HS2 Chief pressed to 'listen to Lowton' and drop depot plans

Last week I held face-to-face talks with the head of HS2 David Higgins and urged him to drop plans for a major depot to the north of Lowton and Golborne.

The Government's current proposals site what is a major industrial installation in an area of open countryside recognised for its scientific and environmental significance. When I consulted local residents on HS2 earlier this year, there was near-universal local opposition to the plan - even from supporters of HS2.

I asked David Higgins for a face-to-face meeting as I wanted to convey directly the strength of feeling of my constituents. I am grateful to him for giving me a hearing and listening to my concerns.

This is not about nimby-ism. Leigh and Lowton people are fair-minded and will always accept their share. But this is taking far too much from us. It will shatter our peace and destroy our precious green space.

Surely the preferred location for a facility of this kind should be a brownfield site, not an area designated by Wigan Council as its "Green Heart", bordering a Site of Special Scientific Interest and close to the historic Lightshaw Hall and Byrom Hall. It's hard to imagine a less appropriate site.

If it is ever built, this depot will be an industrial monstrosity looming large over Pennington Flash and the houses of nearby residents. Pennington Flash has become a significant visitor attraction and this would damage its appeal.

I have urged HS2 to listen to Lowton, go back to the drawing board and relocate this facility to a more appropriate site.

Go back to drawing board and re-connect Leigh to the rail network

I have formally responded to the HS2 Phase 2 Consultation, following a series of consultation meetings with residents in the Lowton and Golborne area.

The consultation is now closed and the Government is expected to announce how HS2 will proceed by the end of 2014.

My detailed submission covers the depot, the proposed Leigh Interchange and the nature of the proposed construction.

The Government's plans will deliver ‘maximum disruption and minimal benefit' to the Leigh area which has the poorest access to rail transport in the country. I also believe the plans as they stand fail to maximise the economic and transport benefits to North West taxpayers.

I have raised serious questions about the Government's decision to site the depot in the middle of the borough's 'Green Heart', as it breaches HS2's own states aim of avoiding sites of environmental and heritage importance. I have also called on the Government to investigate brownfield sites instead.

My response gives strong support to the proposal for a new Leigh Interchange, which has been championed by Transport for Leigh and Transport for Greater Manchester. I believe it provides the ‘best opportunity that the UK Government will ever have to correct the unfairness of its decision to rip out Leigh's rail network five decades ago'.

On the depot, the natural landscape of the Leigh and Wigan area is slowly recovering after centuries of coal mining and heavy industrialisation. What green areas we have are therefore precious to us and need to be respected.

In effect, Government is proposing to site a major industrial installation in an area of open countryside. This means that my constituency faces amongst the greatest level of disruption from HS2 of any in the country.
Locally, there is a strong feeling that a similar decision would not have been taken to site a depot in an area of environmental and heritage importance in the south of England.

The sheer scale of the depot facility, the disruption to residents, local road networks and the green fields it will destroy is not outweighed by the small number of jobs created. HS2 should go back to the drawing board.

The lack of rail transport has led to exponential growth in traffic volumes on the M6 and A580 in the five decades since our rail infrastructure was ripped out. The large numbers of commuters who now live in my constituency have no realistic choice other than to get in the car and join the morning queues. Looking to the rest of the 21st century, this is not sustainable in environmental, economic nor transport terms. It is not fair to Leigh constituents who pay for the rail network through their taxes but have limited access to it.

HS2 will succeed in building public support if, rather than cutting journey times between places that are already well-served, it opens up rail travel to more people than currently use the rail network on a regular basis. That means taking this opportunity to rethink rail travel and giving people more convenient ways to switch from car to train. The Leigh Interchange proposal will achieve that. It will also spread the economic and regeneration potential away from Manchester and towards communities along the Liverpool-Manchester corridor. With a connecting link to the Liverpool-Manchester railway line, it will give people in living Merseyside much easier access to HS2 and cut journey times from Merseyside to London.

On the proposed route, I conclude the nature of construction will blight properties not able to access the statutory compensation scheme. Alternatives including tunnelling should be considered to alleviate noise.

You can read my submission to the formal consultation here.

I will call on Government to include rail link for Leigh

Last week's public meeting at Lowton Social Club gave local residents the chance to air their views about the Government's proposals for HS2.

Around 200 people attended and participated in a Q&A with Lowton East Ward Councillors’ James Cowley (Lab), Pam Gilligan (Lab), James Grundy (Con) and myself. A number of specific points were raised about the Government's plans, including:

• Route through Lowton and potential closure of Slag Lane
• The size and likely operation of the Depot
• The social and economic benefits of HS2 to the community
• Limited access to HS2
• The potential opportunity that HS2 may provide impetus for a train station to connect Leigh with Manchester and Merseyside
• Compensation payments for those directly affected by the route
• Impact of route on the emerging Local Plan (Core Strategy)

I told the meeting that, If HS2 is to go ahead, I will work to get the best possible deal I can for Lowton, reflecting the concerns of local people. A whole series of crucial points were raised by residents which require a detailed response from the Government. I will be raising these with the Secretary of State on behalf of the Lowton community and, in particular, will be calling for a more generous compensation scheme than that currently on offer.

I believe that HS2 can be good for the Borough, but I don't want to see Lowton and Leigh get all the disruption and none of the benefits.

Cutting journey times to London will help the North. But, if this is the only tangible Government can claim, then it will be a huge missed opportunity. It is essential that, as part of this investment, the Government opens up rail travel to more people and re-connects communities like Leigh to the rail network.

A straw poll on the night showed clear opposition to the proposed route but the meeting was open to the proposal for a local train station. While many people oppose HS2, I was pleased to find considerable support for exploring the idea of an interchange station linking us to Manchester, Merseyside and HS2. I will now put this proposal directly to the Secretary of State."

I will be convening a further public meeting later this year to follow up on all the issues raised.

High Speed 2 Public Meeting

I have today announced a public meeting to be held on Wednesday, 20th February at Lowton Social Club (formerly Lowton Labour Club) on Newton Rd commencing at 7pm.

You can find out more about the Government's preferred route for HS2 through Lowton at the GOV.UK website.

All residents are welcome to attend the public meeting.

You can download the flyer for the public meeting here.