![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/hs2-poses-a-real-threat-to-our-homes-and-could-change-our-community-completely/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/0_Didsbury-HS2.jpg&description=HS2 railway bosses want permission to build a "sizeable" ventilation shaft in a flood zone in West Didsbury, in Manchester, leaving residents "very, very worried" HS2 poses a major threat to residents living in parts of south Manchester who fear their community could be destroyed. The high-speed railway line will run from London to Manchester, with branches in Birmingham and the East Midlands, and is due for completion between 2029 and 2033. The current costs are just over £40billion, with a contingency placing it at £44.6bn. People living in Didsbury and Northenden, on the banks of the River Mersey, already face threats whenever storms hit as flooding is often never too far away. But now HS2 bosses want to build a "sizeable" ventilation shaft at the former Hollies Convent School site in West Didsbury. They say the infrastructure is necessary to regulate air quality and temperature in the HS2 tunnels which would run below the line. However, there is a growing belief in the community that the current plans are simply in the wrong place. The location sits in 'flood zone three', meaning it is currently deemed to be an area of significant risk of flooding. Alison Hunt, environmental officer for West Didsbury Residents Association, says people are 'very, very worried'. She told the Manchester Evening News: "It's in a very densely populated area, near the River Mersey, which floods regularly. We've had two 'one-in-100-year' events in 2021 [and 2022], and a lot of people were evacuated from their homes. "This will undoubtedly increase flood risk." Alison says the plans in their current form would 'destroy a large green area that acts as a natural sponge and flood defence'. A ventilation shaft had previously been planned at Withington Golf Course, which sat in the local flood basin - land used to carry the flow of floodwater. That proposal was axed due to concerns about the flood risk, but there are fears the latest proposals are still not good enough. Statements published){kind=link}
HS2 railway bosses want permission to build a “sizeable” ventilation shaft in a flood zone in West Didsbury, in Manchester, leaving residents “very, very worried”
HS2 poses a major threat to residents living in parts of south Manchester who fear their community could be destroyed.
The high-speed railway line will run from London to Manchester, with branches in Birmingham and the East Midlands, and is due for completion between 2029 and 2033. The current costs are just over £40billion, with a contingency placing it at £44.6bn.
People living in Didsbury and Northenden, on the banks of the River Mersey, already face threats whenever storms hit as flooding is often never too far away. But now HS2 bosses want to build a “sizeable” ventilation shaft at the former Hollies Convent School site in West Didsbury. They say the infrastructure is necessary to regulate air quality and temperature in the HS2 tunnels which would run below the line.
However, there is a growing belief in the community that the current plans are simply in the wrong place. The location sits in ‘flood zone three’, meaning it is currently deemed to be an area of significant risk of flooding. Alison Hunt, environmental officer for West Didsbury Residents Association, says people are ‘very, very worried’.