HS2 set to Decimate Lostock Gralam and Lach Dennis

The Tories vanity project will tear up our countryside, and bring disruption, air pollution and congestion.

The latest route of Phase 2b of the £120bn (and rising) new HS2 line will scythe through the communities of Byley, Lach Dennis and Lostock Gralam.

Construction is due to start in 2025 - and will last eight years. Almost a decade of air pollution, additional noise and traffic congestion. HS2 will leave permanent adverse impacts on our communities and our environment. Furthermore, there are genuine concerns about the stability of the salt beds, but these have ignored.

One of the borrow pits is around 350m from my children's old primary school in Byley, and the council admit that this traffic will have an “impact on safety... of children.”

Incredulously, Cheshire West and Chester Council “supports” HS2. It will harm our health, lower house prices and disrupt our communities, but our council in Chester approves of this vanity project.

Experts now believe that HS2 will cost more than it delivers - with a return of 60p in the pound being quoted. Reports suggest the Government considered terminating the line in West London instead of Euston to save money.

Meanwhile, several newspaper articles detail ministers are planning to cut the number of trains from 18 to 10 each hour, and limiting the speed of the trains to around 200mph, instead of the promised 250mph.

Its business case is shot, and it will not deliver what it claimed. In 2013, the Tories sold HS2 as a rapid route with trains every few minutes to get from central Manchester to central London in under 70 minutes at a cost of £50bn. None of those promises are being kept.

There is also a major opportunity cost for the entire region. The council acknowledge the rail services from Lostock Gralam “are slow in comparison to private car journey times and the quality of rolling stock is poor.”

Northwich station building collapsed in 2021, and there is no money to add disabled provision to the station when they rebuild it. There is no funding for reopening the Crewe-Middlewich-Gabrook- Northwich rail link. While the Government hands HS2 a blank cheque, our stations and infrastructure suffer from a lack of funding and investment.

With Labour-run CWaC approving of the Tories nonsense, it’s time to send them both some feedback in May, and maybe they
might listen! HS2 Ltd are running a

webinar on March 16th at 18:00 to discuss the impact to the communities in Shakerley (MA02). The tickets are available from Eventbrite, or scan the QR code.