The HS2 charter launched today by a number of environmental, transport and other campaign groups, while clearly trying to be hard-nosed, looks a bit…well, woolly.
Their demands aren’t wholly unreasonable, but they have a vague, decision-by-committee feel about them. They are a bit of a rag-tag bunch, too, with a mix of those basically in favour of HS2 but wanting it more eco-friendly, and those primarily concerned with its effect on the Chilterns.
Still, the alliance is not to be sniffed at, with some high-profile groups like the CPRE rubbing shoulders with public-friendly bodies like the RSPB, backed up environmental heavyweights Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth.
The aims, in their well-meaning vagueness and calls for a national transport strategy, all sound like they have come right out of the Campaign for Better Transport’s wishlist catalogue; is it them pulling the strings behind the scenes of this new alliance?
Scepticism over HS2 is better than outright hostility – but today’s ‘charter’ launch leaves a large unanswered question: what would you do differently?
