Wendover Parish Council HS2 Update

As you will see in other pages on HS2, work is now continuing apace. The design and Schedule 17(3) application is in for Stoke Mandeville but contains no reference to any water diverted from the Wendover/Coombe Hill aquifer so wellies and boats may be needed downstream. There is a proposal to have a “microbore” tunnel beside the HS2 line to carry the water – 2.4m wide and 1.6km long! Not so micro! Could almost put a train down it……!

The Planning applications for Wendover Small Dean Viaduct, Green Tunnel etc (Packages 3&4) have been delayed again, now due in March 2022. Could this be because of the technical difficulty of the current scheme?

Whilst a mined tunnel would solve the majority of our issues with noise and water, HS2 Ltd and the Government are firmly against the idea. Our last hope for this is likely to be the Environment Agency. As a result, at the December Parish Council meeting, it was resolved to continue with our lobbyist, Murray Stewart, but to change the focus towards exploring other mitigation options to improve the outcomes of the HS2 scheme, for residents of Wendover.

The demolition of a small bridge and sheet piling works next to the railway, have been rescheduled for 24-29 December with a further weekend closure of the Chiltern Rail in January to finish off. The demolition of Ellesborough Rd cottages has been rescheduled as there arepotential bat roosts in the roof spaces, so is likely in the Spring.

Here’s looking forward to another “exciting” New Year with HS2!

Sheila Bulpett Chair, WPC HS2 Working Group

Cottages on Ellesborough Road awaiting demolition