HS2: how will it impact wildlife and the environment?

The new high-speed railway, HS2 has been given the green light to start the production process by the UK government in recent weeks. It is described as one of the most exciting and beneficial transport projects throughout the whole of Europe that we have seen in recent years, but what effect is the construction of this scheme going to have on the UK’s wildlife population and the environment?

This project may have a large economic value to the government and the companies involved but is the cost to biodiversity across the country in the midst of a climate crisis really worth it? With many UK wildlife populations already in steady decline, it seems unjust to create a project to generate further threats to the survival of vital native species.

The Wildlife Trusts up and down the country have calculated that HS2 will produce a significant risk to five protected wildlife sites, 33 sites for scientific research, 108 ancient woodlands and 693 local wildlife sites.

Once built, the risk of noise pollution on the remaining species in the surrounding habitats is high and as previous studies have shown, human-induced noise can have many detrimental impacts on individuals and their overall survival.

Although construction has yet to start, preparations have already been made. Trees where bats roost have been removed while bats are absent over winter and miles of hedgerows have been teared up, which will cause a huge disturbance to the abundance of many species such as: hedgehogs, birds and many invertebrates.

The organisers of HS2 have tried to take a “green” approach in recent weeks after a backlash from activists and the public. They have included in their plans to help reduce the disturbance of wildlife by creating 16 wildlife friendly bridges above the line which will connect habitats and allow wildlife to move freely. They have also announced they will create new habitats in new areas once the railway has been built to compensate for the space that HS2 will take.

My Thoughts…

I personally feel that HS2 isn’t a great project, particularly at a time when concern for rising mass extinction is so prominent. The impacts that this transport will have on the UK’s wildlife during construction and after isn’t a valid price to pay for yet another high-speed rail line. This highlights for me what the priorities of our current government are and their attitudes towards the growing concern of climate change and the preservation of our native species. Even though HS2 have tried to take a more environmentally friendly approach, it still has many downfalls. There is no way to completely bypass the issue of destroying landscapes, habitats and putting wildlife at risk.