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 CFA12 | Waddesdon and Quainton | CFA12 | Waddesdon and Quainton November 2013 VOL VOL VOL ES 3.2.1.12 2 2 2 London- WEST MIDLANDS ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT Volume 2 | Community Forum Area report CFA12 | Waddesdon and Quainton November 2013 ES 3.2.1.12 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 – Waddesdon and Quainton/No 12 | Contents Contents 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Introduction to HS2 1 1.2 Purpose of this report 1 1.3 Structure of this report 3 2 Overview of the area and description of the Proposed Scheme 5 2.1 Overview of the area 5 2.2 Description of the Proposed Scheme 9 2.3 Construction of the Proposed Scheme 16 2.4 Operation of the Proposed Scheme 34 2.5 Community forum engagement 35 2.6 Route section main alternatives 37 3 Agriculture, forestry and soils 49 3.1 Introduction 49 3.2 Scope, assumptions and limitations 49 3.3 Environmental baseline 50 3.4 Effects arising during construction 56 3.5 Effects arising from operation 66 4 Air quality 69 4.1 Introduction 69 4.2 Scope, assumptions and limitations 69 4.3 Environmental baseline 70 4.4 Effects arising during construction 71 4.5 Effects arising from operation 74 5 Community 75 5.1 Introduction 75 5.2 Scope, assumptions and limitations 75 5.3 Environmental baseline 75 5.4 Effects arising during construction 77 i CFA Report – Waddesdon and Quainton/No 12 | Contents 5.5 Effects arising from operation 81 6 Cultural heritage 83 6.1 Introduction 83 6.2 Scope, assumptions and limitations 83 6.3 Environmental baseline 84 6.4 Effects arising during construction 89 6.5 Effects arising from operation 93 7 Ecology 97 7.1 Introduction 97 7.2 Scope, assumptions and limitations 97 7.3 Environmental baseline 98 7.4 Effects arising during construction 115 7.5 Effects arising from operation 129 8 Land quality 133 8.1 Introduction 133 8.2 Scope, assumptions and limitations 134 8.3 Environmental baseline 134 8.4 Effects arising during construction 137 8.5 Effects arising from operation 144 9 Landscape and visual assessment 147 9.1 Introduction 147 9.2 Scope, assumptions and limitations 148 9.3 Environmental baseline 148 9.4 Temporary effects arising during construction 152 9.5 Permanent effects arising during operation 165 10 Socio-economics 181 10.1 Introduction 181 10.2 Scope, assumptions and limitations 181 10.3 Environmental baseline 181 10.4 Effects arising during construction 184 10.5 Effects arising during operation 187 11 Sound, noise and vibration 189 11.1 Introduction 189 11.2 Environmental baseline 190 11.3 Effects arising during construction 192 11.4 Assessment of impacts and effects 193 11.5 Effects arising during operation 195 12 Traffic and transport 199 12.1 Introduction 199 ii CFA Report – Waddesdon and Quainton/No 12 | Contents 12.2 Scope, assumptions and limitations 199 12.3 Environmental baseline 200 12.4 Effects arising during construction 202 12.5 Effects arising from operation 208 13 Water resources and flood risk assessment 211 13.1 Introduction 211 13.2 Scope, assumptions and limitations 212 13.3 Environmental baseline 213 13.4 Effects arising during construction 221 13.5 Effects arising from operation 224 14 References 227 List of figures Figure 1: HS2 Phase One route and community forum areas 2 Figure 2: Area context map 6 Figure 3: Schematic of construction compounds for civil engineering works 20 Figure 4: Schematic of construction compounds for railway installation works 21 Figure 5: Indicative construction programme 31 Figure 6: Business sector composition in Aylesbury Vale District and the South East, 182 Figure 7: Proportion of employment by industrial sector in Aylesbury Vale District and the South East 183 List of tables Table 1: Demolitions associated with Station Road overbridge, Woodlands cutting/Quainton auto- transformer feeder station and School Hill green overbridge satellite compounds 25 Table 2: Estimated quantity of waste going to off-site disposal 30 Table 3: Operational waste forecast for the Proposed Scheme 35 Table 4: Summary characteristics of holdings 54 Table 5: Agricultural land required for the construction of the Proposed Scheme 58 Table 6: Summary of effects on holdings during construction 59 Table 7: Agricultural and forestry land required permanently 62 Table 8: Summary of permanent effects on holdings from construction 63 Table 9: Protected and/or notable species 105 Table 10: Summary of sensitive receptors 136 Table 11: Summary of baseline CSM for sites which may pose a contaminative risk for the Proposed Scheme 140 Table 12: Summary of temporary (construction) effects 142 Table 13: Summary of permanent (post-construction) effects 143 Table 14: Train flows and speeds 195 Table 15: Typical vehicle trip generation for construction site compounds in this area 204 Table 16: Surface water features potentially affected by the Proposed Scheme 214 Table 17: Summary of geology and hydrogeology in the study area 216 iii CFA Report – Waddesdon and Quainton/No 12 | Contents iv CFA Report – Waddesdon and Quainton/No 12 | 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 Environmental Statement and the 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, and the main strategic and route-wide alternatives 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 – Waddesdon and Quainton/No 12 | Structure vi CFA Report – Waddesdon and Quainton/No 12 | 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, these 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 Waddesdon and Quainton area (CFA12), 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.