HS2 Update – November 2017
Public Meeting, 6 October
Wendover Parish Council arranged for a public meeting to be addressed by Philippa Neat from Groundwork and Errol Wisby, Senior Construction Manager for HS2 as it passes Wendover.
Groundwork are a charity and are administering various community funding streams for HS2 Ltd. The slides from Philippa’s and Errol’s presentations are available on the WPC’s website, www.wendover-pc.gov.uk.
Errol Wisby was supported by Simon Matthews from CEK the delivery contractor and Charlotte Hewes from BAM Nutall who are undertaking the accommodation works.
Some of the questions asked were:
Q – Will there be any disruption to the current Network Rail line during the construction of HS2? A – It will be minimal and at off-peak times if there is any, work may be done during the night to prevent disruption.
Q – Will the Ellesborough Road be closed? A – No because a temporary route will be built to take traffic while the line is constructed and the new road built.
Q – How long will the work go on for? Please explain the programme of works. A – The main works to build the line will begin in Autumn 2019 and over bridges such as the viaduct will be built first. The Nash Lee Road bridge will be built in 2019/20 and the Ellesborough Road one will follow. Bridges take 9-15 months to complete and all civil works are expected to finish in 2021.
Q – Can we be assured that country lanes will not be used for the HS2 traffic and large lorries? A – There are clear and appropriate routes set and agreed with BCC with signs to guide the HS2 traffic. HGVs will be tracked in real-time to ensure compliance.
Q – Will there be continuous extra traffic and construction for the whole period of HS2 phase 1 in Wendover? A – Yes the track may be laid in Wendover at a separate time to the electric being installed, for example. The teams work up and down the line by looping each other.
Q – The hydrologists seem to have picked the driest year to do tests, what happens if there is a lot of excess water? What if the local SSSI and canal dries up? A – Any excess water would be pumped back to where it came from.
Q – Is a baseline measure being taken now for environmental issues such as dust levels?A – No, there is no monitoring for baseline levels but monitoring will be done during the construction.
The PC Chairman thanked the Wendover Society and the Community Library for their help in promoting the meeting. About 130 people attended and, when asked, most thought it was very worthwhile. There will be further meetings of this kind in the future.