HS2 Petitioning Update, 24 June 2014
There have been 24 challenges by HS2 Ltd against Petitions, none of them from our area. The two most notable are against HS2AA and Stop HS2, far and away the most prominent of all the action groups. Quite what the grounds for the challenges are will no doubt become evident in due course, but at first sight it just seems vindictive. The hearings, at which the Select Committee itself decides whether or not to agree with the challenges and thus bar the Petitioners from pursuing their Petition, will be held on 9, 10, 16 and 17 July.
In my last email I said that there were 163 Petitions from Wendover, Dunsmore and Halton, and that this number included 16 organisations. Nine of these organisations have members, the total number of whom is 1,840, though there will be some overlap. When you add in the two parish councils and three schools I think it fair to say that the vast majority of residents will either have petitioned themselves, or are members of or represented by petitioning organisations.
The Wendover HS2 action group is now looking into how to persuade the Select Committee to agree to a bored tunnel right through the Chilterns. The most important factor is evaluation of the benefits of a bored tunnel compared with the existing proposal. We have identified a number of subjects to investigate, including property blight, visual blight, local resources, business impacts, traffic flows, code of construction practice, hydrology and noise. We are looking for volunteers to join small groups looking into these areas, with a view to establishing the cost savings that a tunnel would bring. If you would like to assist please get in touch with me.