‘Lives destroyed by HS2’ says Bucks Council leader

Lives have been “destroyed” by HS2, the leader of Buckinghamshire Council has said as he called for the county to gain from the cancellation of the northern leg of the new high sped railway line.

Martin Tett joined fellow senior Tories in hailing the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s announcement on Wednesday that he will axe the Birmingham to Manchester section of HS2.

However, Cllr Tett lamented HS2’s impact on Bucks residents and called for the county to be given “significant compensatory investment”.

Speaking about the cancellation of the rest of HS2, he said: “I was absolutely delighted with the decision.

“It is undoubtedly right that this ill-conceived and vastly expensive scheme is finally cancelled. My regret is that it is 13 years too late.

“Here in Buckinghamshire, we have suffered the devastation of our beautiful county and environment.

“People’s lives have been destroyed, businesses closed, and our fabulous countryside and ancient woodlands torn up. I dread to think how much hard-pressed tax-payers’ money has already been wasted.”

Mr Sunak said “the facts have changed” as he announced the cancellation of the Birmingham-Manchester leg of HS2 during his Conservative Party conference speech in Manchester on Wednesday.

In addition, the Prime Minister also said that the eastern leg of HS2 to East Midlands Parkway, would be axed, and confirmed that the line from the West Midlands will continue to Euston station in London.

The decision to scrap the rest of HS2 comes after the huge infrastructure project has been hit by ballooning costs and long delays.

Mr Sunak promised that the £36bn saved from scrapping the northern part of HS2 would be funneled into improving transport in northern England, the Midlands and other areas of the UK.

Cllr Tett said he will push the Government to divert some of the money saved from HS2 into compensating Bucks for the disruption caused by the rail project.

He said: “Sadly, I fear that it is too late to cancel the HS2 line through Buckinghamshire. The damage is already done.

“What I am demanding is that the Government commits a fraction of the £36bn saved from both de-scoping Euston and cancelling north of Birmingham to help repair the damage already done in Buckinghamshire.

“I am writing today to Mark Harper, the Secretary of State for Transport putting the case that Buckinghamshire deserves to share significantly in the national benefits of cancellation.

“We have an environment that needs restoration and key transport schemes that need funding. These should be priorities for the Government now that it has finally seen sense.”

Phase 1 of the HS2 line from London to the West Midlands is currently being built through Buckinghamshire.

The route passes through the Chalfonts, Central Chilterns, to the south-west of Aylesbury and across north-east Oxfordshire.

The 10-mile (16km) Chiltern tunnel is now 75 per cent complete, while the excavations for five ventilation/emergency access shafts have been completed in Chalfont St Peter, Chalfont St Giles, Amersham, Little Missenden and Chesham Road.