Harefield HS2 protest: Transport secretary wins injunction against 'unlawful' demonstrators at construction site

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has won a High Court action to "restrain unlawful protest activities" in and around the HS2 construction site near Harvil Road in Harefield .

Lawyers representing Mr Grayling and HS2 bosses asked a judge on Monday (February 19) to impose to impose an injunction to stop "unlawful protest" by demonstrators who are opposed to the high-speed rail line running through the Hillingdon woodland area.

Mr Justice Barling agreed to the injunction banning "unlawful protest activities" in and around the construction site, where anti-HS2 campaigners have previously chained themselves to trees.

More than a dozen protesters were at the High Court hearing in London.

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One protest leader said it was the first time ministers had taken such legal action in a bid to stop an HS2 protest.

Mark Keir, co-ordinator of the Hillingdon Green Party , said around 50 people were trying to protect wildlife in an area of around 300 acres.

Protesters hold a banner outside the Rolls Building, London, as Transport Secretary Chris Grayling launches High Court action to stop 'unlawful' HS2 protests (Image: PA)

"There are about 2,400 species there," said Mr Keir outside court before the hearing began.

"We are protecting trees and fauna and flora. We are protecting a local amenity. It is an area of about 300 acres.

"The protest started in October. There are probably 50 people involved."

He added: "This is the first time the government has done this in an attempt to stop an HS2 protest. We will fight this."

Stop HS2 protester tries to block digger knocking down trees in Harvil Road (Image: Sally Cakebread Denham Against HS2)

Barrister Tom Roscoe, who represented Mr Grayling and HS2 bosses, told the judge that work at the site had been authorised by the provisions of the 2017 High Speed Rail (London - West Midlands) Act.

"The claimants recognise that HS2 is a controversial project," he said.

"They also recognise the defendants' concerns are deeply and genuinely held.

"Their concerns, however, do not justify them taking matters into their own hands or seeking to police matters which are properly the subject of regulation."

Mr Roscoe said the aim of the injunction was to prevent trespassers disrupting work at the site and to to stop vehicles being obstructed.

Sarah Green, one of the named defendants in the hearing, said the judge's remarks did not mean protesting had to stop and had actually left her "encouraged".

"The injunction stops anyone from trespassing on the land and they have created zones outside their works entrances where activities can't take place," she said.

"But we are not going to stop protesting. There are people there on Harvil Road every day and I am just heading there later myself."

'We have a duty to deliver HS2 on time'

A spokesperson for HS2 said: "The injunction will help us keep our work sites safe. We have a duty to deliver HS2 on time and on budget, and an injunction will help us avoid delays and additional costs to the UK taxpayer.

"Alongside the economic benefits, HS2 will deliver a new ‘green corridor’ made up of woodland, wildlife habitats and amenity facilities, designed to blend the line into the landscape and leave a lasting legacy of high quality green spaces all along the route.

"We understand that people feel strongly about the impact the project will have on their community, and that they want us to hear their views.

"That is why we offer numerous channels through which they can make their feelings understood."

Time Line

The timeline of HS2 protest history

October 2017

Green Party campaigners chained themselves to trees for more than a week after hundreds of trees were felled in Harvil Road, Harefield.

The direct action began with Sarah Green, of Hillingdon Green Party sitting under a digger in defiance of the work for hours on end.
March 2016

Stop HS2 campaigners went 'head to head' with HS2 Ltd at an information day in Ickenham.

Lottie Jones, of Hillingdon Against HS2 said the Stop HS2 campaigners would be out in force to stop staff from the high speed rail link “spinning a yarn”.
March 2016

The principal of Hillingdon Outdoor Activity Centre said he is fighting "tooth and nail" to keep the centre going after being given a closure date.
February 2016

Campaigners shared their outrage after the cost of constructing the high speed rail project jumped by 39%.
October 2015

Stop HS2 campaigners, Hillingdon Council and petitioners who had spent months making a case for mitigation across the borough hit out at HS2 Ltd’s response to the Select Committee.
June 2015

Two Hillingdon MPs tackled air pollution at a Westminster Hall debate.

Nick Hurd, Conservative MP for Ruislip, Northwood & Pinner, and John McDonnell, Labour MP for Hayes & Harlington, took part to discuss the impact HS2 and a third runway at Heathrow would have on the borough.

And campaigners hit out that HS2 works would blight Ruislip schools and roads for six months.
March 2015

Campaigners were upbeat after the HS2 link to Heathrow was ruled out.
January 2015

Harefield residents gear uo for the arrival of a cross-party select committee of MPs who will look at the areas most affected in the village when work begins on the first phase of building the line.
September 2014

Hillingdon Council criticised the size of the sum being offered by the Government to qualifying owner-occupiers under two proposed schemes - the alternative cash offer and the homeowner payment.