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The HS2 threat to the Chilterns
Join our campaign against ANY High Speed Rail line across the Chilterns and help us fight the biggest threat to this beautiful area since the M40 motorway sliced through part of it in the 1970s.
Click on the image of the poster to download an A4 size, 800KB PDF and show your support!
Judicial Review – we need your help!
The Society has been considering the situation since the Secretary of State for Transport announced her decision in January to continue with current proposed route albeit with minor alterations.
Together with other organisations in the Chilterns, we believe that an application for Judicial Review on environmental grounds should be made.
This process comprises an initial application to the High Court for permission. If this is granted there will then be a substantive hearing. There will obviously be significant costs involved in both the application for permission and subsequent proceedings.
We are therefore appealing to you for your support in funding this process. We need to raise a substantial amount, at least £20,000.
Donations can be made by following the link under 'Help us' on the left of this page.
And, if you're a UK tax payer, we can claim giftaid on your payment.
All donations will be held in a Designated Account. Payments from the account will be applied in payment of the costs of funding the Proposed Proceedings.
Video in aid of our Fighting Fund
A video by Keith Hoffmeister, including commentary by actor Geoffrey Palmer OBE, shows unspoiled areas of countryside that would be devastated if the railway was constructed on the current proposed alignment.
It also points out the farms and other buildings that would have to be demolished, the large amount of irreversable construction that would take place, the costs and weaknesses in the economic case and the impact it will have on everyone in the UK.
A DVD of the video is available at £5, from Great Missenden Post Office, South Heath Post Office, the Community Shop in The Lee, the Community Shop at Hyde Heath and our office in Chesham, or you can purchase it here, at £5.70 including post and packing, by clicking the 'Buy Now!' button below. All profits go to our Fighting Fund.
The Chiltern Society and HS2
The Chiltern Society is strongly opposed to the current proposal to construct a high speed railway – HS2 – across the Chilterns.
The Chiltern Society was formed nearly 50 years ago with a primary objective to conserve, protect and promote this unique landscape, including its Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
It is the Society's view that the current HS2 proposals, if developed, would result in enormous harm to the Chilterns countryside and environment. We do not accept that to route HS2 through the Chilterns is in the national interest.
Our national campaign
The Society is one of the founding members of a group of national and regional organisations* that have signed The Right Lines Charter.
The Charter's main principles call for:
Providing a national transport strategy
We believe that any high speed rail proposals must be part of a long-term, joined-up nationwide transport strategy, involving all forms of transport.
Testing all the options
We believe that decisions involving major infrastructure proposals like HS2 should be made once alternative options have been thoroughly considered, particularly with regard to environmental and sustainability issues.
Ensuring proper public involvement
We believe that once the alternative options for developments such as HS2 have been thoroughly explored, an extensive public participation consultation should take place outlining the pros and cons of each alternative.
Prioritising environmental protection
We believe there is more to high speed rail than delivering the fastest speed possible. It is in our national interest, both today and in the future, that adverse impacts on our natural environment and landscape, cultural heritage and local communities are minimised to the greatest possible degree.
Our Chilterns campaign
In addition to lobbying with national and regional organisations via the Charter Group, the Society is also conducting a campaign in its own area to fulfil its objective of protecting the Chilterns from unwanted and unnecessary development.
We have produced a DVD which demonstrates the impact the proposed HS2 route would have on this precious and largely unspoiled area. The DVD has been sent to national and local decision-makers and is being shown to community groups.
We have organised protest walks, including a daily walk around the Prime Minister's Chilterns base at Chequers, to highlight our opposition.
We are producing detailed technical reports, written by experts in their field who are also Society members, outlining the threat the proposed HS2 route would have on the Chilterns.
We are attending and speaking at meetings of residents groups and community organisations explaining our opposition to HS2 across the Chilterns
And we are conducting a marketing campaign which includes a Facebook page and the production and distribution of posters.
We are also working with other regional organisations, including the Chilterns Conservation Board, Buckinghamshire County Council and community groups, that are actively opposed to the proposed HS2 route.
We would urge Chiltern Society members and those who support our views to express their serious concern.
*The other signatories of the Charter for Assessing High Speed Rail are The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), the Campaign for Better Transport, Civic Voice, Environmental Law Foundation, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, Railfuture, Ramblers, RSPB, SPAB, The Woodland Trust and The Wildlife Trusts.
