HS2 public consultation launch - dates and Buckinghamshire councils' disgust at not being invited!
By BMeiring | Tuesday, March 01, 2011, 23:28
On Monday the 28th, Phillip Hammond, Transport Secretary announced the launch of the public consultation for the proposed High Speed 2 rail. Five Buckinghamshire councils expressed disgust at not being invited to the launch event.
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Department for Transport launch the HS2 public consultation / Five Bucks councils not invited to the launch event / Roadshow dates announced for Amersham 18-19th May 2011
The consultation is one of the biggest public consultations ever undertaken. It will run for five months and include roadshows where people along the proposed route will be able to read the evidence, listen to experts and have their say.
The roadshows will begin in London at the end of March and end in Birmingham in the middle of June. Experts at the roadshows will include engineers, environmentalists and property experts from HS2 Ltd and the Dept for Transport.
The roadshow will arrive in Amersham on the 18th May and for two days, at the Amersham & Chiltern Rugby Football Club, Amersham residents are encouraged to come down, find out the facts and have their say. Make sure you are well-prepared with all the consultation documentation and fact sheets available on the Department for Transport website.
Five Buckinghamshire councils were not invited to the consultation launch in Birmingham and have said: "The Government has said that this public consultation is genuine and that it is open to hearing all views. However, whilst the event launching the consultation will include representatives from the rail industry and construction companies, it appears that few if any representatives of the areas through which the line passes have been invited. For this public consultation to have any credibility it must be genuinely open and inclusive of all views. None of our elected representatives have been given the chance to attend this major, all ticket event. This is not a good start."
Thirteen local authorities along the London to Birmingham section of the HS2 line are now united in a national campaign to actively oppose the HS2 scheme, promoting the cheaper and more effective alternative of investment in existing transport infrastructure across all the UK.
Comments
I agree! I wasn't too bothered when I first heard of the scheme as I supported the government's push for improved infrastructure. However, the more I learn about the high speed rail scheme, the less I'm convinced it's the right thing to do! Especially when local councils are being excluded this way! Also agree it's not a good start - and neither is spending hundreds of thousands simply on investigating all the factors involved - the HS2 rail isn't set to be built for years still so one can only imagine how much more the government will spend before they even start. I think anyone interested should definitely get down to the roadshow, find out more and take a stand!
By Bridgy3 at 21:09 on 20/03/11
Reportthe exclusion of key Buckinghamshire councils is outrageous. How can HS2 call it a consultation when key parties are not in attendance? And this looks intentional, not just an admin slip up. It's a joke, as is the whole HS2 scheme.
By Mitchec6 at 21:12 on 16/03/11
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