The Ecology Consultancy carried out a major assessment of proposed routes for the new High Speed 2 (HS2) railway connecting London with the West Midlands. We provided ecological input to an appraisal of the sustainability of route options.
This involved the extensive use of GIS to carry out proximity analysis of features of international, national and regional importance including Natura 2000 Sites, Sites of Special Scientific Interest, Biodiversity Action Plan habitats and species and Sites of Nature Conservation Importance. The analysis also involved a review of the citations and conservation objectives of these areas to assess the potential for impacts from the construction and operation of HS2.
We took part in a number of multi-disciplinary workshops with engineers and other environmental specialists to provide an overall assessment of the environmental impact of the route options. We also prepared a scoping report for a Habitat Regulations Assessment of the preferred route option.
Pioneering Technique: Rapid Small Rail Site Assessment 
HS2 - A lesson in multi-disciplinary and multi-agency projects 
