A beacon was lit at Thorpe Mandeville last Monday in protest against the HS2 Rail Link and warning the start of the consultation process.
Despite cold and wet weather about 100 supporters attended the beacon lighting at Lower Thorpe including Lizzy Williams, chairman of the national campaign STOP HS2. Over 50 beacons were lit by objectors along the proposed HS2 route.
All five homes in the hamlet of Lower Thorpe are due to be demolished to make way for the HS2 London to Birmingham High Speed Rail Link.
“Opposition to HS2 is not a Nimby rave” says Tania Parsons of Lower Thorpe, “It is an economic concern affecting us all.”
“Because of their financial and environmental loss, those directly affected are the most motivated to scrutinise the proposed scheme, whereas HS2 supporters often talk in lofty generalisations.
The HS2 economic case is fundamentally flawed, but attractive to politicians who perceive it as emblematic and futuristic and, to Mr Hammond, a legacy.”
“But the minimum cost is a whopping £17billion for the first phase alone - £160m a mile - £1,500 for every household in Britain, in an economic environment where the Government preaches austerity and makes cutbacks of essential services and where individuals are facing uncertainty and redundancies.”
“The Philip Hammond HS2 PR circus has started, but taxpayers need to look beyond the spin and
count the cost in relation to the true benefits before supporting this vanity project – So much is being
spent for the benefit of so few.”
Thorpe Mandeville is a small rural parish on the border of south-west Northamptonshire, approximately 6 miles north-east of Banbury and 9 miles north-west of Brackley. (See www.thorpe-mandeville.info )
