Ms. Anna Pickering,Your ref: CRS 688, 892
A556 Knutsford to Bowdon Project,
Team Major Projects North,
Highways Agency,
9th Floor, Piccadilly Gate,
Store Street,
Manchester, M1 2WD.
Friday, March 15th, 2013
Dear Ms. Pickering,
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST RELATING TO THE HA VIS A VIS HS2
Thank you for your very prompt response to the Freedom of Information (FoI) request I lodged with you at the end of my letter of March 11th 2013 which commented on the latest Highways Agency (HA) consultation in respect of the A556 Knutsford-Bowdon Improvement Scheme ie. the proposed works to the M6 between junction 19 and Knutsford services (southbound). I note that you have formally logged my consultation response.
In what was my first FoI request regarding HS2 I asked that the HA:
“release any material which relates to the joint impacts of their proposed
A556/ M6 scheme(s) and HS2”.
In your response of March 12th you said:
“…. due to HS2 scheme design uncertainty and distant delivery programme it means that we are unable to make any meaningful assessment of the cumulative impacts of both schemes. It will be for HS2 Ltd to assess its environmental impacts, taking into account existing infrastructure, and demonstrate through the statutory process that it justifies development consent. HS2 Ltd will engage and work with us in defining the interactions between the proposed route and existing infrastructure”.
The inference I take from these remarks is that there has been little if any past engagement between the HA and HS2 Ltd. - but there will be more in future. Also, the way the HA views the situation is that it is not for them to notify HS2 Ltd. of its plan to build a new, off-line, A556 road - nor to look ahead and plan for the wider effects of an adjacent major (transport) infrastructure proposal; it is for the promoter of the other major infrastructure to inform itself of other proposals and plan for them. I find this difficult to understand for two reasons: (1) the forward planning period for new roads has been extended and would incorporate the timescale for HS2 (so the HA’s plans should include it) and
(2) both the HA and HS2 Ltd. come under the Department for Transport remit.
As a result of the correspondence that has taken place between us, my fears about a possible lack of joint working (or lack of joined-up thinking) between the HA and HS2 Ltd. appear to have some justification. Moreover, I believe there is a need to properly understand the depth and level of working on HS2 between the HA and its parent body, the DfT, between the HA and principal local authorities in the North West and between the HA and Manchester Airport.
I would now like to clarify matters further and wish to lodge a second FoI request in respect of HS2 that is much wider than the A556 Knutsford to Bowdon project (but which includes it). I suspect that this will fall outwith your particular remit. However, I would be obliged if you would be kind enough to pass it on to the appropriate person or people to deal with. Thank you.
My second HS2 FoI request is as follows:
Would the Highways Agency please provide any correspondence, e-mails and minutes of meetings which it holds covering the subject of HS2 and effects on and around the HA network in the North West of England, whether between the Agency and the DfT, between the Agency and HS2 Ltd, between the Agency and principal local authorities in the North West of England or between the Agency and Manchester Airport in respect of HS2 Phase 2 between the West Midlands, Manchester and Wigan. The period for which the documentation is sought is from March 2010 until the date of this request (March 15, 2013).
I am most obliged for your co-operation in this matter.
Please respond to the home office address below. Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
LILLIAN BURNS
Convenor, NW TAR
Home office:Braestead, 25 Heybridge Lane, Prestbury, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK10 4ES.
Telephone:01625 829492
E-mail:
1