What's Affected by HS2
Below is information about the wildlife, money, facilities, houses, countryside, rivers & canals that will be badly affected by HS2
Wildlife Affected
The Chilterns are places of outstanding natural beauty, they also have many mildly rare species e.g. Red kites are on the up because we have released many into the area. Also many animals/plants will be affected by the HS2, by being hit (small animals) having to move nest/home because of noise. Many birds will be killed by the train passing because of the speed it will drag birds in to the train.
The river Misbourne may be dried up meaning many fish and pond creatures will be relocated. Ecosystems will be distrupted because of not having the right depth/incline/vegetation or other factors, also small organisms won't be relocated because they are too many and this means other creatures will be short of food and the bigger animals will be short of animals that eat organisms.I have 2 rabbits, am looking after a dog and am an animal lover so I would hate any animals to be killed or hurt.
Money
The government are going to spend around £34 Billion on the HS2, the most a government will ever spent in the world on a railway line. I think that this is the biggest problem about the HS2, because, no matter what route HS2 will take, it will still be a waste of money. This is why we need to stop the HS2 completely, because the money should go into better things, such as hospitals, schools, existing railways etc.
Facilities Affected
HOAC (Hillingdon Outdoor Activities Centre)
HOAC is a facility where for £1 an hour you can enjoy sailing, fencing, canoeing, raft builing, archery, high ropes, rock climbing and many more fun activities. It would be terrible to lose such a wonderful community.
Wendover Woods
Wendover Woods is a facility which you can enjoy walks with friends and family. It would be tragic to lose such a place and many wildlife would be killed.
Mid-Colne Valley
The Mid-Colne Valley is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). It has nationally significant populations of woodland and wetland birds. It would be very unfortunate for residents of the Chilterns to lose such a wonderful place where they can watch birds. It is also a very important animal habitat.
Houses Affected
The HS2 will destroy roughly 100 houses. Many people will hear a shockingly loud train once every 2-3 minutes, all day long. People are also having trouble trying to sell their houses, if their house will be affected by HS2. This is because no matter how nice or how expensive the house is, people looking for a new house would generally not buy the house, because of the noise of 28 trains every hour, or because the house will be destroyed because of the HS2. Many people would say that you would get used to it, but the sound would be deafeningly loud. Click on 'Recording of HS2' to hear the sound.
Countryside Affected
The HS2 will destroy lots of beautiful countryside, (particularly in the Chilterns), and many of which are known as areas of outstanding, natural beauty/green belt. This will also affect the wildlife living on hills and in farms (See 'Wildlife Affected' above). Many parts of the Chilterns will just never be the same again. I saw on a TV programme that a farmer had a field for his animals and the HS2 will just cut across it, making the farmer lose most of his farmland. Remember, we are doing everything we can to stop everything that the HS2 will affect in a bad way from happening.
Rivers and Canals Affected
Grand Union Canal
The HS2 is planning to cut right across the grand union canal, which is a great place for people to go sailing. It's also an important animal habitat.
Misbourne River
The Misbourne River is a very important river, as it is home to lots of wildlife, and is one of the rare chalk rivers.
You can help to stop HS2 by visiting http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/353 now and signing the official anti-HS2 online petition
