L O N D O N - W E S T M I D L A N D S E N V I R O N M E N T A L S T A T E M LONDON- E N T | V WEST MIDLANDS o l 2 | C o ENVIRONMENTAL m m u n it STATEMENT y F o r u m A Volume 2 | Community Forum Area report r e a r e p CFA23 | Balsall Common and Hampton-in-Arden o r t | C F A 2 3 | B a ls a ll C o m m o n a November 2013 n d H a m p t o n - in - A r d e n ES 3.2.1.23 VOL VOL VOL 2 2 2 London- West Midlands enViROnMental stateMent Volume 2 | Community Forum Area report CFA23 | Balsall Common and Hampton-in-Arden November 2013 ES 3.2.1.23 High Speed Two (HS2) Limited has been tasked by the Department for Transport (DfT) with managing the delivery of a new national high speed rail network. It is a non-departmental public body wholly owned by the DfT. A report prepared for High Speed Two (HS2) Limited: High Speed Two (HS2) Limited, Eland House, Bressenden Place, London SW1E 5DU Details of how to obtain further copies are available from HS2 Ltd. Telephone: 020 7944 4908 General email enquiries: [email protected] Website: www.hs2.org.uk High Speed Two (HS2) Limited has actively considered the needs of blind and partially sighted people in accessing this document. The text will be made available in full on the HS2 website. The text may be freely downloaded and translated by individuals or organisations for conversion into other accessible formats. If you have other needs in this regard please contact High Speed Two (HS2) Limited. Printed in Great Britain on paper containing at least 75% recycled fibre. CFA Report – Balsall Common and Hampton-in-Arden/No 23 | Contents Contents Structure of the HS2 Phase One Environmental Statement v 1 Introduction 1 1.2 Purpose of this report 2 1.3 Structure of this report 4 2 Overview of the area and description of the Proposed Scheme 7 2.1 Overview of the area 7 2.2 Description of the Proposed Scheme 13 2.3 Construction of the Proposed Scheme 27 2.4 Operation of the Proposed Scheme 61 2.5 Community forum engagement 62 2.6 Route section main alternatives 64 3 Agriculture, forestry and soils 73 3.1 Introduction 73 3.2 Scope, assumptions and limitations 73 3.3 Environmental baseline 74 3.4 Effects arising during construction 81 3.5 Effects arising from operation 91 4 Air quality 93 4.1 Introduction 93 4.2 Scope, assumptions and limitations 93 4.3 Environmental baseline 94 4.4 Effects arising during construction 96 4.5 Effects arising from operation 98 5 Community 101 5.1 Introduction 101 5.2 Scope, assumptions and limitations 101 5.3 Environmental baseline 102 5.4 Effects arising during construction 107 5.5 Effects arising from operation 117 6 Cultural heritage 119 i CFA Report – Balsall Common and Hampton-in-Arden/No 23 | Contents 6.1 Introduction 119 6.2 Scope, assumptions and limitations 119 6.3 Environmental baseline 120 6.4 Effects arising during construction 126 6.5 Effects arising from operation 134 7 Ecology 137 7.1 Introduction 137 7.2 Scope, assumptions and limitations 137 7.3 Environmental baseline 138 7.4 Effects arising during construction 148 7.5 Effects arising from operation 156 8 Land quality 159 8.1 Introduction 159 8.2 Scope, assumptions and limitations 160 8.3 Environmental baseline 160 8.4 Effects arising during construction 168 8.5 Effects arising from operation 180 9 Landscape and visual assessment 183 9.1 Introduction 183 9.2 Scope, assumptions and limitations 184 9.3 Environmental baseline 184 9.4 Temporary effects arising during construction 188 9.5 Permanent effects arising during operation 202 10 Socio-economics 223 10.1 Introduction 223 10.2 Scope, assumptions and limitations 223 10.3 Environmental baseline 224 10.4 Effects arising during construction 227 10.5 Effects arising during operation 230 11 Sound, noise and vibration 233 11.1 Introduction 233 11.2 Environmental baseline 234 11.3 Effects arising during construction 236 11.4 Effects arising during operation 242 12 Traffic and transport 249 12.1 Introduction 249 12.2 Scope, assumptions and limitations 249 12.3 Environmental baseline 250 12.4 Effects arising during construction 252 12.5 Effects arising from operation 262 ii CFA Report – Balsall Common and Hampton-in-Arden/No 23 | Contents 13 Water resources and flood risk assessment 267 13.1 Introduction 267 13.2 Scope, assumptions and limitations 269 13.3 Environmental baseline 270 13.4 Effects arising during construction 283 13.5 Assessment of impacts and effects 287 13.6 Effects arising from operation 290 14 References 293 List of figures Figure 1: HS2 Phase One route and community forum areas 3 Figure 2: Area context map 9 Figure 3: Schematic of construction compounds for civil engineering works 31 Figure 4: Schematic of construction compounds for railway installation works 33 Figure 5: Indicative construction programme 57 Figure 6: Business sector composition in Solihull Metropolitan Borough and the West Midlands,225 Figure 7: Employment by industrial sector in Solihull Metropolitan Borough and the West Midlands 226 List of tables Table 1: Estimated construction demolition and excavation waste 56 Table 2: Operational waste forecast for the Proposed Scheme 62 Table 3: Summary characteristics of holdings 79 Table 4: Agricultural land required for the construction of the proposed scheme 83 Table 5: Summary of temporary effects on holdings during construction 85 Table 6: Agricultural and forestry land required permanently 87 Table 7: Summary of permanent effects on holdings from construction 89 Table 8: Protected and/or notable species 142 Table 9: Landfill sites located within the study area 164 Table 10: Summary of receptors 167 Table 11: Summary of baseline CSM for sites which may pose a contaminative risk for the Proposed Scheme 172 Table 12: Summary of temporary (construction) effects 174 Table 13: Summary of permanent (post-construction) effects 176 Table 14: Summary of effects for mining and mineral resources 179 Table 15: Direct adverse effects on residential communities and shared open areas that are considered to be significant on a community basis 239 Table 16: Train flows and speeds 242 Table 17: Direct adverse effects on residential communities and shared open areas that are considered significant on a community basis 246 Table 18: Typical vehicle trip generation for construction site compounds in this area 254 iii CFA Report – Balsall Common and Hampton-in-Arden/No 23 | Contents Table 19: Significant effects on congestion and delays in this area 258 Table 20: Significant effects on traffic severance in this area 258 Table 21: Surface water features potentially affected by the Proposed Scheme 271 Table 22: Summary of geology and hydrogeology in CFA23 273 iv CFA Report – Balsall Common and Hampton-in-Arden/No 23 | Structure of the HS2 Phase One Environmental Statement Structure of the HS2 Phase One Environmental Statement The Environmental Statement (ES) documentation comprises:  Non-technical summary (NTS) – which provides a summary in non-technical language of the Proposed Scheme, the likely significant environmental effects of the Proposed Scheme, both beneficial and adverse, and the means to avoid or reduce the adverse effects;  Volume 1: Introduction to the ES and the Proposed Scheme. This describes High Speed Two (HS2), and the environmental impact assessment process, the approach to consultation and engagement, details of the permanent features and generic construction techniques as well as a summary of main strategic and route-wide alternatives and local alternatives (prior to 2012) considered;  Volume 2: Community forum area reports and map books – 26 reports and associated map books providing an assessment of local environmental effects;  Volume 3: Route-wide effects – provides an assessment of the effects of the Proposed Scheme where it is not practicable to describe them within the CFA descriptions in Volume 2;  Volume 4: Off-route effects – provides an assessment of the off-route effects of the Proposed Scheme;  Volume 5: Appendices and map books – contains supporting environmental information and associated map books; and  Glossary of terms and list of abbreviations – contains terms and abbreviations, including units of measurement, used throughout the ES documentation. v CFA Report – Balsall Common and Hampton-in-Arden/No 23 | Structure of the HS2 Phase One Environmental Statement vi CFA Report – Balsall Common and Hampton-in-Arden/No 23 | Introduction 1 Introduction 1.1.1 High Speed Two (HS2) is a new high speed railway proposed by the Government to connect major cities in Britain. Stations in London, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, South Yorkshire and the East Midlands will be served by high speed trains running at speeds of up to 360kph (225mph). 1.1.2 HS2 is proposed to be built in two phases. Phase One, the subject of this ES, will involve the construction of a new railway line of approximately 230km (143 miles) between London and Birmingham. Construction will begin in 2017 and the line will become operational by 2026; with a connection to the West Coast Main Line (WCML) near Lichfield and to the existing HS1 railway line in London. 1.1.3 During Phase One beyond the dedicated high speed track, high speed trains will connect with and run on the existing WCML to serve passengers beyond the HS2 network to destinations in the north. A connection to HS1 will also allow some services to access that high speed line through east London and Kent and connect with mainland Europe via the Channel Tunnel. 1.1.4 Phase Two will involve the construction of lines from Birmingham to Leeds and Manchester; with construction commencing approximately 2023/2024, and planned to be operational by 2033. 1.1.5 Section 4 of Volume 1 describes the anticipated operational characteristics of HS2, including the anticipated frequency of train services. As Volume 1 shows, the frequency of trains is expected to increase over time and to increase further upon opening of Phase Two. In assessing the environmental effects of the Proposed Scheme the anticipated Phase 2 operational frequency has been used. For further detail of the anticipated operation of the Proposed Scheme in the Balsall Common and Hampton-in-Arden area (CFA23), see Section 2.4. 1.1.6 The Government believes that the HS2 network should link to Heathrow and its preferred option is for this to be built as part of Phase Two. However, the Government has since taken the decision to pause work on the Heathrow link until after 2015 when it expects the Airports Commission to publish its final report on recommended options for maintaining the country’s status as an international aviation hub. 1.1.7 For consultation and environmental assessment purposes, the proposed Phase One route has been divided into 26 community forum areas (CFA), as shown in Figure 1. This has enabled wider public engagement on the Proposed Scheme design and on the likely adverse and beneficial effects. 1