HS2 Phase 2a working draft Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report

To view the documents that make up the Working Draft EIA Report please visit our dedicated section here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hs2-phase-2a-west-midlands-to-crewe-working-draft-environmental-impact-assessment-report

In November 2015 the Secretary of State for Transport announced his decision to bring forward plans for the West Midlands to Crewe section of the HS2 route (known as Phase 2a) to open in 2027, six years ahead of schedule.

To obtain the legal powers to build and operate this part of the railway, the Government intends to deposit a hybrid Bill in Parliament by the end of 2017.

Parliamentary Standing Orders require a formal EIA Report to be submitted alongside the bill. To prepare for this Bill, the Government has commissioned consultants to undertake an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and prepare an EIA Report.

In advance of the formal submission we have developed a working draft EIA Report which presents draft environmental information based on the current stage of design.

It includes a description of the environment as it is at the moment; an evaluation of the anticipated environmental impacts of the scheme and the measures we are proposing to avoid or reduce these impacts.

We are now asking for feedback on the working draft EIA Report.

Whilst the development of, and consultation on, a working draft EIA Report is not a requirement of Parliamentary Standing Orders we recognise the importance of engaging on our plans and seeking your feedback.

Responses from the consultation will be considered as the design and assessment is developed and during the production of the formal EIA Report for deposit in Parliament as part of the hybrid Bill.

Events for this consultation can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/hs2-phase-2a-west-midlands-to-crewe-consultation-information-events-september-to-october-2016

Responding

The consultation closes at 23:45 on 7 November 2016. Email responses can be submitted until 23:45pm on the final day of the consultation. Paper responses must be posted on or before the final day of the consultation. You can respond to the consultation in the following ways:

• Email your response to DraftEnvironmental2a@dialoguebydesign.co.uk
• Post your response to the following FREEPOST address. Please use capital letters when writing the address. No additional address information is required and you do not need a stamp: FREEPOST DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL 2A
• Complete an online response form that is available at the following website https://DraftEnvironmental2a.dialoguebydesign.net

Please only use the channels listed above when responding to this consultation. We cannot guarantee that responses sent to any other addresses will be included in this consultation.

Consultation on the working draft EIA Report is being undertaken alongside consultation on the working draft Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) Report and the Phase 2a: West Midlands to Crewe Design Refinement consultation.

Confidentiality and data protection

Consultation responses will be published on a publicly accessible website. Individuals’ names, addresses or signatures will not be published. However, please do not include information in your response that could identify you, unless you are happy for it to be made public.

If you do not want any of your response to be published, you should clearly mark it as ‘Confidential’ in the subject line of the email or at the top of your letter. However, please note the following. All information provided in response to this consultation, including personal information, may be subject to disclosure in accordance with access to information regimes - these are, primarily, the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA), the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

Under the FOIA, there is a statutory Code of Practice with which public authorities must comply and which deals with our confidentiality obligations, amongst other things. In view of this, it would be helpful if you could explain in your response why you regard the information you have provided as confidential. If we receive a request for disclosure of the information you provide, we will take full account of your explanation, but we cannot give an assurance that confidentiality can be maintained in all circumstances. An automatic confidentiality disclaimer generated by your IT system will not, of itself, be regarded as binding on the Department for Transport or HS2 Ltd.