House of Commons High Speed Rail (West Midlands - Crewe) Bill Select Committee Third Special Report of Session 2017–19 Report, together with formal minutes relating to the report Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 5 June 2019 HC 2270 Published on 7 June 2019 by authority of the House of Commons High Speed Rail (West Midlands – Crewe) Bill Select Committee The Select Committee on the High Speed Rail (West Midlands – Crewe) Bill provides individuals and bodies directly and specially affected by the Bill with the opportunity to object to the Bill’s specific provisions and to seek its amendment, although not to object to the principle of the Bill. Current membership James Duddridge MP (Conservative, Rochford and Southend East) (Chair) Sandy Martin MP (Labour, Ipswich) Mrs Sheryll Murray MP (Conservative, South East Cornwall) Martin Whitfield MP (Labour, East Lothian) Bill Wiggin MP (Conservative, North Herefordshire) Publications © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2019. This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament Licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/copyright/. Committee reports and evidence relating to this report are published on the Committee’s website and in print by Order of the House. Committee staff The current staff of the Committee are Lis Gerhold (Clerk) and Kutumya Kibedi (Committee Assistant). Contacts All correspondence should be addressed to the Clerk of the High Speed Rail (West Midlands – Crewe) Bill, Private Bill Office, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA. The telephone number for general enquiries is 020 7219 3250; the Committee’s email address is [email protected]. Third Special Report of Session 2017–19 1 Contents 1 Introduction 5 High Speed 2 5 Parliament and the Committee 5 Additional Provisions 7 The first Additional Provision (AP1) 7 The second Additional Provision (AP2) 7 Governance 8 Independent assessment 8 Compliance with the Standing Orders of the House of Commons and House of Lords 8 Next parliamentary stages 9 Acknowledgements 9 2 The Proposed Route 10 The Bill 10 The Committee’s route visits 11 3 Principles 13 Guiding principles and our approach 13 HS2’s Register of undertakings and assurances 13 4 Decisions of the Committee in relation to AP2 14 New Grid Supply Point 14 Power transmission 14 Power grid connection 17 Common Lane and Crawley Lane 19 The Bill Scheme 19 Changes to Common Lane proposed in AP2 19 New Proposal - Crawley Lane 20 Other decisions 22 West Midland Bird Club (No. AP2–59) 22 The Slater family (No. AP2–33) 22 Sian Froggatt (No. AP2–49) 22 Stone Town Council (No. AP2–47) 23 Newcastle Road Residents (No. AP2–75) 23 Mr and Mrs Bloor (No. AP2–51) 23 Ingestre Park Golf Club (No. AP2–25) 23 Ingestre with Tixall Parish Council (No. AP2–21) 24 Graham Ward 2010 Discretionary Will Trust etc. (No. 40) 25 Cheshire Wildlife Trust (No. AP2–58) 25 The Freightliner Group, Freightliner Group Ltd, Freightliner Ltd and Freightliner Heavy Haul Ltd (Nos. 116 and AP2–26 and 139 and AP2–27) 25 SGB World Services (No. AP1–14) 26 5 Mental Health 27 Background 27 Progress 27 6 Compensation 30 Statutory compensation: the compensation code 30 Displaced owners and occupiers 30 Non-displaced owners 31 Blight notices 32 Calculating compensation payments 32 Discretionary compensation schemes 32 Express Purchase scheme 33 Homeowner Payments scheme 34 Need to Sell scheme 34 Rent Back or Voluntary Purchase Scheme 34 Alternative cash offer 34 Special circumstances and future work 34 Rural Support Zone scheme 36 Prolonged Disturbance scheme 36 What happens if there is disagreement between parties? 36 7 Community Engagement 38 Provision of broadband to rural communities 39 Petitioners who appeared before the Committee 39 Members of Parliament appearing before the Committee 40 Sir William Cash MP (Stone) (No. 187) 40 Antoinette Sandbach MP (Eddisbury) (No.42) 40 Jack Brereton MP (Stoke on Trent South) (No. 153) 41 Jeremy Lefroy MP (Stafford) (No. 188) 42 County and Borough Councils 43 Stafford Borough Council (Nos. 152 and AP2–57) 44 Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council (No. 141) 44 Parish Councils 44 8 Environmental matters 45 A Green Corridor 46 Woodland and trees 46 The Woodland Trust (No. 99 and AP2–63) 46 Wildlife 47 Royal Society Wildlife Trust (No. 180) and Staffordshire Wildlife Trust (No. 91) 47 Cheshire Wildlife Trust (AP 2–58) 48 Farming 48 National Farmers Union (Nos. 107 and AP2–52) and the Country Business and Landowners Association (No. 140) 48 Borrow pits 50 Canals and waterways 52 Traffic 52 Cycling, Footpaths and Bridleways 53 9 Observations of the Committee 54 Annex A: Right to appear challenge - Decision of the Committee 55 Annex B: List of petitioners 56 Formal minutes 65 Third Special Report of Session 2017–19 5 1 Introduction High Speed 2 1. High Speed 2 is a national high-speed rail network, consisting of a new double- track railway which when finished will directly connect London, Birmingham, the West Midlands, Leeds and Manchester.1 In order to manage such a large infrastructure project the government has divided the necessary legislation into three parts: a) Phase 1 - London to the West Midlands (enabling works have begun at Euston station and the first HS2 services will begin in 2026); b) Phase 2a - the West Midlands to Crewe, (construction work will begin in 2020 with the first services to begin in 2027, assuming Royal Assent of the Bill); c) Phase 2b - which consists of railway lines from Crewe to Manchester, and Birmingham to Leeds.2 The first HS2 services will begin in 2033. 2. The principle of the High Speed Rail (West Midlands - Crewe Bill) is regarded as having been agreed to on Second Reading. On Second Reading the House agreed to “the provision of a high speed railway between a junction with Phase One of High Speed 2 near Fradley Wood, in Staffordshire, and a junction with the West Coast Mainline near Crewe in Cheshire … .its broad route alignment, and the fact that there are to be no new stations on, or additional spurs from, the railway”.3 3. This report is about Additional Provision 2 to the High Speed Rail (West Midlands - Crewe) Bill and continues some themes from our earlier reports. This is our final report. 4. Phase 1, the High Speed Rail (London-West Midlands) Bill was introduced in November 2013 and made provision for the building of a high speed railway from London to the West Midlands.4 The High Speed Rail (London-West Midlands) Act came into force in 2017. Archeological ground work and enabling works have begun at Euston with engineering works expected to start in June 2019. The planned opening date for the whole route, assuming the necessary legislation is passed, is 2033. The High Speed Rail (Preparation) Act 2013 authorised the Secretary of State to incur expenditure in preparation for the construction of a high speed rail network.5 Parliament and the Committee 5. The building of the railway will be provided under powers granted by Parliament. Parliament is to scrutinise the proposed legislation, and, where appropriate amend the draft legislation before approving it.6 1 Cm 8247 was presented to Parliament in January 2012 “High Speed Rail: Investing in Britain’s Future - Decisions and Next Steps”. 2 HS2 Phase 2b 3 https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2018–01–30/debates/DFB17084-CBF7–4618-9E12-6252FE0DE218/ HighSpeedRail(WestMidlands-Crewe)Bill 4 HS2 Phase 1 5 High Speed Rail (West Midlands - Crewe Bill) Explanatory Notes, para 4 6 For example, Channel Tunnel Act 1987, Crossrail Act 2008 6 Third Special Report of Session 2017–19 6. The Phase 2a High Speed Rail (West Midlands-Crewe) Bill is a hybrid bill. A hybrid bill is subject to certain parliamentary proceedings in addition to the usual stages of the passing of a public bill. In the case of a hybrid bill, individuals and businesses who are affected by the changes proposed in the Bill and the Additional Provisions may petition Parliament, and can put their case to the Committee. This particular hybrid bill sets out a route and gives outline permission needed to build the railway. The Committee’s role was limited to hearing petitions against the proposals contained in the Bill and the additional provisions and to aid resolution between parties and make decisions. 7. The proposed route of the railway is set out in the plans, which under the rules (Standing Orders) for both the House of Commons and House of Lords, must be deposited in Parliament with the Bill. Schedule 4 to the Bill gives the Secretary of State power to acquire land compulsorily “so much of the land within the Act limits as may be required for Phase 2a purposes.” Schedule 6 contains provision about the particular purposes for which the land specified within that Schedule and shown on the Bill plans may be acquired, so that it may be used for the purposes of constructing and maintaining works as laid out in Schedule 1.7 In the Bill, the Secretary of State is obliged to list the areas in which major works will be undertaken. 8. The High Speed Rail (West Midlands - Crewe) Bill was introduced on 17 July 2017, and received its Second Reading on 30 January 2018. On Second Reading the Bill was committed to a Bill Select Committee.8 9. Petitioning against the Bill opened on 31 January and closed on Monday 26 February 2018. The Committee received 187 petitions. 10. Submitting a petition alerts HS2 to the objections of those who are directly and specially affected by to the proposed Scheme. HS2 may negotiate with the petitioner.