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Published: 7th April, 2011
by JOSIE HINTON

THOUSANDS of Camden residents have visited public consultation events to give their views on how the proposed HS2 high-speed rail link will affect the borough, the project’s bosses said this week.

Ian Jordan, project sponsor for HS2 Ltd, said “several thousand” people had visited the mobile roadshows, including up to 800 on the first day.

First mooted by former Labour Transport Secretary Lord Adonis, the High Speed Two (HS2) project would eventually see trains travelling north from Euston to Birmingham and beyond at speeds of up to 250mph from 2026. The public consultation will run until July, before detailed design commences. 

It could mean the demolition of four tower blocks – 190 homes – on the Regent’s Park estate, with an overall loss of 215 homes.

Mr Jordan said: “Quite a lot of people have just come through and are interested to look at the proposals, quite a lot are supportive of the case for high-speed rail,” he said. 

“People whose homes are going to be affected are obviously concerned and looking for some reassurance.”

The mobile exhibition visited Euston Station on March 24 and 25, Swiss Cottage farmers’ market on March 28, the Camden Centre in Bidborough Street on Saturday and was at the Castlehaven Community Centre on Monday.

Campaigners opposed to the scheme have dismissed the consultation events as little more than a PR exercise. 

The New Journal went along and put its own questions to HS2 bosses on Monday, focusing on local concerns:

• Where will new homes be built to replace the four ­council blocks that will be demolished?

This will be an important part of our remit. We recognise there will have to be demolition. We’ve committed to working with the local authority when we reach the next stage of planning. At the moment we don’t have precise details of where the homes will be, but they will be in Camden.

• What might a ­redeveloped Euston station look like?

The design of Euston would be part of the next stage if the decision was taken to go ahead. There would be close working with Camden over how it might look. Residents would be able to give their views as part of the detailed environmental impact assessment. When plans are introduced to Parliament there will be a further opportunity to give their views.

• The project is based on the assumption that high-speed rail will attract people away from planes and cars. Will prices be attractive to customers?

Specific prices will be worked out at a later stage but we are going on the assumption that HS2 will be priced in accordance with the existing railway. It will not be a premium product. We are not making that assumption.

• As the project has been presented as environmentally friendly, were you surprised the national Green Party and other environmental groups such as Friends of the Earth have denounced it? 

I don’t think it is true to say that all green groups are opposed to the pro­ject. There is a diver­sity of views. This is about growing the economy and doing so in a way that protects the environment. I would say this is an environmentally sound way of supporting economic growth.

• Many leaseholders in the Regent’s Park Estate are concerned they will be forced out of the borough due to high property prices. Will they be offered market rents for their homes?

People who have to leave their homes will be fully compensated and that will be based on ­market rates.

• Do you accept that with so little direct information available to residents about where they might end up, and what Camden may look like, many view this as a presentation rather than a ­consultation?

What I would say is this is only the first stage of the consultation, it is not the consultation in full. At the moment we are consulting on the principle of high-speed rail, but there will be further opportunities to engage if the decision was taken to go ahead.