Borough councillors will be meeting the technical director of HS2 Limited and setting up community meetings over the proposed route of the high-speed rail line, which looks likely to seriously affect Yarlet, Swynnerton and Walton Heath.
Speaking at the Full Council on Tuesday 29th January, leader Cllr Mike Heenan said councillors with wards affected by the proposed route would be able to ‘question and get advice’ from the technical director of HS2 Limited, Andrew McNaughton, at a meeting on 12th February. He added that they would be arranging meetings throughout the various areas of the borough to get feedback from local people affected by the proposed line.
This comes after Stone MP Bill Cash called a public meeting that will be held at Swynnerton Park Cricket Club at 1pm on Saturday 2nd February.
Speaking at the Full Council meeting, Councillor Heenan said he had been liaising with Mike Maryon, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport at Staffordshire County Council.
He said: “We have agreed to work jointly with the communities which are affected to ensure HS2 Limited understand the impact the proposed route will have within our borough. The route proposed through Stafford Borough will seriously affect a number of our rural communities, as well as many farms and rural businesses.
“I know the announcement will be a devastating blow to many individuals and businesses and I see it as a responsibility of this Council to assist our local communities in making representations to HS2 Limited and Government on the proposals and to mitigate their impact on local communities.”
Click HERE to see the proposed route of HS2 through the borough. Get in touch if your home or business are likely to be affected. Email news@alittlebitofstone.com
1 comment
Greenwelly
I am a supporter of the concept of a
new rail network. Whether I fully support the extra cost of a High
Speed project I am not sure but I do believe that the only way to
prepare for the future well-being of my grandchildren is to invest
now in a new line. As this will bring almost as much disruption and
upset to those affected, as this proposal, it is a matter for another
debate in which the trivial arguments about cutting the journey time
would have their proper place.
I believe we must increase rail
capacity to meet the needs of the next generation. These are small
islands with a large population predicted to increase by 10million
over the next few decades. We cannot possibly provide our food
locally and rely on a sophisticated and very efficient road transport
system to deliver food all around the country. It has been calculated
that, in the event of a fuel crisis or nationwide driver’s strike,
that we are 9 meals away from food shortages and riots!
I have often said, at discussions on
the subject of sustainability, that diesel oil is the life blood of
the world. All modern farming depends massively on cheap diesel
supplies for production and distribution. Do any of us believe that
there is a magic process that will provide an alternative supply?
Can agriculture possibly provide enough food and diesel to
supply a world population of 10 billion by the end of the century?
No one yet has managed to show how
diesel can be produced in sufficient quantities to maintain a
developing world but we do know how to produce electricity by wind
turbine, photo voltaic and tidal systems without adding carbon
dioxide to the air. We must move now to the far more efficient use of
electricity to power our transport system.
The government proposes a new line that
will increase capacity to meet the needs of the next generation. It
is understandable that many people whose homes and businesses are
affected will be very upset but I appeal to them to consider the
future of our children.