Amersham Newsletter - 30-Sep-2013

Campaign News

As you will have seen, HS2 has been very much in the news. The KPMG report, designed to spearhead the government “fight back”, was largely greeted with derision by commentators in the national media. The Labour Party Conference has subsequently raised further speculation as to the party’s commitment to HS2.

Action Groups are keeping up the pressure at the party conferences. The HS2 Action Alliance (HS2AA) has a presence at the Tory Conference and Stop HS2 had a presence at the Labour Party conference. Deanne DuKhan, Director of Action Groups Against HS2 (AGAHST) has attended the Labour and Conservative Party Conferences. The HS2 Amersham Action Group has contributed towards expenses incurred in attending the conferences.

Members of the HS2 Amersham AG committee have been busy closer to home. The Action Group provided a response to the Draft Environmental Statement – a complex and time-consuming exercise. Members have also represented our local interests at the long series of community forums which have provided the ongoing ‘dialogue’ with HS2 Ltd. The last of our local forums took place earlier this week. During September, the group has also funded and erected high-profile campaign boards on the A413 and at Quainton. Committee members help to co-ordinate AGAHST meetings on a regular basis and they are now working with newly-formed Action Groups north of Birmingham to extend the campaign. Plans are in place for a group presence at the forthcoming Lib Dem regional conference in High Wycombe – and you may also have seen the campaign stalls at Old Amersham Heritage Day and Amersham Town Show. More of that below.

Now there is more for us all to do.

Two Major Consultations Require Your Response

Two major consultations on HS2 are currently underway: the HS2 Phase 2 Route Consultation and the Property Compensation Consultation. It is vital that as many of us as possible respond to both.

HS2 Phase 2 Route Consultation: this response will only take a moment of your time. Under the Phase 1 consultation, 90% of people who responded were opposed to HS2 in principle. The government is depending on this Phase 2 Route Consultation (north from Birmingham) to provide justification for HS2. It is therefore vital that all of us who wish to stop HS2 use the occasion to state our opposition clearly. Questions in this consultation deal exclusively with the route. Despite this, you are urged to provide a response to Question 1, on these lines: “I am totally opposed to HS2. My opposition is based on the excessive, uncontrollable cost; the environmental damage; unsubstantiated capacity statements and unclear benefits to the north south divide issue.” The rest of the questionnaire can be left blank. Every member of the family is allowed to respond once. The closing date for the consultation is 31st January 2014. You’ll find the online questionnaire at http://www.hs2.org.uk/route-consultation. Please take a moment to send your reply.

Property Compensation Consultation: a response is also vital here. As we know, properties, businesses, lives and whole communities for miles around are already feeling or dreading the impact of HS2 proposals. For many people, compensation is of huge concern. The government is now seeking our views on the property compensation schemes proposed for the HS2 Phase One route, as announced on 12th September 2013. The proposals have already been met with anger and dismay. In the words of the HS2AA “the government intend to do virtually nothing for the vast majority of people suffering substantial loss as a result of HS2”. HS2 Ltd is staging a series of road show Information Events to ‘consult’ on these proposals. Those closest to us take place as follows:

Missenden Abbey Conference Centre, Tuesday 15th October, 12 noon – 8pm;
Chalfont St Giles Memorial Hall, Tuesday 29th October, 12 noon – 8pm and
Wendover Memorial Hall, Saturday 2nd November, 10 – 5pm.

There are also road shows at Denham, Stoke Mandeville and Waddesdon. The government website https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/hs2-property-compensation-consultation-2013 carries a link to a 13 page Consultation Summary Document that sets out the complex proposals. It also links to a much briefer Consultation Leaflet and the full Events Schedule for the road shows. To clarify some of the issues, we will be in touch again before the Information Event at Great Missenden on 15th October.

Funding the Campaign

As ever, the need for raising funds continues. Further to the first hearing which took place in 2012, the Legal Challenge brought by HS2AA progresses to the Supreme Court (the highest in the land) on 16th October. HS2 Amersham Action Group has pledged £10,000 towards the costs of this appeal. We are just over half way there and working hard to meet the rest of the commitment. We are most grateful to those who responded generously to the last appeal. Now we are calling on supporters, once again, to make a donation – great or small – if you possibly can. Cheques, payable to HS2 Amersham Action Group, should be sent to The Treasurer, HS2 Amersham Action Group, 33 Whielden Street, Amersham HP7 0HU, together with your contact details. Standing orders, or electronic transfers, should be directed to HS2 Amersham Action Group, Sort Code 30 - 90 – 18, Account no. 15937068. For these payments, it would be helpful if you would email the details to dicaudery@yahoo.co.uk to enable our treasurer to respond. If you would like to Gift Aid you donation, cheques should be made payable to The Chesham Society – but still sent to the same Whielden Street address. You will need to complete and enclose the Gift Aid form found on our website: http://www.hs2amersham.org.uk/Resources/Chesham%20Soc.pdf