News on HS2 in Staffs

In July 2017, the Government deposited a hybrid Bill with Parliament to secure the powers to construct and operate Phase 2a of the new high-speed railway between the West Midlands and Crewe. Today HS2 took a major step forward, as the latest phase successfully completed over three years of Parliamentary scrutiny to receive Royal Assent.

The Phase 2a hybrid Bill contained over 15,000 pages of information and weighed in at 109kg. The House of Commons Select Committee spent 51 days hearing petitions from those most affected by the construction and operation of the new railway, with 14 days of petitioning heard in the House of Lords.

The hybrid Bill process has enabled communities, individuals, and organisations along the line of route to raise concerns, have their views heard in select committee, and to influence how we build the railway. To date, the Secretary of State for Transport has provided over 1,500 Undertakings and Assurances to stakeholders affected by the Phase 2a route.

Benefits of the scheme

Obtaining Royal Assent has also triggered the launch of route-wide schemes targeted at assisting communities. Two funds, worth a combined £5 million, will soon be open for applications:

The Phase 2a Homeowner Payment (HOP) Scheme is now available to property owners in rural areas who live between 120 and 300 metres from the HS2 line, wherever it is not in a deep tunnel. Eligible property owners can apply for between £8,000 and £24,000, depending on how close they live to the proposed line.

The Green Corridor initiative will promote ways for local people to enjoy the countryside, providing a network of habitats created along the HS2 Phase 2a corridor.

The Road Safety Fund will go towards local road safety schemes in areas not currently accustomed to construction traffic. This will help provide a legacy of improvements for areas adversely affected by Phase 2a traffic.

It is anticipated that the construction of HS2 Phase 2a will create in the region of 1,920 full time construction jobs, 140 permanent jobs (e.g. from the maintenance base near Stone) and further jobs throughout the entire supply chain. By building Phase 2a earlier than planned, the cities in the north of England and Scotland will see the benefits of HS2 more quickly. It is expected that the building of HS2 will create opportunities for regeneration and improved connectivity - in effect bringing cities closer together, opening up new markets, new job opportunities, and new opportunities for growth.

What happens next

Preliminary work on the Phase 2a route has already begun, in the form of Ground Investigation work. This started in November 2020 and will take several months to complete.

In spring 2021 work will begin to prepare the land ready for the construction of the railway. This enabling work will include further surveys, utility diversions, archaeological digs, tree planting, ecological habitat creation and work on the highways. The main construction programme is not due to start until 2023 and over the next two years we will be preparing the final design of the railway.

Keeping you informed

We are committed to keeping you informed about work on HS2. This includes making sure you know what to expect and when to expect it, as well as how we can help. As part of this, we will produce a local area engagement plan setting out how we will engage with communities along the 2a route to ensure that we meet our commitments and continue to be a good neighbour. Our first local area engagement plan will be published later this year.

If you have a question about HS2 or our works, please contact our HS2 Helpdesk team on 08081 434 434 or email hs2enquiries@hs2.org.uk .