On Monday, Anti-HS2 activists took their campaign to Buckinghamshire Council offices following the eviction operation of a protest camp in Wendover that begun at the weekend.
Standing outside The Gateway building in Aylesbury, the protesters displayed banners such as ‘Stop HS2’ and ‘NHS not HS2’.
A spokesperson for the group told Bucks Radio that they gathered at the Council building after their emails requesting an explanation for the leasing of part of Jones Hill Wood by the council to HS2 Ltd had been ignored.
The lease appears to have been the first step in enabling HS2 Ltd to hire security firms to evict protesters from Jones Hill Wood last weekend.
Campaigner Caroline Thomson-Smith, who attended Monday’s protest, said: “Buckinghamshire Council have taken a remarkably naïve decision to lease land not covered by the HS2 Act to HS2 for the sole purpose of evicting peaceful protesters.
“They have done this on the basis of unfounded allegations by HS2 and Thames Valley Police of protester violence.”
The activists further claim that by leasing the land to HS2 Ltd in March this year, the Council are not representing the people who voted for them.
Buckinghamshire Council said in a statement: “A number of protestors were present at the Council Offices yesterday morning.
“We have taken away a number of questions from them and will be contacting them directly about their concerns.
“There is evidence, including information from Thames Valley Police, that some of the protestors on the Small Dean site at Wendover had started to negatively impact on residents and the environment and had been engaging in anti-social, or even potentially criminal activities.
“The lease will remain in place for a period of five years.
“Both local Members and the local MP have been part of these discussions and are supportive of this approach.”
In the early hours of Sunday morning around 100 security staff and police officers descended upon a long-standing protest camp in Jones Hill Wood. The destruction of the camp is on-going.
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