A EUROPEAN MP has labelled High Speed 2 a 'short-sighted and costly scheme'.

The Green Party's Keith Taylor, one of Buckinghamshire's representatives in Brussels, said the damage to the environment is unjustified for a 'rich man's railway'.

Responding to the Government's approval of the £33bn scheme last week, he said: “This is a short-sighted and costly scheme that will take 15 years to complete.

“The unproven economic and social benefits which the scheme claims to bring do not merit the irreparable environmental damage which will be caused through higher energy consumption, noise, CO2 emissions and biodiversity loss.

“Creating deep cuttings and tunnels through EU protected wildlife sites is not a price to pay for what is likely to be a rich man’s railway which will only serve four stations.”

Improving the existing rail infrastructure would be money better spent, he said.

“The money saved could be put into investment in jobs and regeneration in the north.

“HS2 will be a slightly faster, yet very expensive rail service, which will create a two tier rail network in this country.”

He added: “In a time of constrained finances, spending over £32 billion of public money on a scheme that won’t improve rail transport for the vast majority of travellers shows me that the government is entirely on the wrong track.”