HS2 and Atherstone: Fire chief in congestion warning

TARGETED RESPONSE TIMES FROM STATIONS 'WILL HAVE TO BE LOOKED AT'

WFRS WORKING ALONGSIDE PARTIES CONSTRUCTING THE NEW LINE

FIRE chiefs have warned that response times in Atherstone and North Warwickshire could be hit by the arrival of major construction traffic for HS2.

A report written by assistant chief fire officer Barnaby Briggs explained that fire crews from the town, Polesworth and Coleshill could all be affected due to potential congestion along the A5 leading to the M42.

And he added that the targeted response times from these fire stations may have to be looked at and that, depending on the anticipated severity of the effects, temporary accommodation may have to be considered for some crews.

Members of this week's Warwickshire County Council resources and fire and rescue overview and scrutiny committee were told a traffic liaison group had been established and that had helped improve communications between the council and HS2 bosses.

And ACO Briggs also highlighted how Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service had been working alongside those constructing the line which slices through the county on its initial phase between London and Birmingham.

In his report he explained: "To support an emergency response at a tunnel or viaduct, WFRS is actively involved with development, by HS2, of an electrically operated trolley specifically to support emergency teams at the scene.

"This is still ongoing and the final design will be then implemented across the entire HS2 route."

He added that his team had also liaised over the movement of main gas pipelines in the Coleshill area.

"Meetings and site visits have already taken place with officers and local crews as well as confined space rescue exercises," the senior fire officer added.

"This level of local engagement will be maintained and WFRS's intention is that it will be replicated at all significant HS2 sites within the county."

A number of councillors at the meeting raised concerns surrounding the impact of the high-speed link on Warwickshire's fire and rescue teams.

County Councillor David Reilly said: "Warwickshire's construction will be predominantly dealt with by a series of haul roads which will take all of the heavy HS2 traffic off the road network but that doesn't mean all of the HS2 traffic so it is clearly a case of making sure the integrated risk management plan is spot on when it comes to risks.

"One of the clear things that has come out of the conversation with the chief fire officer is that there is a concern about capacity within the fire service to actively manage and assess the risk."

Meanwhile, motorists face 20-mile diversions during overnight closures of the M42 for ground investigation surveys connected to the HS2 building project.

The M42 northbound, between junctions nine and 10 were closed last weekend from 9.30pm until 5.30am and this will happen again on the night of Friday, September 25.

The re-routing at the Dordon junction will send drivers via Weeford on the A5 to Minworth.

The works are part of the wider progress on HS2 in the area with partners Balfour Beatty VINCI and HS2 Ltd preparing to deliver which will cross the M42 in this location, expected in winter 2021.