High Speed Rail proposals off-track

The Government’s proposed High Speed Rail route announced yesterday (Monday) will rip through ancient woodland and devastate sensitive wildlife areas.
Stephanie Hilborne OBE, Chief Executive of The Wildlife Trusts, said:

“Whilst some consideration may have been given to noise and visual impacts on those people who live along the proposed route, the Transport Secretary made no reference at all to the impact on the natural environment.

“The proposed route will destroy or irrevocably damage a large number of important sites, dissect the landscape and fragment isolated patches of habitat. In the context of the recent Making Space for Nature report, the very last thing we should be doing is damaging existing wildlife sites and creating new linear barriers to the movement of wildlife.”

Ahead of Monday’s announcement by the Rt Hon Philip Hammond, The Wildlife Trusts’ own analysis indicates it will impact directly on two Wildlife Trust nature reserves, four sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs), 10 ancient woodland sites and 53 Local Wildlife Sites or potential Local Wildlife Sites.


Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust is one of the seven Wildlife Trusts* affected by the High Speed Rail route between London and Birmingham. Philippa Lyons, Chief Executive of the Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust, said:

“The new route for HS2 will be devastating for wildlife especially protected species such as bats, nationally-rare butterflies, water voles and otters in our most sensitive habitats such as ancient woodland and meadows. The route announced yesterday will irreparably damage several important wildlife sites including Calvert Jubilee nature reserve in north Buckinghamshire and the Colne Valley Site of Special Scientific Interest in south Buckinghamshire.”
The seven Wildlife Trusts affected by the proposed High Speed Rail route announced are:

• London Wildlife Trust

• Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust

• Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust

• The Wildlife Trust for Beds, Cambs, Northants & Peterborough

• Warwickshire Wildlife Trust

• Birmingham & Black Country Wildlife Trust

• Staffordshire Wildlife Trust