There is a well known saying, 'no pain, no gain' and that will be ringing true in the minds of Milk Link’s 1,600 producers, who are on the brink of reaping just reward for 12 years of loyalty and investment.High Speed rail will ‘rape’ the countryside
A CAMPAIGNER has walked the entire length of the proposed High Speed 2 (HS2) rail route between Birmingham and London to highlight the impact it will have on local people.
At the end of her 20 day hike Lizzy Williams concluded the route will ‘rape’ the British countryside and ‘kill’ rural communities.
Ms Williams, a Stop HS2 campaigner, admitted to be ‘shattered’ after her walk but said the most ‘tiring and demoralising’ thing was meeting with Transport Secretary, Phillip Hammond.
“I have been absolutely saddened by the desperation of the people I have met who will lose everything they have due to this ill-conceived plan which will help further bankrupt Britain,” she said of the Government’s £20 billion project.
Ms Williams met Mr Hammond last week during his own tour of the proposed HS2 rail link route which will see trains rattle to and from London at 250mph and cut the journey time between London and Birmingham from 1 hour 22 minutes to 49 minutes.
The proposed route will cut through farmland and pass through Stoneleigh Park, home to the Royal Agricultural Society of England (RASE).
But Mr Hammond tried to reassure local MPs and campaign groups that the project would have a positive economic and environmental impact on the country and would provide value for money.
“I don’t want to see one inch of the countryside unnecessarily eaten up, but we cannot start by saying there is an absolute prohibition in improving infrastructure by building in the countryside,” he told local reporters.
He added there was a significant compensation package for those most affected by the route.
But Joe Rukin, chairman of the Kenilworth Stop HS2 action group, said Mr Hammond was unconvincing.
“He is basing this on arguments such as ‘every minute spent on a train is wasted’, which is totally ludicrous. Has he never seen anyone using a laptop on a train?”
Andrea Leadsom, MP for South Northamptonshire , said she would urge fellow MPs to reject the current HS2 proposal. “I do not support the project as it is currently proposed although I entirely support the need for a significant improvement in our transport infrastructure.”
If all parliamentary, public consultation and planning hoops are passed High Speed 2 Ltd, the body in charge of developing the project, expect construction to begin in 2018 and be complete by 2025.
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Readers' comments (8)
John Lewis | 28 September 2010 1:45 pm
And for whose benefit? Answer: the business-expense supported city slickers -that's who. And our beautiful English countryside will be spoiled for all time and the lives of thousands of ordinary folk will be blighted by this monstrosity - all in the name of "progress"!
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Stoneleigh Resident | 28 September 2010 4:10 pm
I find it shocking that people are just expected to put up with this when we apparently live in a democracy!
Many people affected by this have worked their entire lives to be able to afford to live in these beautiful villages and for what,so they can be destroyed by a government that doesn't listen to the voices of the people it is supposed to represent.
It turns my stomach!
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Anonymous | 28 September 2010 4:54 pm
So it saves 30 mins - Big Deal
What are the objectives of this ill-conceived project because it will destroy more than it creates.
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Cubbington Resident | 28 September 2010 5:21 pm
Most people in our village would not be eligible for compensation and the most usual houses found here are probably 3 bed semis. What we would lose is the lovely, tranquil countryside that we and previous generations have loved - our woods, our fields and footpaths. To reach another bluebell wood as beautiful as ours is in May, we shall have to go by car. But HS2 is meant to get people out of cars, isn't it? OOOOPS!
According to the original HS2 papers on the DFT website, the maximum time saved by HS2 would be just one hour (London to Leeds, the most northerly point planned for HS2). What are the political parties thinking of? We do NOT need 250mph trains in England just because European countries are building them to cover great distances by rail rather than air or road. I simply do not believe that tearing up our countryside is a better option than improving what we already have.
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Frank Brown | 28 September 2010 8:24 pm
It saves 30 minutes. Big deal. Just get out of bed 30 minutes sooner and save £20 billion instead, along with thousands of acres of sound, "food producing" land
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Robert Phillips | 29 September 2010 3:56 pm
"improving infrastructure"???? for who? Ms Williams is right-it will rape our contryside. This country really does not need any "infrastructure" of this kind. It's time new development was halted altogether. This country is full to the brim with "infrastructure"
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sylvia Marshall | 1 October 2010 10:12 am
I agree with all the above comments entirely but no mention was made of tunneling through chalk, this will affect the water supply for a large area. Gt Missenden has a stream almost unique in the world and scientific sites and historic buildings and farm land along the entire route, it is madness to drive this railway through our small country and it seems the voices of our people are being ignored. IIIf areas of outstanding natural beauty are spoiled along this line (4 miles either side the noise will be hear at some point reqching 97 decibals what will be left of ENGLANDS GREEN AND PLEASANT LAND?
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Anna | 30 December 2010 12:10 pm
We are in an economic crisis and we are spending billions on a high speed train. Essential services like the NHS, Fire brigade, help for the elderly etc are being slashed. Who do politician care about - themselves and the fat cats they cohort with.
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