Campaign for Better transport warns Government over high speed rail

Row over funding to fight HS2 plan

Coventry Telegraph 15 September 2011

A ROW has developed over thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money pledged to fight the HS2 train line set to cut through Warwickshire.

Councils have ploughed money into a £1,175,000 fighting fund as an alliance of local authorities along the route seek to challenge the government’s case for the 250mph London-to-Birmingham line.

Tory MP Graham Evans has complained to the Audit Commission after Warwick District Council put forward £100,000 – despite making £300,000 of cuts this year.

The fighting fund is run by 51m; an alliance of eighteen local authorities fighting the £34 billion plan, and was joined by Coventry City Council last week.

Warwickshire County Council is known to have pledged £50,000, with consultants fees and legal advice already swallowing up £40,000 of that in their fight against HS2.

North Warwickshire Borough Council and Stratford District Council are also part of the 51m group but have not pledged money.

MP Graham Evans says the pledge of money by the two councils is illegal as it breaks rules which ban the running of campaigns using taxpayers’ money to influence the view of the public on a matter of policy.

But campaigners and councillors have hit back. Councillor Michael Doody, leader of Warwick District Council, said: “The HS2 funding was met from the council’s reserves and contingency budget.

“The HS2 funding is a one-off cost which the council was able to contain within the specific funding, whilst the savings required to be found are recurring.

Summary

• not to neglect rest of rail network in favour of hs2
• risks becoming a strategy that will add to congestion and encourage car use
• high speed rail offers an opp to improve UK transport & provide greener long distance travel
• cut budgets elsewhere to pay for it - steeper fare rises , cuts in local services
• new jobs mianly in London & heahthrow link increase air travel only

Report

• more
• High Speed 2 (HS2) is a planned[ high-speed railway proposed to London Euston from the English Midlands, Northern England, and potentially the central belt of Scotland. At present there are no plans for a link to Heathrow or a direct link to HS1 and the continent. 
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