PHASE ONE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT Community Forum Area Report 17 | Offchurch and Cubbington HS2 London-West Midlands May 2013 ENGINE FOR GROWTH DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT Community Forum Area Report ENGINE FOR GROWTH 17 I Offchurch and Cubbington 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/28 Printed in Great Britain on paper containing at least 75% recycled fibre. CFA Report – Offchurch and Cubbington/No 17I Contents Contents Draft Volume 2: Community Forum Area Report – Offchurch and Cubbington/No 17 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: Offchurch and Cubbington – overview of the area and description of the Proposed Scheme 10 2 Offchurch and Cubbington 11 2.1 Overview of the area 11 2.2 Description of the Proposed Scheme 14 2.3 Construction of the Proposed Scheme 17 2.4 Operation of the Proposed Scheme 26 2.5 Community forum engagement 27 2.6 Route section alternatives 27 2.7 Proposals for further consideration 28 Part C: Environmental topic assessments 30 3 Agriculture, forestry and soils 31 3.1 Introduction 31 3.2 Policy framework 31 3.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 31 3.4 Environmental baseline 31 3.5 Construction 34 3.6 Operation 36 1 CFA Report – Offchurch and Cubbington/No 17I Contents 4 Air quality 37 4.1 Introduction 37 4.2 Policy framework 37 4.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 37 4.4 Environmental baseline 37 4.5 Construction 38 4.6 Operation 40 5 Community 41 5.1 Introduction 41 5.2 Policy framework 41 5.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 41 5.4 Environmental baseline 41 5.5 Construction 43 5.6 Operation 45 6 Cultural heritage 47 6.1 Introduction 47 6.2 Policy framework 47 6.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 47 6.4 Environmental baseline 47 6.5 Construction 48 6.6 Operation 50 7 Ecology 52 7.1 Introduction 52 7.2 Policy framework 52 7.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 52 7.4 Environmental baseline 53 7.5 Construction 56 7.6 Operation 58 8 Land quality 60 8.1 Introduction 60 8.2 Policy framework 60 8.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 60 8.4 Environmental baseline 60 8.5 Construction 62 8.6 Operation 64 2 CFA Report – Offchurch and Cubbington/No 17I Contents 9 Landscape and visual assessment 65 9.1 Introduction 65 9.2 Policy framework 65 9.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 65 9.4 Environmental baseline 66 9.5 Construction 67 9.6 Operation 72 10 Socio-economics 77 10.1 Introduction 77 10.2 Policy framework 77 10.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 77 10.4 Environmental baseline 77 10.5 Construction 78 10.6 Operation 79 11 Sound, noise and vibration 80 11.1 Introduction 80 11.2 Policy framework 80 11.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 80 11.4 Environmental baseline 80 11.5 Construction 80 11.6 Operation 81 12 Traffic and transport 83 12.1 Introduction 83 12.2 Policy framework 83 12.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 83 12.4 Environmental baseline 84 12.5 Construction 85 12.6 Operation 88 13 Water resources and flood risk assessment 89 13.1 Introduction 89 13.2 Policy framework 89 13.3 Assessment scope and key assumptions 89 13.4 Environmental baseline 89 13.5 Construction 91 13.6 Operation 93 14 References 95 2 3 CFA Report – Offchurch and Cubbington/No 17I 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 26 Figure 4: Business Sector and Composition in Warwick and West Midlands 78 List of tables Table 1: Location of construction site compounds 19 Table 2: Location of temporary worker accommodation sites 20 Table 3: Watercourse diversions 21 Table 4: Highway and road diversions 22 Table 5: Footpath, cycleway and bridleway diversions 23 Table 6: Restricted access diversions 23 Table 7: Viaducts, underbridges and overbridges 24 Table 8: Holdings affected by the Proposed Scheme 33 Table 9: Preliminary evaluation of likely status and value of protected and/or notable species occurring within the study area 55 Table 10: Significant residual construction effects on ecological receptors within the study area 58 Table 11: Significant residual operational effects on ecological receptors within this area 59 Table 12: Significant landscape effects during construction 68 Table 13: Significant visual effects during construction 69 Table 14: Significant landscape effects during operation year 1 (2026) 73 Table 15: Significant visual effects during operation year 1 (2026) 74 Table 16: Compound and satellite compound by size, number, workforce number, average duration of use and peak hour trips 86 4 CFA Report – Offchurch and Cubbington/No 17I Contents Draft Volume 2: Community Forum Area Report Offchurch and Cubbington/No 17 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 Offchurch and Cubbington area, CFA 17. 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 website at http://www.hs2.org.uk/have-your-say/forums/community-forums. Accessed 25 April 2013 5 CFA Report – Offchurch and Cubbington/No 17I Contents Part A: Introduction 6 CFA Report – Offchurch and Cubbington/No 17I 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 this part 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.