An arm of the new high speed rail link from London, HS2, is set to pass straight through Trafford and the council and residents have until the end of the month to respond to the government about it.
The part of HS2 that will affect the borough is set to feature an airport station in Hale Barns and a section of the route known as the Golborne link that will pass over the River Bollin, through Warburton and Partington and on to Warrington – connecting Wigan and the West Coast Mainline.
Trafford council, organisations and local people only have until Sunday March 31 to respond to the government’s environmental impact statement for HS2, which is expected to carry around 300,000 passengers per day.
The huge 33,000 page government document of highly technical information sets out the likely impacts Trafford will incur as a result of the high speed rail link.
The council is understood to have employed 35 staff, including two specialist consultants at a cost of around £31,000, to help them respond to the document.
Trafford council’s political party groups had until this week to put forward their opinions for the council to take into consideration as part of their response.
Coun Dan Jerrome, Trafford’s Green Party group leader, said: “Many people across this borough will not know that this important consultation is happening. The council have told us they will be a quality assurance partner in this scheme. This means that what we ask for now, will set the parameters for what we can ask for in the future. The time frame is just too short for most people to engage meaningfully.
“We have one chance to negotiate for a good environmental settlement for Trafford. Though HS2 offers a greener option of travel and frees up capacity on local lines, it does come with a huge cost. We want the construction phase, the airport station and the damage to our green spaces to be limited too. This issue will come to Trafford council’s full council meeting on Wednesday March 23 and we will continue to work for the best solution for Trafford residents.”
Controversially it is understood that there is also an ongoing dispute of who will be paying for the Hale Barns airport station. The government and HS2 are understood not to be paying for it, but instead local Greater Manchester councils, including Trafford, could end up footing the bill or commercial investment could be used instead, but this hasn’t been agreed to yet.
The airport station is set to be linked with the Metrolink network as well as other local rail networks.
The council’s executive passed a report at its latest meeting agreeing to allow the council to become Trafford to become what is known as a ‘qualifying authority’ – allowing it to have an enhanced role in certain matters regarding HS2 in the borough, including the ability to approve design and construction matters.
The construction of HS2 is already providing hundreds of thousands of jobs across the UK. Its construction has the potential to hugely reduce carbon emissions from existing rail and freight transport, but taking lorries off the road and encourage more rail commuters.
Trafford council’s response to the environmental impact statement is in its draft stage. The executive report stated the response is likely to be focusing on air quality, climate change, community, health, historic environment, sound and vibration, protecting residents’ and businesses’ amenities, traffic and transport and flood risk among other topics.
If this phase of HS2 gets through the required Parliamentary processes, construction is expected to being from 2025 and last until 2035. Following that the line will be tested between 2035 and 2040 and full operations are expected from 2040.
An HS2 spokesperson said: “Extending Britain’s high-speed, zero carbon railway to Manchester will support 17,500 jobs and free up capacity on the congested West Coast Main Line, providing connectivity, reliability and journey time benefits for passengers in Scotland, the North, and the Midlands. HS2 also provides the infrastructure needed to deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail which will radically improve rail links between towns and cities in the North.”
HS2 is offering a number of property schemes to assist people whose property or land may be affected by construction of the railway.
Affected property owners have already been offered 1:1 meetings to advise them of the schemes in place, and support is available all day, every day via the HS2 Helpdesk.
To respond to the public consultation, click here.
Relevant information on this phase of HS2 that affects Trafford will be publicised on a dedicated section of the council’s website, which can be viewed here.
For more information on HS2 in Trafford, click here.
READ MORE about Trafford issues on our MyTrafford page.
