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HS2 will go ahead – and it will be a thing of beauty, says Justine Greening

HS2 will go ahead – and it could eventually come to be seen as a thing of beauty, says Justine Greening in an interview with the Daily Telegraph.
The Transport Secretary said that despite opposition from Conservative supporters, the £32 billion scheme is progressing “full steam ahead”. Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Miss Greening compared the huge project to the “iconic” works of the great Victorian engineers, which were controversial at the time but are now regarded with affection and admiration.

HS2 is intended to see trains travelling at 225mph between London and Birmingham by 2026, cutting the journey time to 49 minutes. A second phase, to be complete by 2033, would see HS2 proceeding on a Y-shaped route to take in Leeds and Manchester.  Advocates say the scheme will reduce domestic air travel and create jobs and prosperity in the Midlands and northern England. Opponents say the scheme is a multibillion pound white elephant. Some of the critics of HS2 have also argued that it will despoil some of the most beautiful parts of the English countryside. The chosen route for the line will pass through rural areas including the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The Department for Transport has already announced extensive work including tunnels, cuttings, sidings and screens of trees to minimise the visual impact of the line.
Miss Greening conceded that the line will have “an impact” but promised the very best design possible for the project, to make it as attractive as possible. “I want to do the very best job I can on making sure that when we look back on it people will feel we got the other elements that matter right, especially how it looks and this legacy that it leaves,” she said. In the decades ahead, the minister suggested, today’s controversy over the line could eventually be replaced with appreciation.

“If you look back to some of those big railway projects that were built by the Victorians, there were people there who were sceptical about the benefits,” she said. “I think the Victorians did show the way: they did a lot of investment in infrastructure but a lot of the things they left behind people think are things of beauty.” People could one day come to see HS2 in the same way, she suggested. “What we should be aiming for is to have a level of quality of design that in decades to come people will look back on and think you know what, they built a railway but it was so much more than that.”

Recent reports have suggested that David Cameron and George Osborne are cooling in their support for HS2. Miss Greening, a close ally of the Chancellor, insisted that both the Treasury and No 10 are still entirely committed to the project. “We are full steam ahead and there is no wavering in our determination to get on with High Speed 2,” she said. “The Chancellor is four-square behind it and the Prime Minister is. George Osborne more than any other Chancellor in recent years has shown a real understanding of the importance in investing in infrastructure.”

There was no legislation for HS2 in this year’s Queen’s Speech, leading to speculation that the project could be shelved Miss Greening said that the timetable for the line means legislation does not need to be published until next year. “We remain absolutely on track to deliver our hybrid bill as part of the Queen’s Speech next year which was always part of the plan,” she said.

Valley Wives Meeting Reports – April & May

From Joan Steel
Due to holidays, this is a belated report for April and an interesting account from Janet(Clarke) about the May Meeting.

Alan Copeland was our speaker for the April meeting and among over thirty subjects he speaks on, we had the talk with slides on “Tales of the Unexpected”. Generally, people tend to miss many interesting and unusual things during their ordinary travels, if they are not observent. Alan has photographed many curios and odd items connected with e.g. early days of motoring, war heroes, churches and other buildings, countryside items, royalty etc. and has researched their histories, stories and legends. He entertained us with many amazing tales of things locally that we could go to see for ourselves as well many further afield that he had described. Alan was warmly thanked for a most facinating evening.

The speaker at the May meeting was P.C. Lee Turnham, our local policeman who told us that he began his career at Southall where he was allocated itchy woolen trousers, a blue shirt a balsa wood trunchon and a pocket book. He had to supply his own boots. After only one week and no training, he was sent to High Wycombe. Later he was sent for ten weeks training, then returned to High Wycombe and became a qualified P.C. after he had gained two years experience. Four years later he took a post at the Vehicle Traffic Department where he inspected vehicles that had been in accidents, one being the lorry that ran out of control on Amersham Hill. Eventually P.C. Lee became Area Beat Officer for Hazelmere and finally Neighbourhood Police Officer for eight villages. During his talk he showed us items that had been used in offences or had just been confiscated e.g. a knife that had been used in a house burglery, a kitchen knife which had been used on him, two knives carried by young girls, two air guns and an air rifle that had been used to shoot a cat. His uniform has changed over the years to combat trousers, polo shirt, bullet proof jacket with belt to carry handcuffs and a cup for liquid. The helmet has changed to a flat cap and riot helmet with visor, also a high visibility jacket. P.C. Lee said community police are efficient at dealing with petty crime, so always telephone him and if he is out on duty, leave a message for him to listen to on his mobile phone. He answered many questions at the end of the meeting and stayed to talk to people. P.C Lee donated his fee to the hospice fund. Sylvia (Kinch )gave the vote of thanks for a very interesting evening.

Our next meeting is on 1st June when Kate Miller’s talk is “Himalayan Singing Bowls”. For our competition please bring an interesting item begining with W.

Olympic Air Security. RAF Typhoons above Hughenden

You can’t fail to have heard the RAF Typhoon interceptors flying above us on Saturday.  This is all part of an Olympic air security exercise that will be taking place between now and May 10.  The flight last night was the only intended late night exercise. Below is the press release that was issued by the Ministry of Defence on April 27:

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“During this summer’s Olympic and Paralympic Games, UK Armed Forces will be playing a key role assisting the police and other Government departments to ensure these internationally important events are safe and secure. There is no specific threat to the Games, but we have to be ready.

As part of this contribution, the Ministry of Defence will bolster its existing arrangements for ensuring the security of UK airspace. RAF Typhoon interceptors are always on alert for this purpose, but during the Games a number of these aircraft will be deployed to RAF Northolt, west London, and helicopters from the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force will operate from several sites in and around London.

Olympic-SecurityIn preparation for their important role, a series of exercises has been taking place, bringing together all of the military assets such as helicopters, fighters, ground-based radar systems and air defence missile systems. During early May, this training will culminate with a large military exercise in London and the Home Counties. Codenamed Exercise Olympic Guardian, it will be an important opportunity before the start of the Games for Defence forces to rehearse and ensure they are operationally ready.

The exercise will commence on 2 May and complete on 10 May, spanning the May Bank Holiday weekend. During this weekend there will be a visible and audible presence of RAF Typhoon and Military helicopters operating above Greater London and the Home Counties. There will also be flights occurring throughout the exercise period, to allow pilots and other forces to become familiar with operating in the London and Home Counties airspace.

Both air and ground based elements will be involved in training exercises designed to test the Defence response to an unknown aircraft entering the restricted airspace which will be established in order to ensure that the Games are safe and secure. There will be a number of such training ‘serials’ each day, though the amount of flying has been reduced to the absolute minimum necessary to ensure that our forces are ready for their important role.

RAF Typhoon, RAF Puma, Royal Navy and Army Lynx and target aircraft, will fly between 4,000ft and 2,000ft above ground level for the majority of the Exercise to de-conflict with existing civilian air movements over London; however, military aircraft will occasionally operate at 1,000ft above ground level and, for a very brief period on three occasion, will descend to 500ft to achieve the necessary training objectives. It is recognised that military aircraft operating at this level could cause concern to the general public; therefore, time spent at the lowest levels will be minimised. However, members of the public should be reassured that safety remains are utmost priority, and our pilots and aircrew are well-trained and experienced in these sorts of operations.

We recognise that this activity may cause a disturbance. We have taken steps to ensure that flying activity takes place at times that keep this disturbance to a minimum. On current planning, one of the Typhoon training serials to be undertaken on 5 May is scheduled for the late evening, but will finish no later than 2230hrs. We regret any disturbance caused, but we hope that the public will understand why this important training has to take place.”

Participants