Last week, I had the opportunity to ask the Minister of State at the Department for Transport, Robert Goodwill, a parliamentary question:
Mr Steve Baker (Wycombe) (Con): When construction of High Speed 2 is planned to begin. [904027]
The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Mr Robert Goodwill): A great deal of work has already been completed, and actual construction will start next year.
Mr Baker: Tempted as I am to propose that the Government build HS2 sometime in the Parliament after next, when it will be seen for the white elephant that it is, could the Minister reassure me that there is time enough to deal with all the environmental impacts of HS2, such as the construction impact on the historic village of West Wycombe in my constituency?
Mr Goodwill: My hon. Friend did promise me an impish supplementary question and I was not disappointed. The fact is that we have promised that there will be no net environmental loss during the construction. Indeed, we plan to plant 2 million trees as part of the phase 1 construction. I think it will be a project that we can be proud of and one that communities up and down the country will value as part of our economic plans.”
