High Speed 2 consultation ruled ‘unlawful’

THE High Court has ruled that Government consultations on the planned HS2 high-speed rail scheme, which will run through parts of Derbyshire, are ‘unlawful’.

Mr Justice Ouseley said on Friday that the process for compensating those affected by the route “was so unfair as to be unlawful”.

The High Speed 2 Action Alliance (HS2AA), consisting of more than 70 affiliated action groups and residents' associations, brought the case.

The consultation into compensation was one of five separate cases brought to block the controversial scheme in its current form.

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But it was the only one to succeed, prompting Rail Minister Simon Burns to declare it “a major landmark victory” for the project, which effectively gives the “green light” to HS2.

The Government said it will not appeal against the compensation ruling.

The second phase of HS2, running from Birmingham to Leeds, passes through parts of Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire.

The proposed route, published by the Department for Transport in January, will see HS2 cut through north-west Leicestershire, passing under East Midlands Airport.

It will then go through Long Eaton and then roughly follow the path of the M1 through north Derbyshire.