To the House of Lords
Session 2015-16
PETITION against the
High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Bill
THE PETITION OF: Chalfont St. Peter Parish Council
Declares that:
1) The Petitioner's parishioners and area will be directly, specially and injuriously
affected by the provisions of the Bill to which the Petitioner objects for the reasons
hereinafter appearing.
2) The Petitioner is Chalfont St. Peter Parish Council representing the 13,000 people of
Chalfont St. Peter which is an ancient village located within the Chiltern District of
Buckinghamshire.
The Petitioner's concerns and objections to the Bill and requested mitigation
3) The Bill proposes a vent shaft at Chalfont St. Peter off Chesham Lane which will have
its own construction compound. The Bill will also position the main Chiltern Tunnel
construction compound just south of Chalfont Lane, an area just outside the border of
Chalfont St. Peter.
4) The Petitioner's parishioners and the Petitioner's area face a range of adverse impacts
from HS2. These will begin with the drawn out construction works and will continue
with permanent impacts from the railway once constructed. These are detailed as
follows:
Chalfont St. Peter Vent Shaft – construction traffic
5) The proposed Chiltern tunnel runs through Chalfont Common, the northernmost part of
the village where the vent shaft is proposed to be constructed in Chesham Lane.
6) This area includes roads which are proposed to be used by construction traffic, namely
Chesham Lane, Denham Lane and Joiners Lane. The Petitioner is concerned about
the effects that heavy goods vehicles will have on these country lanes which will have major
implications for residents and in particular the elderly and young children.
7) Chesham Lane is the main route to the Open Air Museum which has 50,000 visitors
per annum It has two grade II listed buildings and a listed monument. Construction
traffic will pass the entrance to the Epilepsy Centre, a national charity housing vulnerable
residents who can suffer seizures when out walking.
8) The junction of Chesham Lane, Denham Lane and Rickmansworth Lane is already an
accident black spot.
9) Moving onto Denham Lane, construction traffic will pass Robertswood School which is
an infant/junior school as well as a nursery. This lane is heavily congested mornings,
midday and afternoons and the impact of construction traffic will cause gridlock at peak
hours as well as safety issues for the young school children.
10) At the bottom of Joiners Lane is a Montessori Nursery and parents park in Joiners Lane
close to the junction with the A413 to walk their young children around the corner to the
school.
Mitigation Sought
11) The Petitioner requests an amendment to the Bill and/or require undertakings from the
Promoter to provide for the construction of a temporary new road at the rear of the
Chalfont St. Peter vent shaft for all construction traffic to access and exit the site from the
A413. This area is already marked on the maps as an area which may be required by HS2.
This will mitigate the effect of all construction traffic on Chesham Lane, Denham Lane
and Joiners Lane.
Chalfont St. Peter Vent Shaft – visual intrusion
12) The site of this proposed vent shaft is in a field in a narrow country lane. The Petitioner
believes that the landscaping around the vent shaft proposed by the Promoter is inadequate.
The environmental statement states that by year 15 and beyond to year 60 “planting around
the perimeter of the vent shaft site will have matured providing effective screening of much
of the vent shaft from this location” The headhouse for the vent shaft will be above ground
and this, in addition to the 550 sq. metres of hardstanding, will be a permanent scar on this
rural location.
Mitigation Sought
13) The Petitioner requests undertakings from the Promoter to provide additional planting so
that the entire vent shaft compound is not visible from the road or from Grade II listed
buildings Ashwells Farm and Ashwells Barn.
14) The removal of the hedgerow to construct the access road should be kept to the absolute
minimum.
Tunnel Compound
15)The construction compound at the Chiltern Tunnel portal in the Colne Valley area will
adversely impact on the residents of Chalfont St. Peter. The A412/North Orbital is
accessed by the Petitioner's parishioners through either West Hyde Lane/Chalfont Lane
or Rickmansworth Lane/Hornhill Road to Watford, Rickmansworth and the M25.
Chalfont Lane offers a direct route to both Harefield and Mount Vernon Hospitals.
16) The Bill as presently formulated would close Chalfont Lane and build a temporary road
across the fields to join Hornhill Road which is a narrow twisty lane with passing places.
The Petitioner believes that the junction of these two lanes will be extremely dangerous.
This diversion could also lead to traffic using Roberts Lane, a narrow residential lane,
instead.
Mitigation Sought
17) Your Petitioner requests that the Bill be amended to require the Promoter not to build
this temporary new road and that all traffic should use Rickmansworth Lane/Hornhill Road
to access the A412.
18) Your Petitioner also requests that the junction of Roberts Lane/West Hyde Lane be closed
to protect its residents from any vehicles using it as a cut through.
19) Your Petitioner also requests that no construction lorries use these lanes.
The Petitioner therefore asks the House of Lords that Chalfont St. Peter Parish Council,
in accordance with the rules and Standing Orders of the House, be given an opportunity
to give evidence on all or some of the issues raised in this Petition to the Select
Committee which considers this Bill.
AND the Petitioner remains, etc.
Cllr. Linda M Smith BEM
Chairman,
Chalfont St. Peter Parish Council