Design changes to the proposed HS2 line due to go through the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership area have gone out to public consultation.
HS2 Phase One, connecting London to the West Midlands, is under construction. A second line, HS2 Phase 2 (split into sections 2a and 2b) is proposed; with the HS2 Phase 2b section, or ‘eastern leg’, planned to run through the D2N2 LEP area, and include an East Midlands Hub at Toton and an HS2 maintenance depot at Staveley, north Derbyshire.
D2N2 – as the private sector-led Partnership promoting economic growth across Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire – supports the HS2 Phase 2b line plan, due to the increased connectivity and associated economic benefits it is set to bring to the area.
Following public input, HS2 Ltd has announced design changes to parts of the planned HS2 Phase 2b line (currently set to open in 2033) and launched a further public consultation on those changes. A report on these changes can be read online at www.gov.uk/government/consultations/hs2-phase-2b-design-refinement-consultation (and a route map is pictured above).
Most relevant to the D2N2 LEP area is the report’s suggestions for realigning the line’s route through Trowell.
The current route plan would see the HS2 Phase 2b line travel north from the East Midlands Hub station, Toton, on a 2.6kilometre long viaduct; passing over the River Erewash, Erewash Canal, Stanton Gate, A6007 Stapleford Road, the Erewash Valley railway line, and the Radford and Trowell railway line.
The report states this would require permanent realignment of a 2.1km length of the M1, between the River Erewash and Stapleford Road, moving the motorway up to 90metres west of its current location. It’s anticipated this major work, to include building new bridges, would take approximately three and a half years and significantly affect M1 traffic and surrounding roads. In addition, the report notes the local concerns over the current proposals for a 60 foot high viaduct, to carry HS2 Phase 2b through Trowell and surroundings.
The suggested design realignment has no major Trowell viaduct, with only some much smaller track rises around the area, and no significant movement of the M1 motorway section (though the new plans require around 20 more houses in Trowell to be compulsorilyy purchased and demolished).
A public consultation event on the HS2 Phase 2b route redesigns will be held on Friday June 21, from 2pm to 8pm, at Trowell Parish Hall in Trowell, Nottinghamshire (NG9 3QA). Responses to the consultation can also be given online, via the web link above. The consultation will end on Friday September 6 (2019), after which public views will be taken into consideration before a final route alignment is decided upon.
For further information on the HS2 Phase 2b route and its suggested redesigns (including route maps ) see HS2 Ltd website www.gov.uk/transport/hs2
For more on the East Midlands HS2 Strategic Board‘s response to the economic opportunities presented by the high speed network see its report East Midlands HS2 Growth Strategy: World Class-Locally Driven, published September 2017.
Media wanting more information about the D2N2 LEP can contact Sean Kirby, D2N2 Communications Manager, on 0115 9578749 or email: sean.kirby@d2n2lep.org
