Aylesbury Conservative's Response to HS2

Along with all residents of Aylesbury Vale I was disappointed with the recent statement by the government that HS2 is to go ahead. However the fight against this proposal will continue and now moves into the next phase. I along with other members of Aylesbury conservatives will continue to fight these proposals. I believe that the amendments announced which affect Wendover, Stoke Mandeville and Aylesbury are due to the well reasoned and substantial representations to the public consultation made by various groups fighting HS2 as well as the campaigning from inside the government by MP David Lidington .

As Chairman of Aylesbury Conservatives I have and continue to work closely with other local chairman, David Lidington and key decision makers within government. I wrote to Justine Greening when she was appointed Transport Secretary pointing out the environmental impact and lack of any economic case for HS2. In her reply she states ‘ I look forward to engaging with you once I have announced my decision’ therefore I will be contacting her directly to request a meeting to discuss why I believe the enormous cost of this project can not be justified and to also push for further mitigation should the proposal proceed.

We have shown that with campaigning both inside the Government with our MP David Lidington and from the local action groups like ‘Wendover HS2’ and ‘The Wendover Society’ we have been able to secure changes to the route for the village of Wendover, which would have been severely impacted by the initial plans. I am committed to fighting HS2 every step of the way and we will support our local councils to persuade the Government to think again.

Cllr Steve Bowles

Aylesbury Constituency Conservative Association Chairman