HS2: Lords rule that Shropshire residents must be consulted on impact of controversial rail line

Woore, near Market Drayton, would see construction traffic travel through it for long periods while the high speed rail link is built, prompting fears about traffic and safety from villagers and councillors.

A debate in the House of Lords on amendments to the High Speed Rail (West Midlands – Crewe) Bill last week, included a request by the shadow spokesman for transport, Lord Richard Rosser, that residents who might be impacted should be consulted, and that a report on their views should be published before next May.

Lord Rosser's proposed amendment stipulated that: "Before May 1, 2021, the Secretary of State must publish the report of a consultation with – (a) residents of the county of Shropshire, the county of Staffordshire, the county of Cheshire and any other areas deemed relevant by a Minister of the Crown, who may be impacted by the scheduled works, Phase 2a of High Speed 2, and associated works.

"The consultation must ask the views of residents and stakeholders listed in subsection (1) in regard to – (a) the impact of road traffic as a result of the works; (b) the impact of the works on the natural environment, including but not limited to the impact on ancient woodland; (c) whether there are sufficient transport provisions for the purposes of passengers connecting to Phase 2a of High Speed 2, and to address changes to general passenger movements caused by the works; and (d) if not, whether the construction of new railway stations and improvements to railway stations, including any associated reopening of lines, is necessary in relation to paragraph (c)."

In the ensuing debate, he said: "The amendment does not seek to tell the Government what their response to the consultation should be, simply that they should consult further on the issues mentioned and produce a report to Parliament.

"On consultation, in their response the Government will almost certainly maintain that they have engaged with those impacted by the works.

"Residents along and close to the line of route do not always seem to share that view about engagement, which at times appears to have been sparse and has left many feeling that it happened only as part of a tick-box exercise.

Concerns

"It is easy to regard consultation as an exercise in telling people what is going to happen, rather than listening to their views and concerns, and seeking to address or mitigate them.

"We are aware of one community meeting in Shropshire where the HS2 representative who attended seemed unaware about even which county the community concerned was in, when he said that HS2 had been in contact with Staffordshire County Council about relevant issues.

"Many in Shropshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire will see no material benefit from the opening of HS2, and many close to or relatively near the line of route will have significant disruption to their day-to-day lives.

"Despite the new HS2 line straddling the Shropshire-Staffordshire border, there does not yet appear to have been any real effort made to ensure that the people of Shropshire reap some benefit from the new line. Much of the county still has no easy access to rail services."

Other Labour and Liberal Democrat Lords spoke in favour of the amendment, and in the vote it passed with 276 votes to 259.

Speaking afterwards, chairman of Woore Parish Council Mike Cowey said: "The parish council are obviously delighted in the good news on the vote in the House of Lords and that at last our issues are being heard, we hope now that MPs in the House of Commons also support our concerns and an improved dialogue with HS2 supported by Shropshire Council can be the result from this amendment.

"It appreciates also the work of Lord Rosser."

The Bill will continue through the House of Lords and then the House of Commons in the coming weeks.