A series of legal challenges to the High Speed 2 rail project have been dismissed by the UK’s Court of Appeal.
The court today (July 24) rejected all seven challenges lodged against plans to build HS2 which will initially link London and Birmingham. The decision was made following four days of hearings at the Royal Courts of Justice in June.
The decision was welcomed by the coalition government which said it would be “moving forward as planned with introducing legislation in Parliament later this year and getting the scheme ready for construction in 2017”.
High Speed rail minister Simon Burns added: “By dismissing all seven grounds of appeal and declining to refer the case to Europe, this is the second time in four months a court has rejected attempts to derail HS2.
“Parliament is the right place to debate the merits of HS2, not the law courts, and we will introduce the hybrid bill for phase one before the year is out.
“I urge opponents not to waste any more taxpayers’ money on expensive litigation and instead work with us on making HS2 the very best it can be.”
Phase one of the scheme (London-Birmingham) is due to open in 2026, with the full Y-shaped route to Manchester and Leeds to follow in 2032 or 2033.