The construction of the HS2 rail project has proven controversial for many reasons, ranging from the cost through to claims that it will be environmentally damaging and disruptive for those living near the line.
While the government has pressed ahead and most political parties support it – only the likes of UKIP and the Green Party have expressed opposition – the project has faced a number of public protests and campaigns from groups like Stop HS2. While much of this has involved peaceful campaigning and lobbying, some have started taking direct action.
Whether building tree houses or digging dangerous tunnels close to construction sites, some protestors have caused disruption to operations as well as potential danger to life, especially their own. Anyone accessing tunnels being dug might seek to obstruct machinery and impede conveyor belt installation, actions that would be disruptive as well as perilous.
For this reason, HS2 has sought and now gained a High Court injunction preventing 60 named persons plus “persons unknown” from encroaching on land where HS2 Ltd is working on Phase One of the project. Agreeing the injunction, Mr Justice Knowles said: “I am satisfied that the trespass and nuisance will continue, unless restrained, and that the risk is both real and imminent.”
A spokesperson for HS2 said: “We hope the injunction will prevent the violence, intimidation, and criminal damage these protests have frequently caused, harming the HS2 project and those working on it.”
This injunction will not prevent peaceful protest and was not intended to, but it does mean anyone taking direct action by trespassing on HS2 sites will be in contempt of court and will face jail.
Without a continuing threat of disruption, work may now proceed without impediment, including the large amount of tunnelling being undertaken. The first phase alone will see 64 miles of tunnels being dug between London and Birmingham, with the later phases adding more tunnels under Crewe town centre and south Manchester.
The biggest tunnels in Phase 1 are the 10-mile tunnels under the Chilterns, which will be up to 90 m below the surface in places, making them the deepest on the network as well. Such tunnels are carved out using huge boring machines.
With over 130 million tonnes of rock and soil being excavated from under the ground, the need for conveyor belts to remove the debris is obvious.
Not all the tunnels are being constructed in this fashion. There will also be five shallower ‘green tunnels’. These are created using the ‘cut and cover’ method in which a deep cutting is dug and then covered over with a layer of ground. In the case of HS2, these will be covered with new trees and plants to minimise the environmental impact.
There were problems with one of these tunnels recently, but not because of any protestors; concerns emerged over the quality of the pre-cast structural sections of concrete used in the tunnel at Chipping Warden in Northamptonshire. The situation apparently prompted the subsequent departure of the managing director of Stanton Precast, the firm making the segments.
