HS2 London to the West Midlands Appraisal of Sustainability Main Report Volume 1 A Report for HS2 Ltd February 2011 HS2 London to the West Midlands: Appraisal of Sustainability Main Report Volume 1 HS2 London to the West Midlands Appraisal of Sustainability Main Report Volume 1 A Report for HS2 Ltd 55 Victoria Street London SW1H 0EU T 0207 944 4908 [email protected] Principal author Nick Giesler Key contributors Andrew Bryant, Andrew Mayes, Amanda Pownall, Sheenagh Mann, Sam Turner, Tony Selwyn, Yaser Ali Technical contributors Carbon and climate Matt Ireland, Tony Selwyn, Andrew Bryant, Water Environment Landscape & townscape Gillespies, Nick Giesler Cultural heritage Cotswold Archaeology Biodiversity Ecology Consultancy Ltd, Nick Giesler Water and flood risk Water Environment, Andrew Bryant Air quality John Rowland, Enan Keogh Noise and vibration John Fisk, Sasha Villa, Mark Southwood, Rob Adnitt Community integrity and accessibility Vicky Ward, Sheenagh Mann Equality Vicky Ward, Future Inclusion Health and well-being Institute for Occupational Medicine, Sheenagh Mann Socio-economics Derval Cummings, Stuart McCully, Colin Buchanan (consultants) Resources and consumption Andrew Mayes, Tony Selwyn, Sam Turner, Andrew Bryant Reviewers Mark Southwood, Stuart McCully, Roger Cooper This report was commissioned by, and prepared for HS2 Ltd and the Department for Transport (DfT) by Booz & Co. (UK) Ltd (www.booz.com) and Temple Group Ltd (www.templegroup.co.uk) ('The Consultant'). The findings and conclusions set forth in this report represent the best professional judgment of the Consultant based on information made available to it. The Consultant has relied on, and not independently verified, data provided to it by such sources and on secondary sources of information cited in the report. Third parties to whom DfT or HS2 Ltd may make this report available should not rely on the findings or conclusions set forth in this report without obtaining independent professional advice and undertaking their own due diligence reviews. Any reliance on this report by a third party or any decisions made by any such third party based on this report, are the sole responsibility of such third party. The Consultant has not had and does not acknowledge any duty of care to any such third party with respect to the report, and shall have no financial or other liability to any such party with respect to any matter related to any decisions made by any such party, in whole or in part, on this report. HS2 London to the West Midlands: Appraisal of Sustainability Main Report Volume 1 Contents 1 INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................1 1.1 Purpose of the AoS report......................................................................................... 1 1.2 Objectives for HS2 .................................................................................................... 1 1.3 Summary of the HS2 proposals................................................................................. 1 1.4 Determining the scope of the AoS............................................................................. 2 1.5 Defining sustainability................................................................................................ 2 2 OVERVIEW OF THE PROPOSED SCHEME’S POTENTIAL IMPACTS .................4 3 SCHEME DESCRIPTION .........................................................................................8 3.1 Technical and operational specification..................................................................... 8 3.2 Rolling stock .............................................................................................................. 9 3.3 Route description overview ....................................................................................... 9 3.4 The London terminus .............................................................................................. 11 3.5 Euston to Old Oak Common ................................................................................... 15 3.6 Old Oak Common to the M25.................................................................................. 16 3.7 M25 to Aylesbury..................................................................................................... 18 3.8 Aylesbury to the Kenilworth-Coventry gap .............................................................. 21 3.9 Kenilworth-Coventry gap to Birmingham Interchange and NEC ............................. 24 3.10 Birmingham Interchange and NEC to the WCML connection (Lichfield)................. 24 3.11 The link into Birmingham Curzon Street.................................................................. 25 3.12 Power supply........................................................................................................... 26 3.13 Released capacity ................................................................................................... 26 4 THE AOS PROCESS..............................................................................................28 4.1 Role of the AoS ....................................................................................................... 28 4.2 Supporting scheme design...................................................................................... 28 4.3 Defining sustainability objectives............................................................................. 29 4.4 The AoS and option development ........................................................................... 30 4.5 Evaluating and reporting scheme performance....................................................... 33 4.6 Consultation ............................................................................................................ 33 4.7 Continuing the AoS ................................................................................................. 34 5 ALTERNATIVES.....................................................................................................35 6 POLICY DRIVERS..................................................................................................37 6.1 Policy drivers for the scheme .................................................................................. 37 6.2 Sustainable transport .............................................................................................. 38 6.3 Drivers for sustainable development ....................................................................... 39 6.4 Development planning in the UK............................................................................. 43 6.5 Development planning regionally and locally .......................................................... 45 7 SUSTAINABILITY BASELINE ...............................................................................53 7.1 Overview ................................................................................................................. 53 7.2 The Reference Case and the future baseline.......................................................... 53 7.3 Reducing greenhouse gases and combating climate change................................. 54 7.4 Natural and cultural resource protection and environmental enhancement ............ 59 7.5 Creating sustainable communities........................................................................... 65 7.6 Sustainable consumption and production................................................................ 72 HS2 London to the West Midlands: Appraisal of Sustainability Main Report Volume 1 7.7 Existing sustainability problems and sensitive areas............................................... 74 8 SUSTAINABILITY OF THE HS2 PROPOSED SCHEME.......................................76 8.1 Introduction.............................................................................................................. 76 8.2 Climatic factors and adaptability.............................................................................. 77 8.3 Greenhouse gases .................................................................................................. 79 8.4 Landscape and townscape...................................................................................... 84 8.5 Cultural heritage ...................................................................................................... 87 8.6 Biodiversity .............................................................................................................. 91 8.7 Water resources ...................................................................................................... 93 8.8 Flood risk................................................................................................................. 94 8.9 Air quality................................................................................................................. 95 8.10 Noise and vibration.................................................................................................. 96 8.11 Community integrity............................................................................................... 102 8.12 Accessibility........................................................................................................... 106 8.13 Health and well-being............................................................................................ 107 8.14 Security and safety................................................................................................ 110