• 2010 HS2 Limited Researches Lines of Route including Meadowhall and "East of Rotherham"
  • 2011 "East of Rotherham" parked or rejected by HS2 Limited in sift due to costs, connectivity and impacts
  •  March 2012 Meadowhall Route recommended as preferred route
  • 2013 Following a 2 year Route Accessment Sift by HS2 Limited - DFT announces Meadowhall Route as Consultation Route for 6 months Consultation. In Secret HS2 Limited starts to develop "Refined Meadowhall" route which as part of the HS2 Engineering Savings programme strips tunnels and viaducts from the route saving an Estimated £200m by moving the route 1 mile to the East. An additional 17,500 people exposed to high noise levels. This route supplants publically consulted route sometime in 2014/5. This new route uses East of Rotherham alignment for Crofton stretch, including larger Rolling Stock Depot at New Crofton approaching from the East.
  • 2014 : Rachael Blake HS2 Engagement Officer & Doncaster Labour councillor visits Crofton to meet action group.
  • 30 October 2015 - HS2 & Department for Transport still advocate Meadowhall Route
  • December 2015 : HS2 Design Panel made up of industry insiders raise questions of viability of Meadowhall route
  • January 2016 - following £250,000 lobbying campaign by Sheffield City Council, HS2 Limited initiate search for new route in secret
  • March 2016 : Following a change in Route criteria, rejected East of Rotherham now renamed M18 Eastern Route
  • April 2016 : Hemsworth/Havercroft alternative RSD site rejected by HS2 on  "major landscape impacts in the area west of Hemsworth."      

  • Monday 25 April  2016- Secret Visit to Crofton by HS2 Ltd staff including Alison Munro, Managing Director, Development, HS2 Ltd.

  • Thursday 5 May 2016 - Secret Visit to Crofton by HS2 Ltd staff and Will Cavendish, Director General, Department of Health on secondment to Cabinet Office

  • Monday 16 May 2016 - Secret Visit to Crofton by the previous Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin and the Head of Route Engineering for Phase Two, HS2 Ltd.

  • Wednesday 18 May 2016 - Secret Visit to Crofton by HS2 Ltd staff and David Prout, Director General, High Speed 2 Group for the Department for Transport.

  • June 2016 :M18 Route maps drawn up
  • 28th June 2016 : Sheffield City Region and Sheffield City Council given new route briefing by Sir David Higgins, while Wakefield kept in dark
  • July 7th 2016 - Higgins report published, shocks all except Sheffield City Council who welcome it
  • Public Meeting at Crofton Community Centre, Middle Lane, New Crofton  7pm Wednesday 13th July

Over 300 people attended our first meeting in Crofton, thanks to everyone who came. People who came signed our letter to the Wakefield Express "We the Undersigned, residents/representatives of Crofton are horrified and disgusted at the plans of HS2 Limited to destroy large parts of our village by the siting of the High Speed Two Train track through our community.We oppose, the siting of the track & the depot here. We are furious that no consultation was made with our community or elected representatives, prior to the 7 July 2016 announcement.We will fight to stop the Construction of the Track here in Crofton. We call on David Higgins of HS2 Limited & Patrick McLoughlin Transport Minister to meet with us to here alternative proposals to re-route the track out of our village into unoccupied farm land to the East or West of our 9,000 strong community. We call on Council Leader Peter Box & Wakefield Council & HS2 Limited to carry out a full Environmental Impact Assessment & Full assessment on the human and business impact on our community.We call on our elected Member of Parliament John Trickett MP to visit Crofton & immediately table a Question in the House of Commons at the first opportunity. HS2 Limited has blighted our village & we demand compensation for loss of house prices for families who have purchased or are selling property. We demand HS2 Limited meet with us at the first opportunity to understand that Crofton has been grossly affected by this unnecessary targeting without consultation or consideration for the damage to the people,environment,& businesses in the village.We express solidarity with other effected communities in Mexborough, Hemsworth, Altofts, London & elsewhere across England. We will work to see this £80 billion vanity project is scrapped,or changed so that ordinary peoples lives are not wrecked, in order that Rich people can travel faster.

  • Mexborough HS2 Public Meeting 18th July  -                           
  • Mexborough HS2 Information Event 19th July - 700 attended - Ed Milliband MP pledged opposition to HS2 M18 Route
  • Crofton Against HS2 Action Group planning meeting : 20th July :Crofton Community Centre 7pm : How HSUK alternative will help
  • South Elmsall Market Stall & Petition 22 July : 100+ signatures
  • HS2 Information Event Bramley South Yorks : 400 Residents march on HS2 
  • 27 July Wakefield Town Hall 12.45 Crofton meets Wakefield Council Leader Peter Box 

  • HS2 Information Event Hemsworth Community Centre 28th July 
  • HS2 Information Event  Crofton Community Centre  2 August 12.30-8pm : Action Day 
  • Meeting with HS2 officers by Crofton Group Aug 2nd - Leonie Dubois of HS2 Ltd tells Crofton route change and Depot change due to South Yorkshire station change, whereas in fact Secret Refined Meadowhall route had planned changes up to 2 years earlier.


Over 1,300 people visited, 900 signatures & £200 raised for the fighting fund. ITV Calendar, BBC Look North, The Guardian Newspaper, The Wakefield Express,The Crofton Silver Band  & The People of Crofton made our protest & alternative information event a landmark. We met with senior representatives of HS2 Limited at 10.30am & presented evidence and counter proposals to the route & Depot. Over 140 people are ready to travel to London to protest & lobby. Representatives from Sharlston, Hemsworth, Mexborough & Altofts attended in solidarity.

  • August 9th 2016 : Secret Visit by Secretary of State for Transport to Crofton in a minibus to see New Crofton RSD 
    • Sheffield Report Press Launch - attended by ITV Calendar & BBC Look North November 2nd Croftfest 2016 12th November :Anti HS2  Music Event & Fundraiser
    • Surprise Route Announcement by Grayling 15th November 1 week earlier than suggested: Media interviews on Radio 4, BBC BreakfastTime, BBC Leeds
    • Start of 16 week Consultation announced 15th November - 2 months ahead of suggested date in 2017.
  • London Action Day November 17th: Visit to Parliament by Jonathan Pile, Delivery of Community HS2 Report to Chris Grayling, Visit to HS2 Canada Square, meeting with Alisdair Hassan : Head of Route Engineering who confirms HS2 Ltd did not identify possibility of adapting existing Meadowhall route for Sheffield Midland Station & Chesterfield Loop, and therefore did now study into viable option in breach of their directive from the Department of Transport to identify the best route.

  • 8th December 2016 : Meeting of Yorkshire Against HS2 in  Mexborough
  • 6th January 2017 : Public Meeting Crofton 
  • 12 January 2017 : Steering Group Meeting
  • 23 January 2017: Altofts Public Meeting: Jonathan Pile, Paul Dainton & Peter Box speakers
  • 24 January 2017 : Hunslet Leeds HS2 Information Event
  • 4 February 2017 : Bolsover HS2 Information Event 
  • 4 February 2017 : Sharlston Public Meeting
  • 8 February 2017 : Representatives from Crofton, Fitzwilliam and Hemsworth travel to London to meet with Andrew Jones, Transport Minister in House of Commons
  • 9 February 2017 : Bramley HS2 Information Event
  • 10 February 2017 : Mexborough HS2 Information Event
  • 15 February 2017 : Crofton and Mexborough announce the launch of a jointly sponsored Judicial Review into HS2 Route decisions, process and actions of HS2 Limited. HS2 Ltd discover CAHS2 will be running alternative information event in the room next to the main hall at Crofton Community Centre & decide to move the event 8 miles away to Cedar Court Hotel on the false pretext of traffic and security issues, denied as valid by relevant authorities.
  • 16 February 2017 : Hemsworth HS2 Information Event. HS2 Ltd announces change of location for Crofton event missing press deadlines and postal deadlines for most of the village and surrounding area. Jon Trickett MP, Wakefield Council and Crofton Parish Council register protest
  • 20 February 2017 : HS2 Information Event in Cedar Court & Crofton Alternative HS2 Exhibition: based on research by Crofton & Bramley residents Sir Kevin Barron writes to David Higgins querrying the claim on lower route impacts on M18 route 

  • 21 February 2017 : Normanton HS2 Information Event. Many letters arrive in Crofton homes for event move.
  • 3 March 2017: Yorkshire Against HS2/Wakefield Council HS2 Alternatives Conference - Wakefield Town Hall 9am-8pm

  • 9 March 2017 - finish deadline of Consultation - Property and Route Alignment
  • TBC 2017: Application for Judicial Review in High Court
  • 17 July 2017 : Grayling announces Route Confirmation in Parliament, HS2 advise to Govt released which reveals secret route and that route decision made on this route not consulted route as claimed in report and consultation.
  • 23 Aug 2017 : Presentation of Alternative plans to Northern Powerhouse Rail Summit in Leeds by HSUK, Joint HSUK/CAHS2 letter to Transport for the North
  • 7 Sep 2017 : Meeting with HS2 Limited in Batley cancelled by HS2 Ltd
  • 11 Sep 2017 HS2 Information Event not held in Crofton but in Wakefield
  • 12 Sep 2017 : Representatives of Crofton Against HS2 present Paul Maynard - Rail Minister with evidence of Unlawful HS2 Route decision in London meeting with Jon Trickett MP