Government decision to back Chilterns route for London-Birmingham railway angers residents
The government is braced for a backlash in the Conservative heartlands as it prepares to unveil a �17bn high-speed railway that will route 250mph trains through prime countryside.
The transport secretary, Philip Hammond, will announce tomorrow that the preferred London-to-Birmingham route outlined by the Labour government, which goes through Tory constituencies in Buckinghamshire, Warwickshire and Northamptonshire remains the best option.
Hammond said today that the route has been altered to mitigate its impact on the local communities and sensitive areas, and said that opponents of the project had been the victims of "misinformation".
"When people understand precisely what is being proposed, I think many of them will realise that the impact will be far less than they have been led to believe," he told the BBC.
But the announcement confirming the route will come to the consternation of residents in the Chiltern Hills who are attempting to keep the High Speed Two project out of an area of outstanding natural beauty.
The HS2 Action Alliance has warned of political consequences for the Conservative party whose MPs along the route including the Welsh secretary, Cheryl Gillan, who was re-elected as MP for Chesham and Amersham this year with her highest share of the vote since 1992.
"People are so angry about this. I have heard many people say they would vote Labour if Labour came out against it," said Julian Smyth-Osbourne, a spokesman for the alliance. Last week, Labour raised doubts over its initial backing for the link, saying that it was no longer "untouchable" due to spending cuts.
Peter Bunce, 53, a farmer near Great Missenden in Gillan's constituency, whose land will be bisected by a railway viaduct, said: "Most farmers here are Conservative but there is resentment about this. All farmers are against it and I have not heard of anyone round here who is for it. If you want to use the line from here you have to go all the way to London to catch a train to Birmingham."
Bridget Crick, 52, whose house in the village of South Heath will back on to the line 140 metres away, said: "This is the most beautiful place on earth. It is sacrilege." Crick, a Conservative voter, said her family was disillusioned after Hammond announced a study of the route following his appointment but appeared not to have listened to local concerns. "They have made a lot of promises and I feel very disappointed because, regardless of what party is in power, I just don't think they have been up front with people," she said.
Gillan has raised concerns about the route while other Tory MPs on the route, including Steve Baker in Wycombe and David Lidington in Aylesbury, have also voiced doubts. John Bercow, the Conservative MP for Buckingham and the Commons speaker, has said the line has no "single identifiable benefit".
Announcement of the route will bring better news for Conservative MPs in Warwickshire, Staffordshire and Northamptonshire, including Jeremy Wright in Kenilworth and Southam, Andrea Leadsom in south Northamptonshire and Chris Pincher in Tamworth. Hammond is expected to endorse changes recommended by High Speed Two, the government-backed company that designed the route, that would take the line further away from the Northamptonshire town of Brackley and several villages on a stretch between Buckingham and Coventry, while the line will be sunk lower when it passes by the village of Hints near Tamworth.
A common complaint along the route dwells on the government's ability to steer a railway line through an area of outstanding natural beauty, protected by law, while residents struggle to get a house extension. "The country cannot afford it and it is going through an area of outstanding natural beauty. If you want to extend your house you can't because it is an area of outstanding natural beauty but if it's a railway line that's different," said Elizabeth James, another South Heath resident.
Aine Hennessy, 19, who lives near The Lee, a village used as a location in the Midsomer Murders television series, said she would prefer to see the �17bn cost, including a �750m investment in this parliament, diverted to university education. "That would be a better use of the money. It is not very fair what they are doing to the students at the moment," said Hennessy, who is about to study nursing at Bucks New University.
Hammond has pledged to set up a multimillion pound compensation scheme for homes affected by the project, but is adamant that it will go ahead. "High speed rail is in the national interest and will create huge economic benefits for our great cities in the Midlands and the north. It will bring Britain closer together and help secure our prosperity in the twenty first century," he said.
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