Crofton against HS2

ALTERNATIVES TO HS2 & ROUTE 4 OPTION

 Route 1  Proposal 2013

Route 4 Proposal 7 July 2016

What are the Alternatives ?

Firstly SCRAP HS2 entirely saving ALL communities & the nation £70-80 Billion* (Financial Times Estimate) THIS IS the option which 52% of the public support, exactly the same level of support that won the Brexit Vote in June 2016. Since only 22% of voters now back HS2 it would win a referendum hands down.

Secondly :  Sadly many politicians wrongly back the HS2 concept while ignoring the damage, the cost and believing the misleading claims from HS2 Ltd about benefits, costs & damage.

Alternative High Speed Rail Schemes

• HSUK: High Speed UK - a better High Speed Scheme with low impact routes 
• HS1A : A Simple extension to existing HS1 from London to Leeds via low impact Farmland Lincolnshire route

Thirdly : HS2 Options

• Reject disastrous Route 4 M18 Corridor as unfit for purpose, unresearched & misrepresented with over 315 demolitions, 3 times the original route & with higher noise and residential compensation costs.
• Cancel Eastern Leg 2B entirely (Leeds,Sheffield) saving £5.2 billion that could be invested into Yorkshire Business, NHS, road and rail (HS3)
• HS2 Hybrid Scheme with lower impact original route and Sheffield City link saving £534m.

Organisations/individuals who reject HS2 Scheme

Mid- Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce - who support a better route

The British People : Comres Opinion polling shows support for HS2 at only 22% with opposition at 52-75%

Yorkshire People : A Comres Poll from 2015 showed just 7% rating HS2 as a high priority and 52% opposed to the £70 billion bill

• The 51m group, which consists of 19 local authorities along or adjacent to the route. It suggests the project will cost each Parliamentary Constituency £51 million. Constituent members of 51m include Buckinghamshire County Council, London Borough of Hillingdon,[ Warwickshire County Council, Leicestershire County Council, Oxfordshire County Council,Coventry City Council and Camden Borough Council. The other councils that have declared their opposition are Northamptonshire and Staffordshire County Councils. Wakefield Council has stated opposition.
• StopHS2, which represents local action groups along the route.
• The HS2 Action Alliance, an umbrella group for opposition groups, residents' associations, and parish councils.[211] The Alliance's primary aim is to prevent HS2 from happening; secondary aims include evaluating and minimising the impacts of HS2 on individuals, communities and the environment, and communication of facts about HS2, and its compensation scheme. Even after the latest changes made to the scheme to mitigate concerns, it continues to be opposed by some MPs and personalities on the line of route. A member of the 'HS2 Action Alliance' has criticised the Department of Transport's demand forecasts as being too high, as well as having other shortcomings in the assessment methodology.
• The Green Party, which voted to oppose the HS2 plans at its Spring 2011 conference on environmental and economic grounds. Alan Francis, the party transport spokesperson, had previously outlined its support for high-speed rail in principle in terms of benefits to capacity, reduced journey times and reduced carbon emissions, but recommended a line restricted to 300 to 320 kilometres per hour (190 to 200 mph) which would enable it to use existing transport corridors to a greater extent and increase efficiency.
• The New Economics Foundation, a think-tank promoting environmentalism, localism and anti-capitalism. It published a formal response to the public consultation on 5 August 2011which concluded that the case for a high-speed rail link was incomplete and that the benefits of the scheme had been "over-emphasised" by its promoters.
• The Taxpayers Alliance, an anti-tax pressure group, which describes the project as a white elephant.
• The Independent newspaper, which considers the costs excessive and the benefits uncertain. An investigation published on 3 February 2013 claimed that 350 wildlife sites would be destroyed by the new HS2 line and an accompanying editorial argued that environmentalists should oppose the project.A separate investigation published on 10 March 2013 suggests that the project was unlikely to keep within its £33 billion budget.
• Lord Mandelson, a supporter of HS2 when in office, admitted in July 2013 that the cost estimates were "almost entirely speculative" and said the Labour Government had only proposed it to "paint an upbeat view of the future" during the financial crash.
• Alistair Darling, former Labour chancellor and transport secretary, withdrew support for the project, stating to go ahead would be "foolish".
• Boris Johnson, the ex Mayor of London, repeatedly criticised the project, and stated that the costs would spiral over £70 billion. His father Stanley Johnson was required to sell his home in Primrose Hill under the HS2 "need to sell scheme" as it was 10 metres from the new track.
• Liam Fox  a candidate for the Conservative Party leader in July 2016, stated he would scrap the HS2 project if he became prime minister. Conservative MP's Andrea Leadsome, Bill Cash, Michael Fabicant, Cheryl Gillan have opposed the route.