A total of six funds are now available from HS2 Ltd to support communities impacted by the construction of Britain’s new high speed rail network.
The HS2 Community & Environment Fund (CEF) and Business & Local Economy Fund (BLEF) have supported a range of community, environment and road safety issues along the first phase of the route between the West Midlands and London.
Due to the success of the funding, the initiative has been extended to cover the next phase of HS2 construction, Phase 2a, which runs from the West Midlands on to Crewe.
The six initiatives, designed go beyond mitigation and statutory compensation to benefit communities and economies along the route, are available to community groups and organisations in the Phase 2a regions. These include:
- £5m CEF and BLEF funds to benefit communities and economies along the route
- £6.5m HS2 Road Safety Fund to provide improvements to the network to benefit communities along the route
- £2m HS2 Woodland Fund to help with the creation of native broadleaved woodlands and restoration of ancient woodland
- £2m Biodiversity Fund to create or enhance wildlife habitats in an effort to deliver “biodiversity gains” along the route
- £1.5m for the Trent-Sow Parklands and Cannock Chase area of outstanding natural beauty to support and enhance the area
- £850k for landscape and environmental projects in the Cheshire East borough area
