Petitions

John Bercow Excerpts

Tuesday 28th November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I find it surprising, not to say shocking, that there should be a sudden exodus of right hon. and hon. Members from the Chamber at the point at which the right hon. Member for Broxtowe (Anna Soubry) is due to present her petition, in which I had hoped there would be a keen interest in all parts of the House. If Members unaccountably insist on departing the Chamber, I trust that they will do so quickly, quietly and without fuss, so that the rest of us, keenly interested in said petition, can listen to its eloquent presentation by the right hon. Lady.

[Anna Soubry (Broxtowe) (Con)]

Thank you, Mr Speaker; that is very kind of you. I rise to present two petitions relating to High Speed 2. The first has more than 1,200 signatures from residents of the village of Trowell, and it declares that they

“are opposed to the HS2 project in its entirety.”

They believe that HS2

“will provide no benefits to Trowell”,

and that the money would be better spent on

“existing railway routes and other transport networks.”

The second petition has been signed by 125 Trowell residents. They are opposed to a 60-foot viaduct through the village that would cause disruption during its construction and adversely impact the village.

Following is the full text of the petitions:

[The petition of residents of Trowell,

Declares that they are opposed to the HS2 project in its entirety. They believe that HS2 Phase Two will provide no benefits to Trowell and the financial cost of the project would be better spent elsewhere, including improving existing railway routes and other transport networks.

The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons ask HS2 Ltd. to stop plans to build HS2 Phase Two and look at more reasonable alternatives.

And the petitioners remain, etc.]

[P002085]

[The petition of residents of Trowell,

Declares that they are opposed to the proposed viaduct through Trowell which is part of the HS2 Phase 2 project and will be 60 feet high in some places to cross over the M1 motorway, the A609 and an existing railway viaduct. The proposals will cause significant disruption to Trowell's residents during construction and the resulting viaduct would dominate over homes in the village, as well as being taller than the church spire.

The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges HS2 Ltd. to dispense with proposals to build a viaduct in Trowell and come up with alternative solutions that will have less impact on residents.

And the petitioners remain, etc.]

[P002084]