16.01.14
HS2 environmental consultation extended
The first Commons debate on legislation for HS2 will be postponed as the consultation on environmental impacts of the project is extended.
The consultation was due to end on January 24, but will now remain open until February 10.
The Commons Standing Orders Committee made the recommendation to take account of 877 missing pages from the submitted evidence. Campaigners labelled the omission “gross incompetence”.
A HS2 Ltd spokesperson said: “The Standing Order Committee has ruled in favour of the hybrid bill’s progression and confirmed that it can proceed as planned.
“We are happy to comply with the Committee’s instruction to extend the Environmental Statement consultation period for a couple of weeks, to allow for full and proper consultation on some pages that were missing from the original material.
“HS2 is the most significant infrastructure project the UK has seen in modern times and a project the country cannot do without.”
Stop HS2 spokesman Joe Rukin said: “A few typos would be excusable, but missing hundreds of pages is gross incompetence.”
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