High Speed 2 (HS2)
High Speed 2 (HS2)
High Speed 2 (HS2) is the proposed high-speed railway between London, the Midlands and the North of England. The route takes the form of a “Y” with a trunk from London to Birmingham, and then two spurs, one to Manchester, and the other to Leeds via the East Midlands. The London to Birmingham section, being Phase 1, is now under construction.
HS2 Phase 2 – Birmingham to Leeds and Manchester
The Department of Transport announced the preferred route for Phase 2 of HS2, the Y-shaped extension which links Birmingham with Leeds and Manchester, in January 2013 and then the proposed route was announced on 15th November 2016. On 17th July 2017, decisions on seven route refinements were announced. A large amount of detailed information, including maps of the proposed route, is available on the HS2 Phase 2b pages of the GOV.UK website.
Safeguarding directions were issued, which triggered the right for those affected to seek statutory compensation. The property compensation schemes are live including the Need to Sell Scheme and the Express Purchase Scheme.
Environmental surveys were undertaken and HS2 then launched its consultation on its Working Draft Environmental Statement for Phase 2b which closed on 21st December 2018.
Further details can be found on the HS2 website including the consultation documents and most documents including the Non-Technical Summary, the 28 Community Area Reports and the Route-Wide Impacts report can be downloaded from the government portal. These give details of possible extra land that might be required for the construction phase, tree planting/screening, balancing ponds, relocation of services and ecology etc.
Timescale
The Government confirmed that there will be an approximate 5 year delay to the Phase 2b planned operational date of 2033. Phase 2a (the link to Crewe) is also delayed from the planned completion date of 2027.
For further information
If you own a property near to the preferred route and are concerned that the latest route may impact your property, then for professional advice please contact our Knaresborough Office on 01423 860322.
