My Lords, this group of amendments deals with accountability, including a special report on ancient woodlands, which have of course been the subject of a great deal of debate. No observer of the tortuous process so far for agreeing and starting construction of HS2 can really disagree that more answer- ability needs to be built into the process if taxpayers are to feel comfortable with the project. I was pleased that the Government have appointed a Minister for HS2—that is a good start. There is, I believe, a ministerial taskforce to improve community relations.
The loss of woodland, however, is always a concern. I read the committee’s report very carefully and it deals with this issue in detail. It is important to be clear that the term “ancient woodland” does not mean specifically very old trees but simply that there have been trees in that spot since 1600—which of course means that there is a very well-established ecosystem—whereas very old trees are called veteran trees. According to the committee’s report, there are 10 areas of woodland that will be lost, equalling about 9.8 hectares, plus seven areas, mostly very small, that will be affected.
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To give a sense of the impact, there are over 50,000 separate pieces of ancient woodland listed throughout the UK, so the impact is marginal in numerical terms. However, any impact must be used as a reason to plant new trees. There is a debate about exactly how many can reasonably be required to be planted, although the committee believes that the Woodland Trust’s suggestion of 30 new trees for every old tree lost would be unreasonable. It cites in addition four new funds established for planting new trees and improving existing ancient woodland. I note that the National Trust, of which I declare an interest as a member, has received funding to undertake some of that.
Other important issues noted in the committee’s report include the importance of ensuring a stock of saplings free of disease. Another that I am personally particularly concerned about is the loss of wetlands, the importance of which is often overlooked by the general public. People see trees very much more easily than a patch of wetland.
The suggestion of an extra-long tunnel from Whitmore Heath to Madeley to avoid the loss of one patch of ancient woodland illustrates the ecological complexity of the situation. Tunnelling creates damage to the environment—materials have to be dug up in enormous quantities, transported and dumped somewhere else, which of course suffers from that impact, and the process creates emissions and noise, which makes life very uncomfortable for those nearby—so it is not an easy solution.
It would be wise for there to be continuous and careful monitoring as phase 2a is built, and in a format accessible to members of the public. However, we live in a densely populated island and we cannot build anything on this scale without affecting some established habitats. What we need is a structure to ensure that as few habitats as possible are affected and that promised remedial measures are robust and fully implemented.
I look on the environment as a balance sheet. In the fundamental fight against climate change, I am certain that HS2 will make an overwhelmingly positive contribution, with far more environmental goods than harms.