APPEAL court judges have rejected claims that HS2 is being illegally promoted by the Government, and the Department for Transport said work on the new High Speed line from London to Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds will continue. Permission to refer the case to the European Court was refused, but permission was given to refer the claims to the Supreme Court.
Of the seven broad areas of challenge to the decisions on the principle of HS2 and route for Phase One from London to Birmingham made by three sets of claimants, the Court of Appeal ruled in the government’s favour in each case.
The DfT described the rulings as 'categorical' and said it will be 'moving forward as planned' with introducing legislation in Parliament later this year and getting the scheme ready for construction in 2017.
High Speed Rail minister Simon Burns said: "By dismissing all seven grounds of appeal and declining to refer the case to Europe, this is the second time in four months a court has rejected attempts to derail HS2.
"Parliament is the right place to debate the merits of HS2, not the law courts, and we will introduce the hybrid bill for Phase One before the year is out. I urge opponents not to waste any more taxpayers’ money on expensive litigation and instead work with us on making HS2 the very best it can be.
"We continue to move forward apace with the crucial business of getting the scheme ready for construction in 2017 and delivering enormous benefits for the country."
The Court of Appeal agreed it was lawful for the government to choose to rule out upgrading the existing network as a credible alternative to HS2. It also agreed with the earlier High Court decision that the government’s approach to consultation on the principle of HS2 and the Phase One route, and on environmental and equalities assessments, had all been carried out fairly and lawfully.
Earlier in the year the High Court ordered the claimants to pay the government’s legal costs for defending the unsuccessful grounds of challenge. The government will be seeking to reclaim its costs for having to fight these appeals.
Penny Gaines, who chairs Stop HS2, said: "The judges were split on whether a Strategic Environmental Assessment and an Environmental Impact Assessment should have already been done on a project that has been underway for over three years. But they agreed that the draft environment assessments which had been done didn't match the directives, and gave immediate leave to appeal.
"In the original ruling and the appeal, the judges have not looked at whether HS2 is a sensible way of spending £50 billion of taxpayers money. They've said it's up to Parliament to make the decision. But it is vital that Parliament has the right information they need on the environmental devastation HS2 will cause, and as yet, HS2 Ltd simply have not done the work."
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister said today that HS2 is 'essential' if the UK is to be a 'winner in the global race'.
David Cameron was speaking in a question-and-answer session with members of staff at luxury car firm Bentley in Crewe, where more than 1,000 jobs are to be created by the development of a new £150,000 model.
The Prime Minister was asked what he thought HS2 would bring to the country, particularly the north.
He answered: "I think it will bring a big benefit to a region like the North West and I think it will bring a big benefit to our country for this reason: I think if we want to be in the front rank of countries, if we want to be a winner in what I call the global race, then we've got to have a really fast and efficient transport infrastructure.
"I think when you look at what really makes a difference to the economic geography of a country it's those big decisions to build the big motorway, to build the high-speed line as we did through the Channel Tunnel. It's those decisions that can make a real difference to your country."