HS2 Petitioning Background

The second reading of the HS2 Hybrid Bill was debated in parliament on 28 April 2014 and there was a 3-line party whip resulting in the reading being passed by a large majority .

The Independent Assessor’s report on the responses to the Environmental Statement did not in any way reflect the content of the very comprehensive responses made by organisations like LBH and therefore MP’s were not given the information you would think they would need before voting on something with such a significant environmental and economic impact.

As a result of the second reading, the principle of HS2 can no longer be challenged.

However all persons and organisations affected can submit petitions to request changes to mitigate against the effects. This petition procedure uses olde English language and procedures but the Association, LBH and many residents have submitted petitions. In Ickenham we decided as a community to submit petitions by street with supporting signatures; residents have volunteered to be street ‘champions’ to lead this process These petitions representing nearly 1,300 residents with petitions from the Association and local schools were handed to our MP Nick Hurd on May 16. All petitions are requesting that the tunnel should be extended from West Ruislip to beyond the Colne Valley.

The Association’s petition (pdf) 8 May 2014

The Parliamentary Select Committee visited the Colne Valley, Harefield, Ickenham and West Ruislip on January 15. This is part of the petitioning process and was done at the request of our local MP Nick Hurd. In Ickenham and West Ruislip they visited Brackenbury House, Breakspear Road South, The Greenway and West Ruislip Golf Club where they met groups of residents. The Chairman said the committee members were impressed with the numbers of people who turned out to meet them and appreciated how unhappy everybody was with the plans.

A group of residents visited the House of Commons on February 12 and Committee Room 5 where our petitions will be heard. The Clerk to the Committee and the Chairman of the Select Committee described how the process would work within the room and guidance on how to make our presentations more effective. The London Borough of Hillingdon will be prtresenting their petition June 15-17. We anticipate our petitions will be heard late June 2015; Harefield residents presented March 16-18 and March 23.