Urgent question as Buckinghamshire councils call for HS2 halt
29 April 2019 (updated on 29 April 2019)
Dame Cheryl Gillan, MP for Chesham and Amersham, asked an urgent question on the HS2 route in Buckinghamshire.
High Speed 2 (or HS2) is a high speed rail link between London, Birmingham and a number of cities in the north of England. Multiple councils in Buckinghamshire - which HS2 crosses - have called for the Government to halt all current site work.
Asking her urgent question, Dame Cheryl criticised the handling of the project and the impact it is having on the county. She told the House, "this error-ridden project is costing our local authorities more and more". She called on the Government to agree to Buckinghamshire County Council's "perfectly reasonable request […] to have a six-month pause to do a total re-evaluation of this project, which has already blown its timetable and its budget before it even has the go-ahead".
Transport Minister Nusrat Ghani responded to the question, telling the House:
"Completing HS2 is government policy and is crucial to unlocking economic growth and improve productivity in the Midlands and the North. It is supported by both sides of this House and I therefore have no intention of halting work on HS2 in Buckinghamshire or elsewhere."
- Watch Parliament TV: urgent question on HS2 in Buckinghamshire
- Read Commons Hansard: urgent question on HS2 in Buckinghamshire
Image: HS2 Ltd.
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