Local Member of Parliament Craig Tracey gave evidence and submitted a petition against High Speed Rail 2 alongside Parish Councils and Action Groups on Monday.
The North Warwickshire MP focused on a number residents’ concerns during his hearing in front of the HS2 Select Committee in Parliament. He stated:
‘I request that the Committee or HS2 Ltd clarifies the definition of the Kingsbury area being a special case due to the proposed railhead. Residents want to know what this definition means for them.
Mr Tracey continued:
‘I would like a guarantee on behalf of students and parents at Water Orton School that pupils will be in the proposed new premises before the building of the track starts due to the impact that will have on all those associated with the school.’
Craig Tracey also went on to reiterate the pleas of groups within his constituency, which included a lack of communication from HS2, a failure to liaise and consult residents properly and the impact of traffic and transport around Kingsbury, Water Orton and the smaller villages.
Craig, who was giving evidence to his first HS2 Select Committee since being elected, also offered to host the committee on a visit to the community to view to see for themselves local traffic issues in relation to traffic modelling projections that HS2 have estimated.
The Committee heard petitions from Water Orton HS2 Action Group and Parish Council, Kingsbury and District Action Group, Middleton HS2 Action Group, Lea Marston Parish Council and North Warwickshire Borough Council.
North Warwickshire Borough Council HS2 Spokesman Cllr David Reilly (Conservative) for Water Orton was heavily involved in a number of petitions that were submitted. He told the HS2 Select Committee:
‘We are concerned over the insufficient information regarding the proposed Railhead which will impact on Kingsbury and the surrounding villages. There has been no clear explanation or illustration of the infrastructure that is to be built or clarity of what work is to occur at the Railhead site.’
Cllr Reilly also expressed residents’ concerns that that smaller villages affected by the line, such as Marston, Lea Marston and Bodymoor Heath, are ineligible for compensation.