Michael Fabricant will open a debate in the House of Commons on Wednesday July 3rd on a subject he has chosen: HS2 and Ancient Woodlands.

He says: “I will point out the destructive nature of the route of HS2 and the urgent need for compensation for homeowners affected by the route. After pointing out the flawed design of HS2, I shall move onto the effects it will have on our ancient woodlands. The Woodland Trust has indicated that the preferred routes for both phases of the project will cause loss or damage to at least 67 irreplaceable ancient woods, home to 256 species of conservation concern. Ancient woods are lands which have been continuously wooded since 1600, and form only 2% of our land. Their unique undisturbed soils form the UK’s richest habitats for wildlife. They cannot be translocated or moved and once destroyed they are lost. They are lost, in effect, forever.”

A full transcript of the speech Michael will give, speeches by other MPs, and the minister’s reply will be available after the debate has concluded. The Minister replying will be Simon Burns, Minister for Transport.