Committee announces start date and approach to petitioner programming
7 March 2018
The High Speed Rail (West Midlands – Crewe) Bill Select Committee will begin its public sessions on Monday 19 March at 3.00 pm, and has agreed the overall approach it plans to take on the programming of petitioners.
The Committee's hearings will begin with the Promoter's opening statement setting out the case for the scheme. This will be followed by route familiarisation, and then a series of teach-in sessions on the control of environmental impacts, ecology, tunnels, traffic, compensation and noise. Copies of the presentations will be published online in advance.
The Committee will then programme petitioners according to the following overarching order:
- Right to appear challenges (the Promoter is expected to contact those petitioners it intends to challenge shortly)
- Major in-principle cases:
1. Whitmore Heath-Madeley tunnel proposal
2. The proposed Aldersey's Rough alternative to the Stone Infrastructure Maintenance Base-Railhead
3. King's Bromley viaduct lowering - Route-wide agricultural and rural issues
- Main petition hearings (running south to north)
- Compulsory acquisition cases
- Others (including multi-site organisations and utilities)
Hearings with petitioners are expected to run from when the House returns after Easter (week commencing 16 April) and are expected to finish by 20 July. The Committee will make regular announcements on the week-by-week programme of petitioners as they are scheduled.
All meetings will take place in Committee Room 5 in the Palace of Westminster. The hearings will be open to the public, and will also be viewable on Parliament TV.
Contact the programme manager
The Committee has appointed David Walker to act as petitioner programme manager on its behalf. He will contact petitioners in due course to schedule their hearing. He is available on dwalker@wslaw.co.uk and 020 7593 5013.
If you have any other queries, please feel free to contact the House of Commons Private Bill Office on prbohoc@parliament.uk or 020 7219 3250.
Further information
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