11th December 2019
To avoid any misunderstanding HS2 does not pass Wendover in a tunnel. WPC is fighting to get a tunnel. We have not won that fight. That fight goes on.
Tell HS2 to stick it's viaducts. HS2 are spinning the story of the Wendover viaducts to their own advantage. Even they don’t have the cheek to suggest that the viaducts are lovely or indeed that Wendover likes them. No, their fudge is that we appreciate the effort that they’ve put into the design. Well I don’t appreciate the effort they’ve put into the viaduct design when they can’t be bothered to put any effort at all into properly considering our mined tunnel alternative. There’s an uncouth saying that I think applies, “stick it where the sun don’t shine”. There’s no sun shining in our tunnel so, why don’t you send HS2 a Christmas message, tell them to make us all happy and stick HS2 were the sun don’t shine, in our cheaper, quicker, simpler mined tunnel.
The Oakervee review is collapsing in a most unseemly way. Our friend Lord Tony Berkeley was the Deputy Chairman and he’s not happy with the way things have gone. You can read his letter to Doug Oakervee here: https://www.wendover-pc.gov.uk/post/lord-tony-berkeley-s-letter-to-doug-oakervee
The Noise Event that the Parish Council, helped by Wendover HS2, put on in St Mary’s church was attended by 90 people. WPC are now able to predict noise levels in Wendover that will result from the trains operation. It’s not good news. Since the passage of the High Speed Rail Act, with its environmental statement (ES), the adverse effect of noise on Wendover has got worse. We calculate using HS2/EK data, that the trains are going to affect twice as many houses, adversely, as was claimed in the ES. This is, with a train passing every 90 seconds, a big deal.
Make a noise for tranquility. Strangely the best way for you to help to protect Wendover’s tranquility is for you to make a noise. Noise is a Planning Issue. Let the Planning Authority, AVDC, know that you find HS2/EK’s noise mitigation completely unacceptable. Wendover only gets one go at solving this problem. Otherwise it’s WHEEEEEEEEEEE! every 90 seconds from breakfast to cocoa time for ever.
How do we define WHEEEEEEEEEEE! For a significant number, those where HS2 have failed to hit their own noise targets, it will sound like your neighbour starting a lawn mower every 90 seconds.
There's a Joni Mitchell song from the 60’s that goes. 'they took all the trees and put em in a tree museum' well in Great Missenden HS2 have a new take on all that. They've took away the trees and given us a picture of them. A great big picture that hides the ugly destruction behind it. You really couldn't make it up.