Commons Select Committee report could delay HS2 construction go-ahead

CONSTRUCTION of the HS2 high speed rail line could be delayed following the inquiry into the controversial scheme by MPs, a Birmingham consultancy has said.

The House of Commons Select Committee report sets out the conclusions of MPs following 160 days of evidence from petitioners and the scheme promoter HS2 Ltd.

Hamer Associates, a property consultancy based in Birmingham and Bristol with specialisms in compulsory purchase and HS2, is one the bodies to have given evidence to the committee.

Managing director Jonathan Stott said the process behind the report and some of its findings would delay even further the construction timetable with Royal Assent for the Hybrid Bill not being achieved until the start of next year.

He said: “It was hoped, by many, that the House of Commons Select Committee would be decisive in their conclusions and provide clear direction as to what HS2 Ltd should do in relation to issues that were raised by petitioners.

“Sadly, aside from a relatively small number of instances, the report does not deliver the clarity that had been hoped for and instead the committee has opted to allow a large number of unresolved issues to continue to spin, pointing petitioners in the direction of the House of Lords Select Committee which is expected to begin hearing petitioners in June this year.

“In our opinion, by directing so many petitioners towards the House of Lords, the Select Committee has all but guaranteed that the Hybrid Bill will not receive Royal Assent this calendar year.”

He said the consultancy had predicted Q1 2017 as the likely period within which Royal Assent would be achieved and the delays posed by the report only made this more likely.

“Whilst the contractor procurement process is now well underway the fact is that no works can begin until at least three months after Royal Assent. The longer the examination process takes to conclude the more likely it becomes that works will be delayed until 2018 which serves nobody any benefit,” added Mr Stott.

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