Spend HS2 money on more nurses, says Shropshire councillor
HS2 has been labelled as a waste of money by the chairman of a parish council whose village could see construction traffic going through it.
Malcolm Blake, chairman of Woore Parish Council, said the money to construct the high speed rail line would be better spent on recruiting more doctors and nurses.
The current proposed route would see about 500 HGVs travel from the A51 and turn on to the A525 at Woore near Market Drayton daily.
Residents and councillors have formed an action group to fight the plans.
They said there are alternatives which would stop the need to route construction traffic through the parish – including the construction of a continuous tunnel from Whitmore Heath to beyond Madeley.
North Shropshire MP Owen Paterson has also pressed transport secretary Chris Grayling on creating the tunnel extension.
An update on the HS2 campaign in Woore was given at a meeting of the parish council this week.
Councillor Blake said: "We are disappointed by the amount of money they are planning to spend on it when it would be better spent on more doctors and nurses rather than making it 20 minutes faster to get to London.
"We want to find out why the preferred route has changed and look into the environmental impacts of it.
"We want to query why they are not using the railways to bring stuff to construct it.
"We also want to see British companies offered the contracts rather than those from abroad.
"We are concerned about what is going to happen in the middle of the village where there is the shop and post office.
"We will continue to try and press Owen Paterson."
Meanwhile, the campaign group set up to fight plans to send HS2 construction traffic through their village is preparing to hold a fundraiser.
The Woore Parish Action Group will hold a table-top sale in Onneley Village Hall on November 25, from 11am to 3pm.
The table-top sale will have stalls, a raffle and refreshments including cakes and sandwiches. Cost for sellers is £6 per table and admission for buyers is £1.
The government is planning a new high-speed rail network, from London to Birmingham and to Manchester and Leeds, known as HS2.
Ministers say it will improve the transport network and boost the economy, but there has been controversy about the exact route of the line and its effect on those living near it.
The initial plan is for a new railway line between London and the West Midlands carrying 400m-long trains with as many as 1,100 seats per train.
