MP Fabricant slams HS2 plan for pylons at Blithfield
HS2 will erect huge pylons to carry power lines across a Staffordshire beauty spot in a move that has been slammed by a Tory MP.
Bosses say the pylons in Blithfield will save £65 million over an alternative scheme to bury the cables.
Lichfield MP Michael Fabricant says he is "disappointed" at the decision, which has been agreed by the HS2 Parliamentary Committee.
He reiterated his calls for the entire £56 billion line to be scrapped, saying he hopes that the new Conservative Prime Minister shares his doubts about HS2 and "stops it in its tracks".
A number of Tory leadership hopefuls have suggested they would scrap HS2, arguing that spiralling costs mean the line may end up busting its budget.
Phase 2 of high speed rail is set to pass through around 45 miles of Staffordshire countryside on its way from Birmingham to the north west.
Explaining its decision on Blithfield, the committee's report said the provision of pylons between Parkgate and the Newland Auto Transformer Feeder station was "the best option for provision of electricity to the railway".
"The cost differential is £65 million," it added. "Although the area is rural in nature, it is an undulating landscape and so the pylons would appear at differing heights and thus not make a huge impact on the landscape.”
Mr Fabricant, a long time opponent of HS2, previously described the plans as "utter desecration". Commenting on the new report, he said: "I am disappointed that the HS2 Parliamentary Committee has come out in favour of pylons as opposed to buried cables to provide power for the HS2 railway line at Blithfield.
“Given the cost of the railway is likely to be in the region of £100 billion, £65 million is neither here nor there.
"But with the cost and time over-run of Crossrail, I hope that a new Conservative Prime Minister may be chosen who shares my doubts about the whole viability of the HS2 programmme and will stop it in its tracks.”
Mr Fabricant's view puts him at odds with West Midlands Mayor Andy Street, who insists the next Tory leader must champion HS2 for the sake of the country's economy.
He said ditching the project would be "political suicide" for the next Prime Minister.
