FAQS
HS2
1) Current News
HS2 Announcements that affect the parish can be found here
2) How to contact HS2
Helpdesk 08081 434 434 24/7 freephone
Email HS2enquiries@hs2.org.uk
Or write to
High Speed Two (HS2) Limited, 2 Snowhill, Queensway, Birmingham B4 6GA
Website www.gov.uk/hs2
3) Route Maps
The most up to date maps of the HS2 route produced can be viewed at GOV.UK
Route maps for HS2 Phase one
https://www.gov.uk/transport/hs2-phase-one
The Country South part of the HS2 – phase one – crosses the Great Missenden parish. The updated plan and profile maps for various sections of Country South 2016 can be found at
4) Safeguarded areas
Safeguarding is an established part of the planning process, designed to ensure that land which has been identified for major infrastructure projects is protected from conflicting developments.
NOTE: Please be aware that some of these maps are very large and may take some time to download depending on your internet connection and speed, and the hardware or device you are using.
Construction routes through Buckinghamshire around the parish can be found Buckinghamshire Sheet 2
5) HS2 Planning Process
HS2 has been granted outline planning permission through the Act of Parliament. HS2 will seek approval of highway related matters from the local authorities, but the grounds upon which they can object are restricted. The local authorities cannot object to HS2 or prevent it from happening. There is no statutory requirement for the local authorities to carry out any further consultation with any other parties or inform the public on receipt of such submissions. The local authorities will not therefore be carrying out any formal consultation with local residents and Parish Councils on highways submissions. You can however view some of the applications online
6) History of High Speed Rail in the UK
High-speed rail arrived in the United Kingdom with the opening in 2003 of the first part of High Speed 1 (then known as the 108 km (67 mi) Channel Tunnel Rail Link) between London and the Channel Tunnel.
The assessment of the case for a second high-speed line was proposed in 2009 by the Department for Transport DfT under the Labour government, which was to be developed by a new company, High Speed Two Limited (HS2 Ltd).
Following a review by the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition, a route was opened to public consultation in December 2010 based on a Y-shaped route from London to Birmingham with branches to Leeds and Manchester, as originally put forward by the previous Labour government, with alterations designed to minimise the visual, noise, and other environmental impacts of the line. The preferred route was announced on 11 March 2010.
In January 2012 the Secretary of State for Transport announced that HS2 would go ahead in two phases and the legislative process would be achieved through two hybrid bills. The High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Act 2017 authorising the construction of Phase 1 passed both Houses of Parliament and received Royal Assent in February 2017 with the first services scheduled for 2026.
Phase 2a High Speed Rail (West Midlands – Crewe) bill seeking the power to construct Phase 2 up to Crewe and decisions on the remainder of the Phase 2b route was introduced in July 2017, scheduled for full completion by 2033.
7) High Speed 2 (HS2) Phase 1
HS2 is being developed by High Speed Two (HS2) Ltd, a company limited by guarantee established by the Department of Transport.
Phase 2 will directly connect London, Birmingham, the East Midlands, Leeds and Manchester with high-speed trains travelling up to 400 km/h (250 mph) on 330 miles (530 km) of track.
Peak hour capacity at the HS2 London terminal at London Euston is predicted to more than triple when the network is fully operational, increasing from 11,300 to 34,900 passengers each way. The line is to be built in a “Y” configuration, with London at the bottom of the “Y”, Birmingham at the centre, Leeds at the top right and Manchester at the top left.
Phase 1 – London to the West Midlands
Phase 1 of HS2 from London to Birmingham
Phase 1 Route
Phase 1 route will create a new high speed line between London and Birmingham by 2026. A high speed link will also be provided to the existing West Coast Main Line (WCML) just north of Lichfield in Staffordshire which will provide services to North West of England and Scotland, ahead of later phases.
Four stations will be included on the route: the London and Birmingham termini will be London Euston and Birmingham Curzon Street terminus station, with interchanges at Old Oak Common railway station and Birmingham Interchange respectively.
The route will exit London via a tunnel to West Ruislip from where it crosses the Colne Valley (including the M25) on a major viaduct, then a further tunnel under the Chilterns AONB to emerge near South Heath. North of the second tunnel, the route will run roughly parallel to the existing A413 road and London to Aylesbury Line corridor, passing to the west of Wendover in what HS2 call a ‘green tunnel’. This is a cut-and-cover tunnel which has soil spread over the final construction, to enable it to be used for agriculture or amenity. After passing west of Aylesbury, the route will run along the corridor of the former Great Central Main Line, joining the former line north of Quainton Road to travel through rural North Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire up to Mixbury, south of Brackley from where will cross the A43 and open countryside through South Northamptonshire, and Warwickshire. North of a bored tunnel under Long Itchington Wood, the route will pass though rural areas between Kenilworth and Coventry and cross the A46 to enter the West Midlands.
Birmingham Interchange station will be situated on the outskirts of Solihull, close to the strategic road network including the M42, M6, M6 toll and A45; the route will feature viaduct crossings of all these roads. North of the station, a triangular junction (known as the ‘delta junction’ located west of Coleshill which will link the HS2 Birmingham city centre spur with the line continuing north from which Phase 2a and 2b will be developed. The northern limit for Phase 1 will be a connection onto the WCML near Lichfield. This part of the line would be operative with compatible high speed trains moving onto the classic track WCML while the western leg of Phase 2 is being built.
The city centre spur will be routed along the Water Orton rail corridor, the Birmingham to Derby line through Castle Bromwich and in a tunnel past Bromford.
In November 2015, the then Chancellor, George Osborne, announced that the HS2 line would be extended to Crewe by 2027, reducing journey times from London to Crewe by 35 minutes. The section from Lichfield to Crewe is a part of Phase 2a planned to be built simultaneously with Phase 1, effectively merging Phase 2a with Phase 1. The proposed Crewe Hub incorporating a station catering for high-speed trains will be built as part of Phase 2a.
Potholes
1) Pothole FAQS
Potholes are the responsibility of Transport for Buckinghamshire.
To report an issue you can go on-line to https://www.fixmystreet.buckscc.gov.uk/ or phone 01296 395000.
The Bucks Council site can also be used to report issues of flooding, grit bins, rubbish or fly tipping, street signs, traffic lights, street lights, abandoned vehicles, litter, street cleaning and broken glass in a cycle lane. For some of these they will pass the issue on to the appropriate organisation or you could make direct contact.
Should you be unlucky enough to damage your vehicle due to a pothole see https://www.gov.uk/claim-for-damage-to-your-vehicle or search for similar pages from the AA and other organisations such as https://www.theaa.com/breakdown-cover/advice/pothole-damage-how-to-claim.
Note the AA gives this warning: “although you might be able to claim for the cost of any repairs, the relevant authority does have a statutory defence. They cannot be held responsible for a pothole they didn’t know about, either because it hadn’t been reported to them or because it wasn’t picked up by them during their regular checks.”
Reporting Problems
1) Report a problem
The council, through its councillors and Clerks is always willing to assist members of our electorate in any way we can. The council holds surgeries where you can meet us on a regular basis. Please contact the parish office for details of dates and location.
It is, however, important in order to avoid disappointment to understand the limit to our powers. These are set out in our What does your Parish Council do? page. For example, our potholes FAQ explains that road issues are better addressed to Bucks Council. If you nevertheless think we may be able to help, please use our Contact page.
For anything that Bucks Council are responsible for, please use the Fix My Street reporting page. This allows you to report problems such as; abandoned vehicles, drainage issues, flytipping, public toilets, rights of way, roads and pavements, refuse and recycling, salt & griting, street cleaning, traffic lights & crossings, trees and vegetation.
Street Lights
1) Street Light FAQS
Great Missenden Parish Council owns and maintains 71 street lights. For a full list of these please click here. If you notice a problem with one of these lights please email or call the parish office.
clerk@greatmissendenpc.co.uk or 01494 864792
All other street lights in the parish are maintained by Bucks Council. To report a problem please click on the link below:-
https://www.fixmystreet.buckscc.gov.uk/
All you need is the postcode or street name. You can then choose the category ‘Street Lights’. This will show all the street lights on a map that are maintained by Transport for Bucks. You can then click on the street light that there is a problem with.
If the problem is dangerous or an emergency please call Transport for Bucks directly on 01296 382416 (9.00 – 17.30 Mon-Thurs, 9.00 – 17.00 Friday) or 01296 486630 (out of hours and weekends).
Planning
1) Parish Council Planning Committee
One of the best known and most important areas of our role in the community is planning. The Parish Council plays an active part in all local planning issues. However, not everyone is aware of exactly how the system works or how to get the most assistance from their Parish Council in relation to planning matters.
Parish Councils may comment on all planning applications within their boundaries, and some that are on the borders. Although a Parish Council can/will make its opinion known to the relevant Planning Authority, it is only a recommendation and is not binding on whoever is making the final decision. The Parish Council’s view contains local, specific information which should have a bearing on any decision made and which may not be immediately obvious to the Planning Officers.
The Parish Council’s role, therefore, is to try to view all applications objectively and either support or object for reasons explicitly stated in the Planning Policies for the relevant Planning Authority area.
The newly formed Bucks Council is the planning authority who make the decision. There is a Chiltern Area division of Bucks Council that has retained planning decisions for this area.
The Mechanics
On the first Monday of each month the Parish Council Planning Committee hold a meeting to consider the planning applications for the parish that Bucks Council have received for the month.
Before the official meeting starts members of the public may make a representation either for or against an application (public forum). They are allowed a 5-minute time slot, with an opportunity for questions at the end of each representation.
Deliberations on the application will not be made immediately following the representation. Once all representations of the public forum have been made and questions satisfactorily answered, the representatives are free to leave if they wish.
The Planning Committee will then commence the formal meeting following strictly to the agenda.
Items on the agenda will concern decisions made by district council on previous applications, emails from parishioners, items of concern (e.g. larger proposed developments) followed by the current month’s listed applications for consideration.
It should be said at this point that any applications made by or on behalf of HS2 are considered by a separate department at the district council, and that the parish council has no part in this process.
With the exception of the above, the Parish Council Planning Committee then considers each of the listed applications.
Prior to this meeting, members of the planning committee will have taken the opportunity to examine the documents of the applications and, if required, visit the properties, or in some cases use online maps and street views.
The application
The plans provided in the application are:
- Location site plan as existing
- Elevations as existing
- First floor plan as existing and proposed
- Ground floor plan as existing and proposed
- Elevation plan proposed
In circumstances where the project is considerably larger, or may encroach on open land and subsequently have an impact on wildlife, road access, archaeology or heritage, etc. more reports may be required:
- Design & access statement
- Ecology officer comments
- Historic England
- Heritage assessments
- Highways officer
- Archaeological officer
- Tree officer
- Chiltern society
- Building control – fire-fighting access
- Drainage strategy report
The committee will have to read and consider these reports as they should contain information that may have a bearing on the deliberations. This is all done prior to the meeting so that discussions can be informed and decisions balanced.
Whilst reviewing the set of plans, the committee consider whether the proposed application will result in:-
- Overshadowing
- Overlooking and Loss of Privacy
- Adequate parking and servicing
- Overbearing nature of proposal
- Loss of trees
- Loss of ecological habitats
- Design and appearance
- Layout and density of buildings
- Effect on listed buildings
- Effect on conservation areas
- Access and highways safety
- Traffic generation
- Noise and disturbance from the scheme
- Disturbance from smells
- Public Visual amenity
- Flood risk.
(produced by NALC)
Certain issues may not be considered as ‘objections’ but it is entirely reasonable for you to raise concerns on such issues and to ask to be kept informed before they are approved.
These include:
- The proposed type and colour of the materials to be used
- The exact nature of any proposed planting or boundary treatment
Irrelevant reasons for objection
There are certain matters which do not amount to ‘material planning considerations’ under current legislation and guidance. These matters cannot be taken into account in considering a planning application and should not be included in objections as they weaken the case:
- Speculation over future use
- The identity of the applicant or occupant
- Unfair competition
- Boundary disputes
- Breach of covenants and personal property rights, including personal (not Public) rights of way
- Loss of a private view
- Devaluation of property
- Other financial matters
- Matters controlled by other legislation – such as internal space standards for dwellings or fire prevention
- Religious or moral issues – such as betting shops and amusement arcades
(produced by NALC
Having weighed the application against the relevant lists above, a vote is taken as to whether the committee will be recommending objecting or not objecting to the application.
These recommendations are ratified at full parish council meeting on the following Monday and are then sent to Bucks Council – Chiltern Area Planning department.
It is the responsibility of the parish council to represent local feeling and knowledge and to convey this to Bucks Council in writing. In some circumstances, where there is strong support or objections to the application, the council will ‘speak’ at the council chambers.
To reiterate – the Parish Council recommend to Bucks Council but in no way have any say in the final decision to allow or refuse an application.
We believe that the parish’s views and recommendations have some sway in the final decision – but that is all.
If an application is ‘called in’ by a Bucks Councillor, (which means the application is discussed in open chamber rather than in the planning office), the parish council will often go to chambers to make a representation on behalf of the parish. Only 3 mins are allowed for each representation, and this is strictly adhered to. By making a personal representation, the Parish Council hope that they can emphasise the feeling of the parish. They may not raise further issues but may repeat their original comments.
The Parish Council carry out this duty to the best of their ability. The responsibility of planning is taken very seriously by the parish council in the interests of and for the benefit of the parish.
In summary –
- Parish councils are not Planning Authorities; they are only statutory consultees in the planning process.
- This means that they only have the right to be informed of planning applications within the parish.
- They cannot approve or reject planning applications.
- They can only comment on planning applications in the same way that individuals can comment.
- Consequently, the length of time taken to determine a planning application is governed by the local planning authority not the parish council.
- A parish council can request that it be given extra time to comment on an application.
- The decision whether this is granted rests solely with the planning authority and its own deadlines for decision making.
2) Bucks Council Chiltern Area Planning Committee
If you wish to make a comment/submission on a planning application or would like to speak at a Chiltern Area Planning Committee Meeting you should contact:
Email:planning.comments.csb@buckinghamshire.gov.uk Telephone: 01494 732950
For further information on commenting on a planning application please see the information on the Chiltern Area Planning website – link below.
3) Speaking at Bucks Council Chiltern Area Planning Committee
If an application you have commented on is then referred to the Planning Committee for decision, then Bucks Council – Chiltern Area Planning will contact people who have already written, giving details together with a copy of this advice note. Parish/Town Councils who have already commented will also be notified that the application is to go to the Planning Committee.
You may be eligible for speaking at the planning committee provided that you have already made written comments to Bucks Council and have registered your wish to speak. Your spoken comments can only cover those aspects that you have previously set out in writing.
The following can speak at the meeting:
- One representative of the relevant Town/Parish Council (3 minutes in total);
- One person only, representing the objectors (3 minutes in total);
- One person only, representing supporters of the application. This person might be an applicant or his/her agent or any other person supporting the application (3 minutes in total).
You only have three minutes to speak so plan what you want to say. The Chairman will explain the process, and demonstrate the timing signal, at the start of the meeting.
If you wish to speak, you need to make your comments on the application before the Committee agenda is published.
Applicants, their supporters and objectors may arrange for a spokesperson or professional adviser to speak for them, in accordance with the procedures set out.
For more information please see the details on the Chiltern Area Planning website.