Dorothea Hackman, Camden Civic Society
Published:
8:45 AM March 6, 2021
HS2 protesters at Euston Station
- Credit: Dorothea Hackman
When the Euston Tree Protectors camp was established on August 28, 2020, High Speed 2 (HS2) wanted Euston Square Gardens East for their temporary taxi parking area in September.
At the HS2 tree panel we had won a reprieve for the two largest trees, in the north and east, and the House of Lords had told them to leave the trees along the south, Euston Road side, but they planned to fell the trees in the west and the middle.
Aside from hurting our community by destroying our trees and green spaces, HS2 is a terrible idea because of environmental damage all the way up the line – 108 ancient woodlands and a major aquifer and carbon emissions from construction that will take over a century to compensate. There are far more important regional railway improvements in the north to undertake, that will not saddle future generations with debt for developers profit. This needs re-evaluation for a post-Covid-19 world.