Tuesday 16 January 2018

Why Failing Grayling must go



When Transport Secretary Chris Grayling visited Crofton in Secret in August 2016 - a week after our community protest against the new HS2 route affecting Crofton, he instructed HS2 Limited to think again about the planned Rolling Stock Depot as it was clear that encircling the village with high speed track and depot was unacceptable even to him. When he announced in parliament in November 2016 - a study would be made by HS2 Limited into alternative locations we cheered. When we met Junior Transport Minister in London Andrew Jones we asked him to thank Chris Grayling for getting this right. But despite our best efforts and those of our MP Jon Trickett, Grayling has dodged all attempts to fix a meeting with him either in November 2016, March 2017 or July 2017. Now 16 months after his secret visit, the depot move announcement remains unannounced. An encouraging sign is that HS2 Limited has safeguarded the alternative Leeds Depot site next to the Nostrop Sewage Works but the silcnce is deafening. The results of the October Consultation remain unpublished. Paul Maynard, the replacement Junior Minister for Andrew Jones has left the Department For Transport and still no news. This has blighted the Economic Energy project at New Crofton Mine.
During the 2017 General Election Chris Grayling came to Crofton to get phorographed next to the new Wakefield Eastern Bypass. When Rail Fares rose in January 3.6% to pay for the increased cost of HS2 - Grayling few to Qatar to dodge questions. A Few weeks later HS2 Contractor Carillion went into Liquidation owing billions of pounds, and it emerged that Grayling had awarded Carillion a £1.5 billion contract on Phase 1 in July 2017 ten days after they issued a profit warning and their share price collapsed. The very same day Grayling announced that he was ignoring the 94% of Yorkshire people including 99% of Crofton Residents who opposed the New HS2 M18 Eastern Route plan. So much for his championing the Will of the people. It has now emerged that as Justice Minister in 2015, Grayling awarded Carillion with a £200m Contract to run 50 Prisons (comments on a postcard please). For 27 Seconds in January Grayling was announced to have left the Transport Department as Conservative Party Chairman before it was announced as a mistake. Strikes on Northern Rail and Southern Rail show how funding is being taken from existing rail services to fund the £111bn HS2.
Attempts to get a review into the M18 Decision by MPs have been rebuffed, even though Doncaster Council, Rotherham Council have shown it will cost more money, create fewer jobs and create more property impacts than the old Meadowhall Route.
We will be protesting at Morley Town Hall on Feb 2nd when Grayling speaks at a Conservative Dinner and at the Royal Armouries on March 2nd when the speaks at a Northern Rail Conference in Leeds. Our Message, Grayling must go, HS2 must go and a money must be put into a Yorkshire Transport Plan instead. The Transport for the North Strategic Plan has been drawn up in the knowledge that Sheffield does not connect to Leeds under current funding plans and the plans to link Sheffield and Manchester within 30 mins (currently 48 mins) cannot be achieved. Our plans drawn up with High Speed UK achieve all of these things but Grayling, Transport for the North and HS2 Limited still refuse to listen.


The Carillion Collapse, the Property Data Scandal, the Quitting Ministers, Redundancy Fraud all have made many cracks in the HS2 Dam, which continues to look about to fail yet still stands but for how long?
We will keep the pressure up through our supporting councillors, MPs and campaigners and support those in the South fighting HS2 as attemps are made to bully & intimidate peaceful residents  protesting breaches of HS2's own environmental commitments. Shame on HS2, we carry on the fight.