Introduction

In January, 2012 the Government announced its decision to proceed with High Speed 2 (HS2) linking London and Birmingham, later extending to Manchester, Leeds, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Great concern over the project continues to grow. The business case is seriously flawed and represents very poor value for money to the taxpayer. It will make a minimal contribution to the country’s carbon reduction target and the environmental impact will be devastating. Above all, the country cannot afford it. While we struggle with the worst recession in peace-time, HS2 will cost about £33 billion – a sum that is unlikely to fall.

An alliance of councils, collectively known as “51m”, has come together to challenge the evidence base about the HS2 project. They are known as “51m” because that represents how much HS2 will cost each and every Parliamentary Constituency…£51million.

Fifteen Councils launch legal challenge on the government

Councils opposing HS2 are today launched a judicial review of the Government’s decision to press ahead with the £33billion project at the beginning of April. The Minister for Transport announced her decision to go forward with the HS2 rail link on 10 January this year.

Martin Tett, Chairman of the ‘51m’ alliance of local councils challenging the scheme and Leader of Buckinghamshire County Council said: "We are doing this with great reluctance but feel that the Government has left us with no alternative. They effectively excluded over half those affected by the proposal from participating in the consultation and in practice ignored the views of over 50,000 people and businesses who did respond. Worse still it is clear that there is a much cheaper and more efficient alternative way to meet growth in demand. This would benefit far more towns and cities in the Midlands and north of England and avoid knocking down hundreds of houses outside Euston Station. We have clear legal advice that there is a substantial case to be made against the Government for the cavalier way they took this decision. “

“We have obviously thought long and hard about whether to launch a judicial review, or not. Legal proceedings are always expensive. But in this case we believe that it is in the public interest for Buckinghamshire County Council and councils within 51m to mount this challenge.  By working together we will share the costs and minimise the impact on individual council budgets.

“Virtually all objective analysts have condemned this project. The business case is fundamentally flawed and represents appallingly poor value for money to the hard pressed British taxpayer. It doesn't deliver the extra capacity where and when it is needed on the main commuter routes and it fails to help regenerate manufacturing industry in this country."

To view the timeline of the Judicial review process click here.

To view the timeline for the hybrid bill click here and to view the possible decison alternatives click here.

Challenging HS2

51m continues to challenge the case for HS2. It urges all residents, wherever they live, to let their MP know how they feel about HS2. Use our 'Write to your MP' link at the top of the page to find out who your MP is and how to contact them.

Transport Select Committee findings

The Transport Select Committee report into HS2, released on 8 November 2011.

To read the TSC's full report: www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/transport-committee/publications/

To read the overview chapter of 51m's submission to the Transport Select Committe click here.

The impact of HS2 compared to the 51m 'Optimised Alternative'

51m has produced two maps which compare the impact of HS2 to the 'Optimised Alternative'

Click here to see the supporting evidence

Click here to see map 1 - the impact of HS2

Click here to see map 2 - the impact of the 51m 'Optimised Alternative'

Blight and Compensation

Following the Secretary of State's announcement to proceed with H2S, guidance has been issued by The Department for Transport relating to Blight and Compensation. Click here to go to relevant section on the Department’s website to access the current information on these issues.

Forums

A number of community and planning forums have been established along the proposed route for HS2. 51m will provide information on these to keep residents informed. A Forums section has now been set out on this website - please see the Tab Bar towards the top of this page.

Cabinet Office - Major Projects Authority

The DfT admitted to the Public Accounts Committee in April that the Major Projects Authority's assessment of HS2 was that ' the successful delivery of the project is in doubt.'

Briefing Note - October, 2011

51m produced a briefing note on HS2 highlighting the key issues about the project. Please click here to read it.

Consultation

The Government's consultation closed on 29 July. 51m submitted a formal consultation response to the Department for Transport/HS2 Ltd.

To see the 51m response please click here hs2response 

To see the appendices which support the 51m response, click on the individual links below:

Appendix 1 - Optimised alternative to HS2
Appendix 2 - Review of the economic case
Appendix 3 - Review of the business case
Appendix 4 - HS2 route capacity and reliability
Appendix 5 - local and regional impacts
Appendix 6 - Carbon impacts
Appendix 7 - Freight capacity issues
Appendix 8 - Capacity and service benefits
Appendix 9 - Impacts on GWML
Appendix 10 - Disruption to existing services
Appendix 11 - Links to Heathrow
Appendix 12 - HS2 - HS1 connection
Appendix 13 - Assessment of sustainability
Appendix 14 - Government policy and HS2
Appendix 15 - Alternative transport priorities in the North
Appendix 16 - Lessons from other major transport projects
Appendix 17 - West Midlands - London review of alternatives
Appendix 18 - Acoustic review

Supplementary Submission

To see the responses submitted by the individual authorities which form 51m click on the name of the authority below:

Aylesbury Vale District Council
Buckinghamshire County Council
Chiltern District Council
Cherwell District Council
Lichfield District Council
London Borough of Hillingdon (part A)
London Borough of Hillingdon (part B)
North Warwickshire Borough Council
South Bucks District Council
South Northamptonshire Council
Stratford on Avon District Council
Warwickshire County Council
Warwick District Council
Wycombe District Council

Map

To view the map showing the route of HS2 please click here.