The Slow Newscast Signal failure: Who killed HS2?
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Aug 12, 2025 Paul Stevenson, former special advisor in the Department for Transport, shares insights on the catastrophic unraveling of the HS2 project. He discusses how it transformed from a beacon of engineering ambition into the UK's largest infrastructure scandal. Stevenson delves into the project's budget overruns, legislative hurdles, and the consequences of a speed-obsessed strategy. He highlights whistleblower incidents, financial mismanagement, and the political turmoil that led to lost promises for affected communities, sparking a broader conversation about accountability in infrastructure planning.
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Fradley Junction: Abandoned Ambition
- HS2's half-built line stops at a treeless zone beside Fradley Junction, an area cleared and then abandoned by works.
- Stephen Armstrong shows the site as the physical symbol of the project's failure to continue northwards.
Chilterns Resistance Delayed Progress
- Wealthy Chiltern residents mounted prolonged legal and direct-action campaigns, including protest camps and tree occupations.
- Paul Stevenson and Stephen Armstrong describe how this local resistance slowed and politicised the project.
Hybrid Bill Bought Time At Cost
- The hybrid bill kept options open but required thousands of hours of Parliamentary scrutiny before land could be compulsorily purchased.
- Paul Stevenson explains that the process protected rights but added years of delay to HS2.
