HS2 responds to claims from Stop HS2 campaigners that workers are showing contempt for coronavirus guidelines

HS2 officials have responded to claims by Stop HS2 campaigners that its contractors are showing contempt for government guidelines on social distancing amid the coronavirus pandemic.
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Officials with the high speed rail project (HS2) has confirmed the majority of its construction sites have 'paused' works or are 'pausing' works due to the Public Health England guidelines issued during the coronavirus outbreak.

The government gave the green light last month to the HS2 rail project linking London to Birmingham and beyond to the north. HS2 is due to be completed by 2040.

While most works will be 'paused' HS2 officials have said others will remain ongoing and following PHE guidelines.

An HS2 spokesperson said: “To ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of our workforce and the communities in which we are working, only construction sites that can maintain Government guidelines and are critical to the delivery of HS2 will remain operational.

“As a result, the majority of our sites have paused or are pausing construction works. Those sites still working are doing so because they are confident they are operating within PHE guidelines, and will be monitored and remain under constant review.

"The health, safety and wellbeing of the communities along the route of the new railway, and our staff, remains our absolute priority.

"We are working closely with our construction partners to review the works on our construction sites in line with government and Public Health England (PHE) advice on dealing with COVID-19. The government’s current COVID-19 strategy makes clear that construction activity can continue as long as it complies with this guidance.

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HS2

"Work at the majority of our sites has been paused as we complete this review, noting that some staff may be present to make the safety assessments and to ensure the sites remain safe and secure.

"We do expect that work will restart at some of these sites where our contractors are confident that they can operate in line with PHE and industry guidance, protecting our staff and the communities in which they are working."

All face-to-face engagement events and meetings have been postponed during this period.

Stop HS2 Campaign

Campaigners with the Stop HS2 group have called for all work to stop on the project claiming social distancing guidelines have been breached during works on the project.

The Stop HS2 Campaign said many contractors are coming in to work on HS2 from all areas of the country, with compounds in Warwickshire known to have people coming in from Birmingham, Swindon, Preston, Liverpool, Peterborough and Bedford.

The campaign calls it a severe concern, as whilst the contractors themselves are largely in low-risk groups, they are coming into a hundred miles worth of small rural communities with high proportions of elderly residents.

The lack of amenities in many of these isolated villages, with many areas having only one shop open for miles around, makes contractors and locals trying to occupy the same space inevitable.

Stop HS2 campaign manager Joe Rukin said: “All work on HS2 must stop immediately. We have all seen the footage of contractors crammed together in London, but the same thing is happening in the rural communities where HS2 preparation work continues unabated.

"It is absolutely clear from the footage we have collected that HS2 Ltd and their contractors have absolutely no intention of imposing social distancing, in fact the nature of the work they are trying to carry out which includes felling woodlands in bird nesting season, makes distancing impossible.

"With contractors coming in from all over the country and ignoring all the medical advice, HS2 Ltd are creating the perfect environment to cultivate Covid-19 and dump it into rural communities with high proportions of vulnerable elderly residents.

“Not only must all work stop now, but with there being so many other things that now desperately need the money that has been earmarked for HS2, and the crisis demonstrating the increased viability of home working, work on HS2 should stop, and never start again.”