The petition of residents of Lymm, Warburton, Rixton-with-Glazebrook, Culcheth, Lowton and the surrounding areas,
Declares that the proposed HS2 Golborne Link from Hoo Green to Bamfurlong will cause severe and permanent damage to the communities it passes through; further that the link will destroy farms and farm businesses in designated green belt areas; further that it will lead to the loss of over 700 jobs and will endanger environmental sites and amenities; further that it will necessitate building a railway viaduct more than 30 metres high over the Manchester Ship Canal, destroying the villages and communities in its path; further that it will bring no benefits to the area it passes through; and further that it could be replaced with cheaper localised upgrades to the West Coast Main Line and via the recently proposed hub station at Crewe.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to remove the Golborne Link from the proposed HS2 route.
And the Petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented, Official Report, Monday 7 September 2015, Vol. 599, c. 1P.]
[P001541]
Observations from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Mr Robert Goodwill):
High Speed 2 (HS2) is the planned high-speed rail network to link the cities of London and Birmingham, extending to north-west England and Yorkshire. The Department for Transport (DFT) is responsible for the strategy for this railway, and receives advice from HS2 Ltd, the company responsible for delivery.
On 25 November 2013, the Government deposited a hybrid Bill with Parliament to secure the powers to construct and operate Phase One of HS2, between London and the West Midlands.
The route for Phase Two of HS2, from Birmingham to Manchester and Leeds, went out to consultation between 17 July 2013 and 31 January 2014. The Government are still considering their response to this consultation and will take the views of the petitioners into account. The Government will set out how they intend to take Phase Two forward later this year.
The Government believe there remains a clear case for a connection back to the West Coast Main Line from the Western Leg of HS2 Phase Two. It would be used by services for North West England and Scotland, providing journey time benefits, and bypassing the constrained Crewe-Wigan section of the West Coast Main Line.
The Phase Two route consultation proposed such a link at Golborne. Concerns were raised in consultation responses about the impacts of the Golborne link. The Government are continuing to carry out work taking account of these concerns.
As a route decision has not yet been made, it would be inappropriate to comment further on specific elements of the Phase Two route at this time.