01.03.13
Manchester homeowners warned about HS2 tunnel
1,800 homes between Birmingham and Manchester have received written warning that the second phase of HS2 will run underneath their homes.
A further 122 people on the overground section have been warned that their homes are at risk of being knocked down, according to the Manchester Evening News.
The DfT has sent letters to residents warning of underground digging or that their homes may be subject to compulsory purchase orders.
The second phase includes a 7.5 mile tunnel under Manchester, running from Ardwick to the airport, through Longsight, Rusholme, Fallowfield, Withington, Didsbury, Northenden and Wythenshawe. The Manchester terminus will be a rebuilt Piccadilly station.
Construction is due to start around 2016, with services expected to be running by 2032.
Mike Blackburn, chairman of the Greater Manchester Local Enterprise Partnership, said plans to speed up the delivery of HS2 were “excellent news” and a “real sign of the Government’s commitment”. There is a wide coalition backing HS2 in the city, including the council, business, transport groups and MPs from different parties.
Alison Munro, chief executive of HS2 Ltd, said: “HS2 will transform the UK through bringing our major cities closer together, helping to promote economic growth, driving regional regeneration, creating thousands of jobs and providing a long-term solution to the capacity crunch facing our existing rail network.”
But rail commentator Christian Wolmar, who opposes HS2, said: “Having central stations result in enormous extra cost, as the Victorians found out which explains why they built so many stations on the outskirts.
“I cannot believe, for example, that the price of a 7.5 mile tunnel under Manchester, which is now needed, does not increase the proposed cost by more than the £400m which has been added since the initial costings of the second section of HS2. Moreover, as the report says, there will be further costs when mitigating measures are taken to avoid environmental damage.”
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