1 Introduction
1. The High Speed 2 (HS2) project aims to build a
fast rail line from London to Manchester and Leeds, via Birmingham,
the East Midlands, Sheffield and Crewe, to begin operation in
2026 and be completed in 2032. The High Speed Rail (London-West
Midlands) Bill, which allows the construction of the first phase
of the route and its associated infrastructure, is expected imminently
to be given its second reading in the House of Commons. This will
be followed by the establishment of an HS2 Hybrid Bill Select
Committee to consider petitions from those affected by the proposed
project.
2. These are the latest stages of a project that
has been progressed over several years.[1]
In January 2012 the Government announced its intention to proceed
with phase 1 of the scheme; from London to Birmingham.[2]
In May 2013 the Government and HS2 Ltd (the Government-owned body
charged with developing and taking forward the project) published
two consultations on phase 1: a Draft Environmental Statement
and 14 proposed significant Design Refinements.[3]
A final Environmental Statement was published for consultation
alongside the Hybrid Bill in November 2013 and the period of consultation
was subsequently extended by Parliament to 27 February.[4]
Comments on the Environmental Statement are being summarised
by an independent assessor (Golder Associates) appointed by the
Examiners of Petitions for Private Bills, and their report is
expected to be published before the 2014 Easter Parliamentary
Recess.
3. In March 2014, Sir David Higgins, the Chairman
of HS2 Ltd, recommended major adjustments to the project, including
extending the line north of Birmingham to a new regional transport
hub at Crewe by 2027, scrapping the proposed direct HS1-HS2
link in North London and reconsidering the plans for developing
Euston.[5] The Government
subsequently indicated its support in principle for these changes.[6]
4. In January 2013 the Government published details
of phase 2 of the line, from Birmingham to Manchester and Leeds.
There would be no decision on a possible Heathrow spur until after
the Davies Commission on aviation capacity reported in 2015.[7]
A consultation on phase 2 was launched in July 2013 and a final
decision is expected by the end of 2014.
Our inquiry
5. The parliamentary process for HS2 is unusual.
Because HS2 is a major project that potentially affects individuals
and businesses along its route, the Government has chosen to implement
it through a hybrid bill, leaving Parliament as the 'relevant
authority' to give planning permission through the passage of
the Bill. That places a greater imperative on the House, and its
committees, to undertake scrutiny of the proposals.
6. Our inquiry is intended to inform the House about
the environmental aspects of the project when it gives the HS2
Hybrid Bill its second reading, and afterwards to inform the Select
Committee when it considers petitions. In doing so, we put our
2013 report on Biodiversity Offsetting—providing
alternative habitats to compensate for biodiversity lost in developments—into
the context of a major project which will have to make it work
in practice. The Government's response to our report indicated
that Defra would await the completion and evaluation of its offsetting
trials before finalising any new system. In the meantime, the
HS2 Environmental Statement proposes a metric for assessing
biodiversity offsetting which is adapted from that draft Defra
methodology. We also examined the Government's aim of preventing
net biodiversity loss, and the emissions consequences of the project.
7. We did not examine the economic case for HS2,
and we make no judgement about that in this report. This has been
the focus of a number of inquiries by other committees.[8]
Nor do we examine the environmental or community issues for particular
parts of the route.
8. We received written submissions from a range of
NGOs and individuals as well as from Government and its agencies.
We took oral evidence in only two sessions in the interest of
being able to produce a report ahead of the Bill's second reading.
We heard from HS2 campaign groups, NGOs, Natural England, the
Environment Agency, Defra and the Department of Transport as well
as Robert Goodwill MP, Parliamentary Under-secretary of State
at DfT. We are grateful for the assistance of our specialist adviser
Dr William Sheate.[9]
1 Further details are set out in House of Commons Library
Standard Note 316, Railways: high speed rail (HS 2). Back
2
Department for Transport, High Speed Rail: Investing in Britain's Future - Decisions and Next Steps,
Cm 8247, January 2012, pp37-38 Back
3
Department for Transport/HS2 Ltd, Design Refinement Consultation: Consultation Document - London-West Midlands,
May 2013, p7 Back
4
HC Minutes Of Proceedings taken before the Standing Orders Committee on the High Speed Rail (London - West Midlands) Bill,
15 January 2014, para 331; and: HL Standing Orders (Private Bills) Committee considering the Examiners' Certificate on the High Speed Rail (London - West Midlands) Bill,
20 January 2014, para 259 Back
5
Sir David Higgins, HS2 Plus, March 2014, pp12-14 Back
6
HC Deb, 17 March 2014, col53WS Back
7
Department for Transport, High speed rail: investing in Britain's future - Phase Two: the route to Leeds, Manchester and Beyond,
Cm 8508, January 2013, p9 Back
8
National Audit Office, High Speed 2: A review of early programme preparation,
HC 124 (2013-14); Public Accounts Committee, Twenty-Second
Report of Session 2013-14, High Speed 2: A review of early programme preparation,,
HC 478; Treasury Committee, Third Report of Session 2013-14, Spending Round 2013,
HC 575 Back
9
Dr Sheate declared the following interests on 26 February 2014:
Adviser to HS2 Action Alliance and Chiltern Conservation Board
on the judicial review of HS2 and the HS2 Appraisal of Sustainability
(2011-13); and project manager on Defra's evaluation of the biodiversity
offsetting pilot scheme in England (2012-14). Back
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