Council Leader demands that Buckinghamshire must gain from HS2 cancellation

Buckinghamshire Council Leader, Martin Tett, reacted to Wednesday’s announcement of the cancellation of the Birmingham to Manchester section of HS2, by saying that, having ‘suffered all of the pain without any gain’ from Phase 1 of the project, Bucks should now receive significant compensatory investment.

“I was absolutely delighted with the decision. It is undoubtedly right that this ill-conceived and vastly expensive scheme is finally cancelled. My regret is that it is thirteen years too late. Here in Buckinghamshire, we have suffered the devastation of our beautiful county and environment. People’s lives have been destroyed, businesses closed, and our fabulous countryside and ancient woodlands torn up. I dread to think how much hard-pressed tax-payers’ money has already been wasted.”

“Sadly, I fear that it is too late to cancel the HS2 line through Buckinghamshire. The damage is already done. What I am demanding is that the Government commits a fraction of the £36bn saved from both de-scoping Euston and cancelling north of Birmingham to help repair the damage already done in Buckinghamshire. I am writing today to Mark Harper, the Secretary of State for Transport putting the case that Buckinghamshire deserves to share significantly in the national benefits of cancellation. We have an environment that needs restoration and key transport schemes that need funding. These should be priorities for the Government now that it has finally seen sense.”