My Lords, first, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, and the noble Baroness, Lady Randerson, for their contributions. I say at the outset that I fully appreciate
the intent behind their amendment in terms of maximising the use of rail for the transportation of material in relation to HS2. Both the noble Lord and the noble Baroness rightly focused on the concerns that have been raised, particularly in the London Borough of Camden and in Euston. However, the majority of construction sites for HS2 phase 1 are in rural areas and, practically speaking, do not have ready access to an existing rail network. Put simply, imposing the limits proposed in the amendment would mean that it would not be possible to construct HS2. However, it is important to take on board some of the points that have been made and answer them directly.
I of course share the concerns about the impacts of HS2 construction on the road network, as do the Government. As noble Lords may be aware, the Government have already made commitments with similar intentions. We have committed to maximise the volume of excavated and construction material to be brought in and removed by rail. This will need to be done while balancing the wider environmental impacts on the local community and on passenger services.
Specifically on the point of spoil by rail, the noble Lord and the noble Baroness talked about targets, and the Lords Select Committee was mentioned in the noble Baroness’s remarks. I am sure that noble Lords have also reflected on the committee’s note. Again, I thank the committee once again for its exhaustive work in this respect. Paragraph 411 of its report says:
“We are satisfied that HS2 is taking this responsibility seriously”,
and the report goes on to say that it saw,
“no useful purpose to be served by attempting to set fixed targets. It would be little more than plucking aspirational figures out of the air”.
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I hope that the noble Lord and the noble Baroness agree on that basis that, while I agree with the overall sentiment behind this proposal, fixing targets—and this is the important point—ahead of the detailed design stage of the project and in advance of the discussion with the contractors who will deliver their main works is, to my mind, premature. Noble Lords may also be aware that the commitment followed on from a detailed materials-by-rail study that HS2 undertook last year. I am sure that noble Lords will appreciate that, with regard to the amount of material that we move by rail, consideration needs to be given to the availability of rail sidings that we will need to transfer material on to rail. In addition, we need to consider the impact that moving material by rail would have on existing passenger and freight train parts and services, in the immediate vicinity but also on the wider network in terms of consequential impacts. Of course, that is importantly balanced against the impact on local residents arising from moving material on the road, which both noble Lords alluded to.
I also hope that the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, in particular, is reassured by the commitment given to the Rail Freight Group and the Freight Transport Association and their members on the transportation of excavated materials, with a view to maximising as far as is reasonably practical the use of rail freight to support the construction of the proposed scheme.
Finally, we feel that the amendment is further unnecessary on the basis, as noble Lords may be aware, that we are already very much committed to preparing local traffic management plans in liaison with the relevant highway and traffic authorities, which will be the means by which we agree, manage and monitor local traffic flows. Of course, it will be the local authority that must approve the lorry routes used in connection to HS2.
I noticed that the noble Baroness referred to the issue of Crossrail, and the building of that. As the Minister responsible for Crossrail, I have looked into the background of that major infrastructure project, and there are places where materials, before they were shipped on to other modes of transport, be it by rail or river, were in the first instance put on the roads. But even that project was managed by agreeing targets that worked locally and reflected that we were further down the road on the design.
I hope that with the assurances that I have given thus far and the practical element—that much of HS2 will be in rural areas, where, practically speaking, rail may not be currently accessible—and with the assurances previously given to the respective freight associations, along with the analysis of the Select Committee, the noble Lord will feel able to withdraw his amendment.