Dear Editor, I thought the comments by Adrian Shooter and others reported in your paper recently in relation to HS2, and the accusation of narrow self interest levelled at the opposition to the project, were very interesting.
I am the chairman of a parish council in Buckinghamshire so indeed I must declare an interest.
Perhaps Mr Shooter could expand on his own self interest as the chief of a railway company and whether his or related group companies will be bidding for operating contracts on the new line? Certainly when the plans were revealed and the impact on our village realised there was naturally a high degree of concern about the local environmental impact and the loss of amenity.
However, the more we looked at the business plan the more our thoughts as taxpayers began to focus on whether the costs versus the suggested national benefits were at all realistic.
My plea to the business leaders and councillors in Birmingham is please, as tax payers, elected representatives and investors, make sure that these projected jobs in your region are real and sustainable.
We will all be paying for this project for many years to come whether through taxes, lost alternative investment or environmental destruction.
Please do not take the business case at face value.
John Ford
The Lee,
Buckinghamshire
