HS2: Amersham Town Council release statement on controversial plan

Amersham Town council released a statement today branding the controversial HS2 plan as 'unjustified' and 'a vanity project'.

Town councillors also say they will do everything in their power to assist the fight against HS2, a proposed high-speed rail line with the initial section running non-stop between London and Birmingham. 

The plan was approved two weeks ago and has been slammed by campaigners and some MPs. Amersham's own MP, Cheryl Gillan, has also come under fire for not supporting Chiltern residents in their fight against HS2 and for selling her home near the proposed route late last year. 

Here's the town council's full statement: "Amersham Town Council is appalled at the decision of this Government to proceed with its current plans for HS2 which it considers is unjustified by the evidence, with a poor business case and, as yet,  unknown environmental implications along the whole line but particularly to the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Beauty that surrounds our community.

"We also have very real concerns regarding the apparent disregard of the over 50,000 responses to the consultation, the finding of the Parliamentary Select Committee, and numerous knowledgeable and authoritative organisations and stakeholders who have found the Government proposals lacking on almost every criteria.

"Amersham Town Council insists that the Secretary of State takes the time to reconsider her decision and reconsider this matter on the basis of facts and objectivity rather than dreams of grandeur and fantasy.

"Furthermore, we reaffirm that this authority will do everything in our power to assist Buckinghamshire County Council, Chiltern District Council, and our local Action Group in their fight against this vanity project."

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