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 CFA2 | Camden Town and HS1 Link | CFA2 | Camden Town and HS1 Link and HS1 Link Town Camden November 2013 VOL VOL VOL ES 3.2.1.2 2 2 2 London- WEST MIDLANDS ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT Volume 2 | Community Forum Area report CFA2 | Camden Town and HS1 Link November 2013 ES 3.2.1.2 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 – Camden Town and HS1 Link/No 2 |Contents Contents 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Introduction to HS2 1 1.2 Purpose of this report 2 1.3 Structure of this report 4 2 Overview of the area and description of the Proposed Scheme 7 2.1 Overview of the area 7 2.2 Description of the Proposed Scheme 13 2.3 Construction of the Proposed Scheme 18 2.4 Operation of the Proposed Scheme 43 2.5 Community forum engagement 44 2.6 Route section main alternatives 45 3 Agriculture, forestry and soils 51 3.1 Introduction 51 4 Air quality 53 4.1 Introduction 53 4.2 Scope, assumptions and limitations 53 4.3 Environmental baseline 54 4.4 Effects arising during construction 56 4.5 Effects arising from operation 59 5 Community 61 5.1 Introduction 61 5.2 Scope, assumptions and limitations 61 5.3 Environmental baseline 61 5.4 Effects arising during construction 64 5.5 Effects arising from operation 72 6 Cultural heritage 73 6.1 Introduction 73 i CFA Report – Camden Town and HS1 Link/No 2 |Contents 6.2 Scope, assumptions and limitations 73 6.3 Environmental baseline 74 6.4 Effects arising during construction 79 6.5 Effects arising from operation 82 7 Ecology 85 7.1 Introduction 85 7.2 Scope, assumptions and limitations 85 7.3 Environmental baseline 86 7.4 Effects arising during construction 90 7.5 Effects arising from operation 92 8 Land quality 95 8.1 Introduction 95 8.2 Scope, assumptions and limitations 96 8.3 Environmental baseline 96 8.4 Effects arising during construction 100 8.5 Effects arising from operation 108 9 Landscape and visual assessment 111 9.1 Introduction 111 9.2 Scope, assumption and limitations 112 9.3 Environmental baseline 112 9.4 Temporary effects arising during construction 117 9.5 Permanent effects arising during operation 130 10 Socio-economics 137 10.1 Introduction 137 10.2 Scope, assumptions and limitations 137 10.3 Environmental baseline 138 10.4 Effects arising during construction 142 10.5 Effects arising during operation 148 11 Sound, noise and vibration 151 11.1 Introduction 151 11.2 Environmental baseline 152 11.3 Effects arising during construction 153 11.4 Assessment of impacts and effects 155 11.5 Effects arising during operation 160 12 Traffic and transport 165 12.1 Introduction 165 12.2 Scope, assumptions and limitations 165 12.3 Environmental baseline 166 ii CFA Report – Camden Town and HS1 Link/No 2 |Contents 12.4 Effects arising during construction 169 12.5 Effects arising from operation 180 13 Water resources and flood risk assessment 185 13.1 Introduction 185 13.2 Scope, assumptions and limitations 186 13.3 Environmental baseline 187 13.4 Effects arising during construction 194 13.5 Effects arising from operation 196 14 References 199 List of figures Figure 1: HS2 Phase One route and community forum areas 3 Figure 2: Area context map 8 Figure 3: Schematic of site compounds for civil engineering works (Part 1) 24 Figure 4: Schematic of site compounds for civil engineering works (Part 2) 25 Figure 5: Rail systems compounds 26 Figure 6: Indicative construction programme 41 Figure 7: Business sector composition in the LBC and London, 139 Figure 8: Proportion of employment by industrial sector in the LBC and London, 140 List of tables Table 1: Estimated construction demolition and excavation waste 40 Table 2: Operational waste forecast for the Proposed Scheme 44 Table 3: Protected and/or notable species 89 Table 4: Summary of receptors 99 Table 5: Summary of baseline CSM for sites which may pose a contaminative risk for the Proposed Scheme 102 Table 6: Summary of temporary construction effects 104 Table 7: Summary of permanent (post-construction) effects 106 Table 8: Resources with likely significant direct effects 146 Table 9: Significant effect on resources 146 Table 10: Adverse effects of construction noise and vibration that are considered to be significant on a community basis 157 Table 11: Train flows and speeds 160 Table 12: Adverse effects of operational noise and vibration that are considered to be significant on a community basis 162 Table 13: Typical vehicle trip generation for construction compounds in this area 171 Table 14: Surface water features potentially affected by the Proposed Scheme 188 Table 15: Summary of geology and hydrogeology 189 iii CFA Report – Camden Town and HS1 Link/No 2 |Contents iv CFA Report – Camden Town and HS1 Link/No 2 | Structure 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; and Glossary of terms and list of abbreviations – contains terms and abbreviations, including units of measurement, used throughout the ES documentation. v CFA Report – Camden Town and HS1 Link/No 2 | Structure vi CFA Report – Camden Town and HS1 Link/No 2 | 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 approximately 2023 and planned to be operational by 2033. 1.1.5 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 Camden Town and HS1 link area (CFA2), see Section 2.4. 1.1.6 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.