Handsacre/No 22 I Contents 9 Landscape and visual assessment 82 9.1 Introduction 82 9.2 Policy framework 82 9.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 83 9.4 Environmental baseline 83 9.5 Construction 84 9.6 Operation 90 10 Socio-economics 98 10.1 Introduction 98 10.2 Policy framework 98 10.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 98 10.4 Environmental baseline 98 10.5 Construction 99 10.6 Operation 100 11 Sound, noise and vibration 101 11.1 Introduction 101 11.2 Policy framework 101 11.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 101 11.4 Environmental baseline 101 11.5 Construction 101 11.6 Operation 102 12 Traffic and transport 105 12.1 Introduction 105 12.2 Policy framework 105 12.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 105 12.4 Environmental baseline 106 12.5 Construction 108 12.6 Operation 110 13 Water resources and flood risk assessment 112 13.1 Introduction 112 13.2 Policy framework 112 13.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 112 13.4 Environmental baseline 113 13.5 Construction 115 13.6 Operation 117 14 References 119 2 3 CFA Report – Whittington to Handsacre/No 22 I Contents List of figures Figure 1: HS2 Phase One route and community forum areas 8 Figure 2: Area context map 12 Figure 3: Indicative construction programme for the area 30 Figure 4: Business Sector Composition in Lichfield District and West Midlands 99 List of tables Table 1: Location of construction site compounds 21 Table 2: Location of temporary worker accommodation sites 23 Table 3: Demolition works 24 Table 4: Watercourse diversions 25 Table 5: Highway and road diversions 26 Table 6: Footpath, cycleway and bridleway diversions 27 Table 7: Viaducts, underbridges and overbridges 28 Table 8: Holdings affected by the Proposed Scheme 41 Table 9: Preliminary evaluation of likely value of protected and/or notable species occurring within this section of the route 70 Table 10: Significant residual construction effects on ecological receptors within this section of the route 74 Table 11: Significant residual operational effects on ecological receptors within this section of the route 75 Table 12: Significant landscape effects during construction 85 Table 13: Significant visual effects during construction 86 Table 14: Significant landscape effects during operation year one (2026) 91 Table 15: Significant visual effects during operation year one (2026) 92 Table 16: Typical vehicle trip generation for site compounds in this area 108 4 CFA Report – Whittington to Handsacre/No 22 I Contents Draft Volume 2: Community Forum Area Report Whittington to Handsacre/No 22 Structure of the HS2 draft Environmental Statement The draft ES documentation for the purpose of this consultation comprises: • A non-technical summary (NTS) – providing a summary of the Proposed Scheme, the likely significant effects of the Proposed Scheme, both beneficial and adverse, and the means to avoid or reduce the adverse effects; • A main report – consisting of two volumes: ȃ Volume 1: Introduction to the Environmental Statement and Proposed Scheme which provides an introduction to HS2, an overview of the hybrid bill process and the environmental impact assessment (EIA) methodology, an introduction to consultation and engagement, the main strategic and route-wide alternatives considered; and ȃ Volume 2: Includes 26 Community Forum Area (CFA) reports, each with a separate corresponding set of drawings, which together provide the assessment of local environmental effects. An assessment of the effects of the Proposed Scheme on a route-wide basis is presented in Report 27. HS2 Ltd set up 26 community forums along the line of route of the Proposed Scheme, as a regular way of engaging with local communities1. Volume 2 of this draft ES supports this engagement strategy by providing a draft ES report for each CFA. This is a report for the Whittington to Handsacre area, CFA 22. The draft ES has been written in a clear and accessible manner, however, on occasion it has been necessary to use technical terms. Given this, a glossary of terms and list of abbreviations for all draft ES documentation is provided. 1 Details of these community forums are provided on the HS2 Ltd website at http://www.hs2.org.uk/have-your-say/forums/community-forums. 5 CFA Report – Whittington to Handsacre/No 22 I Contents Part A: Introduction 6 CFA Report – Whittington to Handsacre/No 22 I Introduction 1 Introduction 1.1 Introduction to HS2 1.1.1 HS2 is planned to be a Y-shaped rail network with stations in London, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, South Yorkshire and the East Midlands, linked by high speed trains running at speeds of up to 360 kilometres per hour (kph) (225 miles per hour (mph)). 1.1.2 HS2 is proposed to be built in two phases. Phase One (the Proposed Scheme), the subject of this draft ES, would involve the construction of a new railway line of approximately 230km (143 miles) between London and Birmingham that would become operational by 2026; with a connection to the West Coast Main Line (WCML) near Lichfield and to the existing HS1 line in London. The Phase One route and the 26 CFAs are shown in Figure 1. 1.1.3 On opening, Phase One would run up to 14 trains per hour (tph). HS2 trains would be up to 400 metres (m) long with 1,100 seats during peak hours. Beyond the dedicated high speed track, these high speed trains would connect with and run on the existing WCML to serve passengers beyond the HS2 network. A connection to HS1 would also allow some services to run to mainland Europe via the Channel Tunnel. 1.1.4 Phase Two would involve the construction of lines from Birmingham to Leeds and Manchester; with construction commencing around 2027, and planned to be operational by 2033. After Phase Two opens, it is expected that the frequency of train services on some parts of the Phase One route could increase up to 18tph. 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. However, the Government has since taken the decision to pause work on the Heathrow link until after 2015 when it expects the Airports Commission to publish its final report on recommended options for maintaining the country’s status as an international aviation hub.