HS2 objectors warn of formal challenge

The Government may face a legal challenge to its £33 billion HS2 high-speed rail project after objectors sent a letter warning they would go to the courts.

Opponents are contacting the European Commission over concerns on HS2's environmental impact. Last month Transport Secretary Justine Greening approved HS2, with the first phase a new high-speed line from London to Birmingham.

Campaign group HS2 Action Alliance (HS2AA) has now written to Ms Greening asking her to abandon the scheme and giving her notice that the alliance could challenge her decision through judicial review.

The line will bring 225mph trains to two new stations in Birmingham from 2026 with a Y-shaped spur then being built to Manchester and Leeds.

Two new stations will be built in Birmingham. The line will pass close to Lichfield, Whittington, Hints and Streethay in Staffordshire.

Packington Moor, near Lichfield, faces being flattened to make way for the new railway line stretching between London and Birmingham – although no development is expected for several years.

The alliance said the grounds for the legal challenge were an alleged failure of the Department for Transport (DfT) to comply laws surrounding the environment and conservation.

HS2AA said it had the backing of four wildlife trusts along the route, and more than 70 action groups and resident associations affiliated to the campaign.