High Speed Rail (Crewe – Manchester) Bill
In January 2022, the Government introduced draft legislation into Parliament.
The purpose of the High Speed Rail (Crewe – Manchester) Bill is to authorise the construction and operation of the High Speed Two (HS2) railway network – known as HS2 Phase 2b – to run between Crewe and Manchester.
The Bill was accompanied by an Environmental Statement (‘the main ES’) that reports the environmental impacts of the planned new railway.
The Bill and its accompanying documents have been deposited in Parliament and are available on this to download for free or purchase as a hard copy from this online shop.
Amendments to the Bill
It’s common for changes to be made to the proposals in a Bill, as a result of design refinements and as discussions with landowners, occupiers and other parties take place.
These changes are presented in a set of documents called ‘Additional Provisions’, or APs, which detail each amendment. APs are accompanied by an Environmental Statement (ES) that reports the significant environmental effects of the amendments in the relevant areas. The first AP (AP1) was deposited in Parliament on 6 July 2022. The Supplementary Environmental Statement 1 (SES1) was published alongside AP1 on 6 July 2022.
Additional Provision 2 (AP2) – July 2023
This online shop has been updated to include AP2 deposited in Parliament on 3 July 2023. The Additional Provision 2 Environmental Statement (AP2 ES) is also included.
The documents in the AP2 deposit only describe amendments (and the likely significant environmental effects of the amendments) to the Bill and the main ES, and AP1 and the SES1 and AP1 ES, where relevant. They do not supersede any elements of the Bill or AP1 other than the changes or new measures specified in AP2.
Supplementary Environmental Statement (SES2) – July 2023
The SES2 reports the likely significant environmental effects of other proposed changes that are within the existing scope of the Bill. This online shop has been updated to include SES2.
Changes within SES2 include: new and updated environmental baseline information (e.g. as a result of further surveys completed); changes to the design and construction assumptions; and corrections to the main ES and SES1 and AP1 ES.
The SES2 and AP2 ES are separate environmental statements, but are presented in combined volumes so that they can be reviewed together.
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How do I find documents relevant to me?
The documents can be viewed by clicking on the ‘Additional Provision 2 and Supplementary Environmental Statement 2 (July 2023)’ button above.
We recommend reading the Guide to the SES2 and AP2 document first, as it explains the purpose and structure of the AP2 and SES2. There are opportunities available to comment on the proposals in the reports – these are also explained in the guidance document.
The HS2 Phase 2b route
The proposed Phase 2b route will run from Crewe to Manchester and is divided into eight ‘community areas’, which you can view by clicking on the map. Since the deposit of the Bill, the Secretary of State has decided to remove the HS2 West Coast Main Line (WCML) connection from the Bill and has given this commitment to Parliament. As a result, the WCML connection from near Hoo Green junction on the HS2 network to the Lily Lane junction, near Golborne, on the WCML has been removed. Further details of this change can be found in the SES1 and AP1 ES.
You can find reports on each community area in Volume 2 of the Environmental Statements.
