HS2 MEETING WITH ACTION GROUP REPRESENTATIVES

6 July 2011, Shire Hall, Warwick

Notes

Present:Cllr Bob Stevens (Chair), Cllr John Whitehouse, Graham Long,Mike Geddes, Mandy Walker and Ben Cahill.

1 / Introductions and Apologies
Cllr Stevens welcomed everyone to the meeting.
Apologies were received from Cllr Alan Cockburn, Cllr Peter Butlin, Cllr Ray Sweet, Ian Waddell and John Lee. / Actions or Decisions
2 / Minutes of the last meeting
The minutes of the last meeting were agreed.
3 / Matters arising
Mandy Walker asked Graham Long if the Action Groups were intending to submit a joint consultation response. Graham replied that the Action Groups were due to have a meeting in the coming weeks where this question would be discussed.
4 / Update from WCC
Cllrs Whitehouse and Stevens informed the meeting of the recent Communities Overview & Scrutiny meeting attended by representatives from HS2 Ltd and the Department for Transport. Cllr Whitehouse believes the meeting was successful in that it allowed WCC to put its views across clearly to HS2 Ltd and DfT representatives.
Graham Long congratulated Cllr Whitehouse for the effective manner in which he Chaired the meeting, and Mandy Walker and her team for the report. Graham Long lamented the lack of coherence over a national transport policy highlighted by discussions over the HS2 route. Cllr Stevens informed the meeting that the report will now go on to Cabinet.
Mandy Walker raised recent complaints over banners in Kenilworth. WCC are being requested to remove the banners. Cllr Whitehouse proposed consulting with Warwick District Council over this complaint.
5 / Update from Action Groups
Graham Long informed the meeting of two positive meetings Action Groups have held recently with Stratford District Council and Warwick District Council.
There was a general discussion on any future linkage between the proposed HS2 route and the Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal (DIRFT) in Northamptonshire.
6 / Assessment of Roadshows
Mike Geddes proposed that the roadshows highlighted the issues of mitigation and compensation and questioned if future meetings between WCC Councillors and Action Groups should discuss these subjects. Cllr Whitehouse supported this proposal adding that it would be useful to see what other communities along the route were discussing in terms of mitigation and compensation. Mandy Walker informed the meeting that the HS2 officers group were due to be discussing mitigation at their next meeting.
There was a general discussion on any legal challenges. Graham Long proposed that Buckinghamshire were the driver behind any legal challenge. Mandy Walker informed the meeting that she was not aware of any legal challenges to date.
7 / Future role of meetings
It was proposed that the group meet again in September in order to discuss mitigation and compensation with a date to be agreed nearer the time. Cllr Whitehouse proposed some linkages between this meeting and the wider Members Working Group and the officer working group.
8 / Any other business
Cllr Whitehouse informed the meeting that at the Liberal Democrat National Conference in September there will be fringe events on HS2 and outlined a proposal for a national motion to call for a public enquiry. Cllr Stevens added that the Labour Party will be concluding their Transport Review at the Labour Party National Conference.
Graham Long raised the ‘further information’ due to be considered by Phillip Hammond before a conclusion is made on the consultation. Graham stressed that this further information must be made public.
Cllr Stevens informed the meeting of a letter he has received from Chiltern Railways stating that they expect no impact on their services form the proposed HS2 route. There followed a wider discussion on the impact of HS2 on existing train lines in terms of competition and fares.
The meeting thanked Ben Cahill for his work in supporting the meetings over the last year. Ben will be starting a new job at Buckinghamshire County Council from August 2011.
9 / Date of next meeting
It was proposed that the next meeting would be held in September 2011 with further details issued nearer the time.

The meeting closed at 11.10am

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