Agenda item

Steve Hollingworth introduced the report and summarised the key points. It was noted that the report outlined the ecological and other implications of the route from Braybrook Street approved under the government’s HS2 Act (2017) and the actions needed by the Trust and other organisations to enable an alternative access point and route from Old Oak Common Lane to be used instead.

HS2 already had authority to do this under the Act of Parliament, including access to certain parts of the Scrubs. The Trust had taken legal advice and had no powers to stop these works. However, there was significant concern over the potential impact on the ecology of the Scrubs and the amenity of residents living in Braybrook Street, and the Trust would do all it can to protect valuable wildlife and local people.

The Council was working hard on behalf of the residents, Scrub users and the Trust to provide an alternative access, that was far less disruptive to residents and had potentially less impact on the ecology of the Scrubs; by proposing a different access from Old Oak Common Lane.

Steve Hollingworth gave a presentation to help understand the steps required to deliver the alternative access route from Old Oak Common Lane. He showed slides of the indicative maps for the access roads, images of where the roads would be placed and the route to the sewer realignment works by light vehicles to carry out vegetation clearance across the Scrubs. An overview of the outline programme for the alternative access road, including ecological considerations and surveys was also provided.

The Chair noted that the Committee had received a series of questions and comments from residents regarding the alternative access route, covering the following topics:

·       Maps showing the HS2 site footprint

·       Details of the tree and ecological Surveys

·       Details of HS2’s species translocation plans

·       Plans for the lizard colony and to protect wildlife.

·       Contact details for the independent ecologist

·       A detailed schedule of the 24-hour piling works.

·       A guarantee that any felled trees would be replaced by mature trees

Officers provided detailed responses during the course of the meeting.  Full details can be viewed here

Councillor Belinda Donovan asked if bat surveys had been carried out. In response Sebastian Dunnett noted surveys conducted had identified very low numbers of bats around the northern embankment of the Scrubs and further details of this could be found in the protected species report 2018.

Councillor Belinda Donovan asked for further clarification to be provided on the size of the land for the HS2 access route. In response Peter Wilson noted that the area required by the access road from Braybrook Street was approximately 1800 square metres.

Stephen Waley-Cohen (Co-opted Member) expressed his concerns around the overuse of the meadow area, whilst these works would be carried out. He asked if the Council had any plans to mitigate these concerns. Steve Hollingworth explained that if access was provided via Old Oak Common Road, then the main access via Braybrook Street would be retained. It was felt that there wasn’t a high volume of footfall coming in via the Old Oak Common Lane access. Richard Gill provided an overview of how the footfall could be mitigated and reduced to help with some of the of the extra pressure on the paths. The Council would work alongside HS2 to ascertain their plans so that appropriate measures could be put into place. In addition, extra signage would be put into place to support the public.

Stephen Waley-Cohen (Co-opted Member) asked what measures were put in place to oversea the relocation of lizards and vegetation. In response Sebastian Dunnett, Advisor to the Trust outlined the steps taken by the Council to mitigate the impact on the lizard colony.

The Chair suggested to stake out the area that HS2 was permitted to access under the governments HS2 Act (2017), to provide residents with the opportunity to view the extent of the site.  Steve Hollingworth said that HS2 were planning to proceed with this in early 2021.

Sharon Lea, Advisor to the Trust noted that HS2 had offered to do further engagement with residents. Therefore, there would be an opportunity for residents to clearly understand what HS2 were intending to do. A meeting would be held with HS2 on 16^th December 2020 to discuss the concerns raised by residents and how these could be resolved. The Council would be working to deliver the programme to meet the required timescales for the alternative access route. The Council would work alongside HS2 to reduce the impact of the works on residents and to protect the wildlife and the ecology of the Scrubs.

Members thanked officers for their hard work and efforts.

Resolved:

That the Committee agreed the recommendations included in the report.