MP NICK Hurd says he is focused on getting the best deal for Ickenham should HS2 get built, as calls come for him to nail his colours to the mast.
Ickenham Residents’ Association, which has been spurred on by the confirmation in HS2 Ltd’s recently published draft environmental impact statement that theirs will be the hardest hit community in the borough, has called on the Tory Ruislip-Northwood MP to formally oppose the project.
Association chairman, Humphrey Tizard, told the Gazette last week: “We have certainly asked him on a number of occasions to take a view.
“We think he should be opposing HS2.”
Mr Hurd said he continues to keep pressure on the government and HS2 Ltd, to mitigate the worst effects of the line as it passes through his constituency.
The £16.3bn London-Birmingham section of the high speed line is planned for a route running through Ruislip and Harefield, with construction scheduled to start in 2017.
In a statement, Mr Hurd said: “The current HS2 plan may or may not be in the national interest, but it will clearly be very bad for Ickenham and Harefield.
“The draft environmental impact statement (EIS) is a horrific read and raises lots of questions. So I quite understand the depth of local anger and frustration.
“This is going to be a long haul. The external campaign against HS2 will continue, but as things stand we must recognise that the project has overwhelming political support.
“So my priority is to continue working inside government to make sure that the decision makers at the top of the government and HS2 understand the concerns of my constituents.
“The next step is a meeting with the chief executive of HS2 (Alison Munro) where I will raise all the issues around noise, disruption, traffic and the potential loss of valued local assets such as HOAC (Hillingdon Outdoor Activity Centre, off Harvil Road, Harefield).
“In particular, I will continue to press the case for extending the tunnel so that Ickenham residents are spared the worst effects of the line – if it happens.”
Those worst effects are made clear in the draft EIS, which HS2 Ltd says is a worst case scenario but which has caused anger and incredulity that has increased in the days since the statement was released, as the implications – particularly in the case of lorry movements through the Ickenham area – became clear.
“The draft environmental statement covering South Ruislip to Ickenham is based on the assumption that all excavated material will be moved by road and people should respond to the consultation on this basis,” said HS2 in a statement to the Gazette.
“However, it is our aim to be able to remove materials by rail where practicable, which would reduce lorry movements.”
The worst affected stretch of road would be the short, narrow length between the Swakeleys Roundabout and Harvil Road, which could be hit with 3,200 lorry movements per day.
Half of those could then head into the heart of the village en route to the West Ruislip tunnel portal.
Mr Hurd said: “The whole report is a horrific story of despoilation, and I am clear that HS2 is bad news for Ickenham.
“The priority is to try to get the tunnel extended to reduce the impact on Ickenham, and (Uxbridge and South Ruislip Conservative MP) John Randall and I are working together on that and it has not been ruled out: it is tied up with the decision on the Heathrow Spur.
“We continue to press.”
