A computer generated image of what a new HS2 bridge near Great Missenden could look like has been released.
HS2 has come under fire in recent weeks for felling trees in Leather Lane, off the A413, and clearing vegetation including removing hedgerows and trees, despite more than 40,000 people signing a petition to save the trees.
It is to allow for the realignment of Leather Lane, which will cross the controversial railway line on a new bridge slightly to the south of the existing road.
The BFP reported on Thursday that almost half of the “majestic” trees that were due to be cut down have been saved after Bucks Council and the Chilterns Conservation Board intervened.
HS2 has now released a CGI of how the new bridge could look, explaining that while this is not the final design, it is why it would “never be able to keep 100 per cent of the trees which line the lane”.
ALSO READ: 'Destruction of the countryside': Fury at HS2 for felling more 'majestic' trees
An HS2 spokesman said: “This isn’t new. The HS2 Act 2017 always included the permanent realignment of Leather Lane in order to keep communities on both sides of the line connected.”
The site is just north of the Chiltern tunnel, where the line will be in a cutting on approach to the Wendover Dean viaduct.
HS2 said on Thursday it would be able to keep more than 40 per cent of the trees, adding it has been speaking to the local community and council “for several weeks” about how many of the trees need to be removed.
But residents have described HS2’s activities as an “awful destruction of the countryside”, saying people living in the area have had their lives “turned upside down”.
ALSO READ: 'I feel sick': Residents distraught as 'beautiful' trees are felled by HS2
One resident, Jim Ashton, who has been documenting the process on his Twitter page, blasted the tree-felling as “ecocide” and “vandalism”, adding: “It's disgusting, I feel sick. We can't sleep... as long as I live I will be traumatised by this. I cannot comprehend what is going on.”
An HS2 spokesman said the construction of the contentious line “is playing a vital role in Britain’s economic recovery from Covid-19, with over 15,000 people already working on the project and tens of thousands of additional jobs supported…”.
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