ROAD closures during the construction of HS2 could cause ‘horrendous traffic’ and slowdown ambulances getting to Harefield Hospital, villagers have told the Gazette, after attending an information event last week.
People turned up at Park Lane Village Centre, Harefield, on Thursday last week, for a drop-in meeting organised by the campaign group Hillingdon Against HS2, to view maps showing the proposed route.
Pauline Crawley, of Sanctuary Close, said one of her fears was that an increase in traffic will slow down ambulances taking heart attack victims to Harefield Hospital.
Mrs Crawley had attended a meeting organised by HS2 Ltd in Denham last month, and said she asked its executives how provisions were to be made for ambulances heading to the hospital in Hill End Road. She said: “I told an HS2 executive that the hospital takes in local heart attack victims and he just said: ‘Oh’, as though he didn’t realise.”
Rosemary Bulley, who lives in Morse Close, said: “There’s a school and hospital along there and there’ll be these great big juggernauts going through which will be dangerous for the hospital and children.”
Neighbour Rosa Edwards, said: “To build this when the county is on its knees is madness.”
The pair have written to the MP for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner, Nick Hurd and others at the meeting were encouraged to do the same.
Dave Furnell, who lives in The Furrows, said “People in the north of the village say they feel sorry for us down in South Harefield, but everyone in Harefield is going to be affected – not just us.”
Doreen McIntyre, chairman of Harefield Against HS2, said: “Harefield residents are feeling overwhelmed by the scale of the local impact of HS2.
“Every page of the consultation documents seems to hold a new horror for the village – we have clearly been written off, to become one giant construction base.
“People are starting to suffer real stress and depression, and for what? Years of local misery will be rewarded with a hideous, noisy concrete viaduct as a permanent reminder of what we have all lost.
“Nick Hurd really does have to join the brave set of MPs who are saying enough now – this project is disastrous on every level and has to be stopped.”
This latest ‘design refinement consultation period’ closes tomorrow (Thursday). To get your views in, email HS2DesignRefinement@ipsos.com.
