23.04.18
Grayling approves HS2 sidings proposals
Chris Grayling has approved proposals to contract new railway sidings for HS2.
New sidings are thought to be needed to replace those displaced by the HS2 Phase One rail lines.
Under the Transport and Works 1992 Act, an application was made to construct railway sidings and associated works adjacent to the Aylesbury Link railway for the transfer of waste and spoil material to the Calvert landfill, as well as Greatmoor energy from the waste facility in Aylesbury Valley.
The proposed sidings would aim to replicate the capacity of the existing ones, which currently accept four trains per day, with capacity for up to eight.
Several alternative layouts had been suggested, but it was felt that the proposed scheme would have the least effect on the surrounding area, use less agricultural land and have fewer landscape and visual effects.
The application was made in 2016 and last year there was a period of public inquiry.
Grayling has said that there is a “compelling case in the public interest” for the order, and that he is satisfied that the “substantial benefit” of the scheme outweighs any residual adverse impacts.
Funding for the scheme will be met from the funding for the HS2 Phase One project.
Top image: Dominic Lipinski, PA Wire
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