Cheshire East Council says it has withdrawn its petition against the High Speed Rail (Crewe – Manchester) Bill after securing commitments from HS2 Ltd and the Government.
The withdrawal follows long negotiations between the council and HS2 Ltd to address concerns the authority had raised through its petition against the hybrid bill for HS2 Phase 2b.
It also raised issues through its petition against the first additional provision to the Bill, known as AP1, which it has also withdrawn.
The Bill seeks powers to construct and operate Phase 2b of HS2 (Crewe to Manchester) and had its Second Reading in the House of Commons in June last year.
Cllr Craig Browne, deputy leader of Cheshire East Council and chair of its highways and transport committee, said: “The council has been clear that whilst it is minded to support the HS2 scheme in principle and recognises the major economic benefits and opportunities it would bring, it also recognises that there will be communities that will be adversely affected by it and this support remains conditional.
“I am pleased that through extensive negotiations, we have now secured a number of commitments from both HS2 Ltd and the Government – including in relation to the scheme’s impacts on the environment, landscape, ecology and local transport network – that collectively will provide a better outcome for Cheshire East and its communities.
“However, we are naturally very disappointed by the announcement from Government last week that construction of the HS2 route from Birmingham to Crewe is now delayed by two years.
“This means a delay in HS2 coming to Crewe, and a delay in the benefits and opportunities it would bring to the north being realised.
“Despite this, the Bill still remains in Parliament – irrespective of this announcement – and the petitioning process is an important opportunity for the council to formally raise its concerns and influence the Phase 2b proposals before the Bill becomes an Act of Parliament.
“We needed to ensure we responded robustly to the proposals and that when the scheme is delivered, it is delivered in a way that provides the appropriate levels of mitigation and maximises the opportunities available, and that these are brought forward as early as possible.”
The council had been due to present its petitions to the Select Committee on Monday.
The commitments received by the council from HS2 Ltd are known as ‘assurances and undertakings’ and include:
● Additional highway junction improvements.
● Road safety mitigations.
● Active travel improvements.
● The installation of adaptive signal technology to improve bus service efficiency on key construction routes.
● Assurances relating to environmental, ecology and biodiversity mitigation.
● Assurances relating to the impacts of construction traffic during key events held at Tatton Park.
The council says it has secured a commitment from Government to fund the assessment of what work is required at Crewe Station to support HS2, and design work as a result of the appraisal.
Cllr Sam Corcoran, leader of Cheshire East Council, said: “I would like to make it clear that withdrawing our petitions does not mean that we have concluded our efforts to secure the council’s shared vision for an enhanced Crewe hub station that can accommodate between five to seven HS2 trains per hour, nor to seek the appropriate mitigation against the negative impacts of the scheme and its construction.
“The council will have further opportunity to influence the scheme and to petition the Bill as it progresses through Parliament and will continue to do this in consultation with local ward members and town councils.”
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