Bucks Council lodges appeals against decisions on six HS2 lorry routes
The council is waiting for permission to take the matters to the High Court
Buckinghamshire Council has issued judicial review proceedings against decisions made by Planning Inspectors, in relation to six HS2 lorry routes.
Councillor Steven Broadbent, Cabinet Member for Transport, said:
"The decision to go ahead and take these appeals to the High Court is the right thing to do for our residents and communities.
"Following Counsel advice, we believe we have a strong reason to challenge the decisions of the Inspector in allowing the lorry routes to be used which will have an enormous and detrimental impact on our local roads.
"The council had sought further information considered necessary to carry out our statutory duty to assess the impacts of the proposed routes."
HS2 appealed against the non-determination of two of the applications by the council, relating to Brackley Road and the Wendover Green Tunnel.
The appeals were allowed by the Planning Inspector, but Bucks Council has lodged challenges against these decisions.
A separate Planning Inspector dealt with the other four appeals relating to:
-Small Dean Lane, Wendover to the Strategic Road Network
-Small Dean Viaduct, Wendover to the Strategic Road Network
-Chiltern Tunnel North Portal to the Strategic Road Network
-Three worksites at Little Missenden, Chesham and the North Portal to the Strategic Road Network.
The Planning Inspector also allowed those four appeals.
An HS2 Ltd spokesperson said:
"Under the HS2 Act 2017 we are obliged to seek approval for key lorry route from Buckinghamshire Council.
"Our approach was backed by the Planning Inspector appointed to determine the appeals.
"We are working hard to reduce disruption for local communities and road users during the construction of HS2.
"This includes creating our own temporary internal access roads to get heavy vehicles onto site, and using freight trains to deliver materials, but we also need to use certain main roads.
"That is why we are also delivering a programme of junction improvements across the county and have made a £3.9m road safety fund available to the council."
l is waiting for permission to take the matters to the High Court, and the court decision is pending.
Buckinghamshire Council is waiting for permission to take the matters to the High Court, and the court decision is pending.