The Court of Appeal has dismissed all appeals brought against the Department for Transport’s (DfT) decision to progress with High Speed 2 (HS2) by an alliance of 15 local authorities, HS2Action Alliance and Heathrow Hub Limited.
The decision gives the green light to the £50bn London to Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds route, although the local authorities have requested the chance to appeal once more to the Supreme Court.
A further appeal will centre around a divided decision by the three appeal judges today on the issue of whether the Government should have carried out a full Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) to assess the effect on the environment of both HS2 and its alternatives.
The local authorities have asked for permission to appeal to the Supreme Court - the highest court in the land - on the SEA ground and an additional related ground that the Hybrid Bill process for the scheme is incompatible with another aspect of European law, the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive.
