Cuts won’t stop feared Primrose Hill rail tunnel

Published: 29 July, 2010
by JOSIE HINTON

A TUNNEL to carry high-speed trains under Primrose Hill looks set to escape the coalition government’s spending cuts.

Opponents had hoped the rail link would be abandoned but Tory Transport Secretary Phillip Hammond appeared to confirm this week it would go ahead regardless.

He said he was ready to extend a compensation deal to more residents expected to suffer subsidence and noise if the tunnel, planned to run 20 metres below Primrose Hill, is built.

Critics of the High Speed 2 (HS2) proposal fear the move is a prelude to Mr Hammond approving the scheme when he takes his final decision early next year.

Many in the area had hoped the axing of the tunnel could have been a silver lining amid the climate of cuts descending on Whitehall.

Instead, they have been asked to examine whether they are entitled to assistance under an Exception Hardship Scheme (EHS), set up in response to fears over potential damage to homes and the risk of plunging property prices. Small businesses can also now apply.

Homes near to where the tunnel will go underground at Delancey Street are also now inside the hardship scheme, but Mr Hammond said “blighting effects” on people living directly above the tunnel were “likely to be limi­­ted”.

Peter Jones, of the Primrose Hill HS2 Reference Group, said: “It seems bizarre that in an atmosphere where cuts are expected at all levels of society, they are proposing to allocate billions of pounds to this piece of infrastructure.”

Under the EHS, the government would offer to buy any property whose value was seriously affected by the tunnel.

A consulatation on the proposed package, which would still not entitle many Primrose Hill residents to compensation, attracted 4,500 responses.

Homeowners’ fears were heightened in April when HS2 admitted that properties directly above the tunnel would experience a “small amount of settlement during construction”, and admitted it did not yet know whether vibrations from the high-speed trains would be felt by residents.

HS2, set up by the government to oversee the project, has since denied residents would experience disturbance.

Under current proposals up to 14 trains, 400 metres in length and carrying up to 1,100 passengers, would pass through the high-speed tunnel each hour on their way to Birmingham.

Swiss Cottage Conservative councillor Andrew Marshall said: “I think the principle of high-speed rail is important.

“But it is certainly a very reasonable concern that the current scheme is not going to cut journey times enough to get businesspeople off planes, which is what it is all about.”

Lib Dem Primrose Hill councillor Chris Naylor added: “I think it’s outrageous sections above the tunnel are not being included in the compensation scheme. 

“Blight from the HS2 line is going to affect everyone in Primrose Hill.”

Cllr Naylor confirmed he was still committed to high-speed rail, however. 

In a statement published this week, Mr Hammond said: “The government is committed to the establishment of a high speed rail network as part of its programme of measures to create a low carbon economy.  

“However, in developing plans for a new high speed line, both I and my predecessor as Secretary of State for Transport have been mindful of their potential impact on those who live on or close to the proposed line of route.”