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Over the next few months, we will be undertaking the main earthworks in the location between the Chiltern Tunnel North Portal and Rocky Lane.

The earthworks consist of deep excavation, removal and movement of large quantities of soil between these areas in preparation to receive Align’s tunnel boring machine in 2024.

Additionally, we will be excavating the cutting for our internal haul road and the train line itself, removing and storing topsoil for the construction of our site access road.

Following on from our bat surveys, we are continuing our established programme of bat mitigation works in the Chetwode area. To complete the bat mitigation and to enable this to happen safely we need to put a road closure in place.

A section of Main Street (The Green) in Chetwode will be closed from 23 August to 27 August 2021. The closure will be in place from 9.30am to 3.30pm.

The road will be open as usual outside of these hours.

As part of our ongoing pledge to keeping communities informed about the planning and delivery of the HS2 project, we are introducing a number of improvements to how we share information with you .

This is a reminder that we're moving your local website within the HS2 website.

This summer we will be moving the contents of this website over to the 'In your area' section of the main HS2 website. We are also changing the way that we issue email updates about the project and giving you more choice about how you would like to receive information from us.

As part of our continued preparatory works, we need to undertake some further work in the Mixbury area including:

As the project progresses and to further prepare for the main HS2 construction works, we are constructing a temporary roundabout on the A41 between Aylesbury and Waddesdon. The purpose of the roundabout is to improve road safety, facilitate the future realignment of the A41 and enable access to our site compound.

In order to complete the works and tie the roundabout into the current carriageway, we need to undertake a series of works along the A41. These will include:

As part of our continued preparatory works for our internal haul and access roads we will be closing Stratton Audley Road, Chetwode, for approximately two weeks.

Stratton Audley Road will be fully closed, 24 hours a day, from Monday 9 August to Monday 23 August, with a diversion in place.

This is a reminder that as part of our ongoing commitment to keeping communities informed about the planning and delivery of the HS2 project, we are introducing a number of improvements to how we share information with you and are moving your local website within the HS2 website.

The contents of this website will be moving over to the 'In your area' section of the main HS2 website, and we are also changing the way that we issue email updates about the project to give you more choice about how you would like to receive information from us.

Our works to build the railway are underway in the North Chilterns area. Over the next couple of months, you can expect to see works in the local area including:

We are holding virtual one to one sessions to enable you to find out more about HS2 works in your area.

You can book individual or group meetings of up to 3 people with our engagement team, who are available to answer your questions about the HS2 works in your area directly. These can be anything from questions around the HS2 construction that’s happening in your area to finding out more information about available community funding and job opportunities.

Book your one to one appointment by clicking on the following links below:

We would like to invite you to our ‘You Said, We Did’ online events and virtual exhibition to share the final designs for the Amersham Ventilation Shaft and Headhouse and the design for the surrounding landscape. These online 'webinars' have been set up to give the local community the opportunity to hear from the team designing and building the railway in your area .

In September 2020, we held a public engagement event and you gave us feedback on four topics about our design and construction. We asked you to rank our objectives in order of priority and provide comments. Your comments and how we have taken on board feedback from the community regarding Landscape, Ecology, Design of the headhouse and Construction will be the focus of the virtual exhibition and online events.

WPD are continuing with the removal of the old overhead line and towers in the Turweston area.

During the week commencing Monday 26 July, we need to temporarily close a section of footpath TUW/7/1, at the edge of Turweston village. This short closure will enable us to remove one of the redundant towers safely.

We anticipate completing this work within a single, one day closure.

As part of our extensive environmental programme, our contractors have now planted 700,000 trees and created over 100 wildlife sites along the route between the West Midlands and London .

The wildlife sites represent a mix of different habitat types, including grassland, woodland, scrub and ponds, and are already havens for wildlife including birds, bats, barn owls, badgers, great crested newts, butterflies and dragonflies.

Alongside our environmental contractors, we have designed tailored ecology plans that provide habitats for local wildlife and protected species including new badger setts, bat houses, bird boxes, reptile banks and bug houses, along with wildflower seeding, aquatic habitat creation and the reintroduction of native flora to help local wildlife populations thrive.

Up to 7 million trees will eventually be planted alongside the line from the West Midlands to London and we will leave behind more than 33 square kilometres of new woodland, wildlife and river habitats - the equivalent of 23 new Hyde Parks lining the spine of the country.

In addition, our Woodland Fund has also allocated over £1.2m as part of a grant scheme managed by the Forestry Commission, with 213,000 trees already planted including 92 hectares of new woodland creation and 52 hectares of ancient woodland restoration. For example, a project at Avon Wood in Warwickshire has created a diverse new 11-hectare woodland within three miles of the new railway. More than 18,000 new trees have been planted there, with 30% of the woodland being oak, with the rest mainly made up of hornbeam, alder, beech, lime, holly and birch.

We are continuing to progress with potential new schemes to be supported through the Woodland Fund, which could eventually support an additional 440 hectares of new native woodland creation as well as the restoration of 245 hectares of existing ancient woodland sites. Every habitat site is designed specifically to support local biodiversity, to link up existing wildlife habitats and create ecological networks which help to protect, maintain and enhance biodiversity and allow species to move through the landscape.

Examples of new habitats sites include:

As part of our continued preparatory works for our internal haul road, we are planning some local road closures for a period of approximately three weeks each. This work will involve the completion of the site access road crossings in each area and clearance of vegetation.

The works will commence in July and continue through to August. The closures will take place consecutively starting with Bowood Lane, then Leather Lane and conclude with the Rocky Lane crossing.

This week we have launched ‘Cecilia’, the second of the two tunnelling machines that will excavate the ten mile long tunnels beneath the Chiltern hills. The first machine ‘Florence’ was launched just over a month ago.

The Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) is named after pioneering astronomer and astrophysicist, Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, who was born in Buckinghamshire, with the name suggested by pupils at the nearby Chalfont Community College and chosen in a public vote. It will operate alongside an identical machine named ‘Florence’, with each machine excavating separate northbound and southbound tunnels and will help to safeguard the woodland and wildlife habitats above ground.

Despite starting second, Cecilia will run slightly faster, aided by geological data fed back from Florence, meaning that both machines are due to break through at around the same time.

In total there will be ten TBMs working to create 64 miles of tunnel between London and the West Midlands for the high speed rail project which is already securing jobs and helping the UK to build back better from the pandemic. More than 16,000 jobs and over 500 apprenticeships are already being supported by the project which is set to transform transport links between Britain’s major cities, free up space on the rail network for more freight and local services and support the UK’s transition to net zero carbon emissions.

The first two TBMs are operated by our main works contractor, Align – a joint venture between Bouygues Travaux Publics, Sir Robert McAlpine, and VolkerFitzpatrick – and launched from a site by the M25 to the north west of London. Designed specifically for the mix of chalk and flints under the Chilterns, the two identical TBMs are powered by zero carbon electricity and move at a speed of up to 15 metres a day. Each machine operates as a self-contained underground factory - digging the tunnel, lining it with concrete wall segments and grouting them into place.

Each tunnel will require 56,000 precision engineered, fibre-reinforced segments – which will all be made on site. A crew of 17 people will operate each TBM, working in shifts to keep the machines running 24/7. They will be supported by over 100 people on the surface, managing the logistics and maintaining the smooth progress of the tunnelling operation. Chalk excavated from the tunnels will be used for landscaping at the south portal site once construction is complete, creating wildlife-rich chalk grassland habitats across 127 hectares of the southern Chiltern hills.

Align is recruiting 1,200 personnel in total, including 100 apprentices, to work on the Central 1 Area of Phase One that it is delivering and are targeting their recruitment and investment to upskilling local people who are currently unemployed, with a particular focus on women, the under 25s and those with disabilities.

We will be holding our third weekend of open days at our Field Museum at St Mary's in Stoke Mandeville on Saturday 10 July and Sunday 11 July.

Inside a specially constructed tent the size of a football pitch, archaeologists working on our behalf are currently excavating the remains of the former parish church of St. Mary the Virgin. This is a once in a generation opportunity to excavate the ruins of a medieval church and churchyard. Inside the museum you can ascend the viewing platform for a bird’s eye view of ongoing excavations, as well as displays, films and interactives to explore the history of St. Mary’s Church and the amazing archaeological discoveries in the surrounding area.

We’d love to welcome you onto site to explore this fascinating excavation, where you can learn about life and death in Stoke Mandeville over more than 800 years.

Tickets are available to book now and booking will close at 5pm on Thursday 8 July.

As part of our ongoing pledge to keeping communities informed about the planning and delivery of the HS2 project, we are introducing a number of improvements to how we share information with you .

This is a reminder that we're moving your local website within the HS2 website

This summer we will be moving the contents of this website over to the 'In your area' section of the main HS2 website. We are also changing the way that we issue email updates about the project and giving you more choice about how you would like to receive information from us.

We are starting construction of the internal access road and excavating the cutting to the south of the A422 as part of our works to build the railway. As we construct the line of the railway, we need to close or divert footpaths to allow the public to cross our works safely.

Work is now starting to the south of the A422.

Footpath WBB/17 near Westbury village will be closed from the 5 July 2021 and a new footpath will cross the line of route when our work is complete in the area.

We have obtained approval for an ambitious scheme which will use material excavated from the Chiltern tunnels to create 127 hectares of new chalk grassland, woodland, wood pasture and wetland habitats around the tunnel’s south portal .

The ‘Colne Valley Western Slopes’ project – which was approved under Schedule 17 of the HS2 Act by Three Rivers District Council and Buckinghamshire Council – will see the transformation of what is now a construction site into one of the largest areas of new chalk grassland in the Chiltern hills.

This will sit alongside new areas of woodland, wood pasture and wetlands, including almost 65,000 trees and shrubs of 32 species and nearly 3.5km of new hedgerows. Around 4.5km of new footpath, cycling and horse-riding routes will give the public access to large parts of the site, which sits between the Colne Valley Regional Park and the Chilterns AONB.

There will be night-time slip road lane closures required on the M40 Junction 11. This will take place over the period 21 June to 17 July 2021, between the hours of 8pm to 6am.

We will be closing lanes on the northbound and southbound exit slip roads on the M40 at Junction 11. The lane closures are to enable completion works for the new traffic signals to the motorway slip lanes and ‘A’ road approaches. We will also be installing traffic detection surface loops which control traffic volume on the roundabout, and traffic monitoring cameras.

We would like to invite you to online information events highlighting the ways in which we are preserving the quality and supply of water during our works in the Chilterns and the Colne Valley .

These online "webinars" have been set up to give residents the opportunity to hear and ask questions about:

Our team of experts will provide a presentation on the ways in which our construction has been designed to reduce impacts on ground and surface water. They will be available to answer any questions you may have during the event in a Question and Answer section.

Tickets are available via Eventbrite for the events on the following dates:

This is a reminder that as part of our ongoing commitment to keeping communities informed about the planning and delivery of the HS2 project, we will be introducing a number of improvements to the ways in which we share information with you .

We’re moving your local website within the HS2 website

This summer we will be moving the contents of this website over to the 'In your area' section of the main HS2 website. We are also changing the way that we issue email updates about the project and giving you more choice about how you would like to receive information from us.

We will be holding our second weekend of open days at our Field Museum at St Mary's in Stoke Mandeville on Saturday 26 June and Sunday 27 June.

Inside a specially constructed tent the size of a football pitch, archaeologists working on our behalf are currently excavating the remains of the former parish church of St. Mary the Virgin. This is a once in a generation opportunity to excavate the ruins of a medieval church and churchyard. Inside the museum you can ascend the viewing platform for a bird’s eye view of ongoing excavations, as well as displays, films and interactives to explore the history of St. Mary’s Church and the amazing archaeological discoveries in the surrounding area.

We’d love to welcome you onto site to explore this fascinating excavation, where you can learn about life and death in Stoke Mandeville over more than 800 years.

The first round of tickets are available to book now and booking will close once the event is fully booked or at 5pm on Thursday 24 June, whichever comes first.

Our works to build the railway are underway in the Twyford to Greatworth area. Over the next few months, you can expect to see the following works in the local area:

• Ground Investigation (GI) works and water monitoring;

• Utility works including trial holes and diversions;

• Continued set up of works compounds at A43, A422, A421 and A4421;

• Piling work at the A421 and A4421;

• Localised clearance of vegetation and fencing along the line of the route from Twyford up to Greatworth;

• Continuation of the access roads and drainage activities;

• Excavation, movement and storage of earthworks;

• The creation of several site access points from existing roads;

• Demolition of some structures along the line of the railway; and

• Demolition of the existing Finmere Bridge at the A4421 and installation of temporary bridges at the A4421 and A421.

As we progress our works to build the railway, we will construct our internal access roads in Twyford. In order to do this we will need to close some footpaths in the area. This will help support the construction of the access road and the HS2 rail line. We also intend to keep open throughout works to keep connectivity for walkers in the area.

As we progress our works to build the railway, we will need to create some crossings for our access road in Mixbury. These will be required where our internal roads cross the existing road network.

The works will be carried out on Featherbed Lane, Mixbury and will involve a road closure.

As part of our ongoing commitment to keeping communities informed about the planning and delivery of the HS2 project we are introducing a number of improvements to the ways in which we share information with you.

This summer we will be moving the contents of this website over to the 'In your area' section of the main HS2 website. We are also changing the way that we issue email updates about the project and giving you more choice about how you would like to receive information from us.

These changes will help to

A Buckinghamshire cricket club has secured nearly £10,000 from our Community & Environment Fund (CEF) to buy a new sit-on roller for the club’s ground based in Gawcott .

The £9,683 grant will enable Gawcott & Hillesden Cricket Club to replace its trusty and long serving push-along roller with a new motorised sit-on machine for its ground at Richard Roper playing fields. The new roller, made to order by Cornwall-based Poweroll, is due to arrive at the club’s facilities this month.

Since our Community and Business funds were launched in 2017, 53 projects in Buckinghamshire have shared over £3.15 million. Projects supported range from a new facility for a brass band charity in Amersham to the refurbishment of a play area in Charndon, making it inclusive for children of all abilities.

Community and Business Funds

With construction of HS2 underway, applications for the funds are still being welcomed. Our Community and Environment Fund (CEF) and the Business and Local Economy Fund (BLEF) for Phase One are worth £40 million. They give local communities and businesses disrupted by the construction of HS2 the opportunity to receive funding of up to £1 million for projects to improve their local area or support their local economy.

We are holding virtual one to one sessions to enable you to find out more about HS2 works in your area.

You can book individual or group meetings of up to 3 people with our engagement team, who are available to answer your questions about the HS2 works in your area directly. These can be anything from questions around the HS2 construction that’s happening in your area to finding out more information about available community funding and job opportunities.

Book your one to one appointment by clicking on the following links below:

Following feedback we received from the community about our plans for the Little Missenden Vent Shaft Headhouse, we would now like to invite you to sign up to a free online event to share the final designs.

In November 2020, you completed questionnaires covering four topics: Landscape Design; Ecology; Headhouse Design and Construction, ranked our objectives in order of priority, and provided comments which will be covered in our 'You Said, We Did' webinars in May 2021.

During the webinars we will:

We have today announced the launch of ‘Florence’ – the first of 10 HS2 Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) that will dig 64 miles of tunnel on Phase One of the UK’s new high speed railway. ‘Florence’ was launched from our South Portal site next to the M25 in West Hyde, Hertfordshire, at an event attended by HS2 Minister Andrew Stephenson .

Florence, at 170m-long – the largest ever used on a UK rail project – will dig 10 miles of tunnel under the Chilterns, operating 24/7 for the next three years. Designed specifically for the mix of chalk and flints under the Chilterns, Florence and her identical TBM 'Cecilia,' will dig separate tunnels for north and southbound trains. Each machine operates as a self-contained underground factory - digging the tunnel, lining it with concrete wall segments and grouting them into place at a speed of around 15 metres a day. Each tunnel will require 56,000 precision engineered, fibre-reinforced segments – which will all be made on site.

Our dedicated education pages on the HS2 website have undergone a major redesign, with a collection of new resources to help teachers bring a careers context to curriculum learning with the aim of inspiring young people to take an interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) subjects and careers .

Teachers are able to find relevant resources much more easily through the introduction of a filter function, there are new resources available with supporting videos and also a workshop delivery guide with activities tailored to pupils ranging from the ages of 5 all the way up to 18.

We would like to invite you to a free online event to share the final designs of the Little Missenden Vent Shaft Headhouse, following feedback we received from the community about our plans during engagement events in November 2020 .

After the public Design Input event, you completed questionnaires covering four topics: Landscape Design; Ecology; Headhouse Design and Construction. We asked you to rank our objectives in order of priority and provide comments which we will cover in our 'You Said, We Did' series of webinars in May 2021.

During the webinars we would like to:

We would like to invite you to our field museum at St Mary’s Church in Stoke Mandeville, Buckinghamshire, where you will be able to discover how archaeologists have started to unlock almost 900 years of history.

The St Mary’s site is unique and we are providing a rare opportunity to excavate and understand the history of this building, how its use and meaning changed over time and what it meant to the community of Stoke Mandeville. The burial ground at St Mary’s was in use for 900 years, with the last recorded interment in 1908. The team of 40 archaeologists working on the site will be able to construct a picture of the role of St Mary’s in the local community from its construction in the 11th Century through to its decline in the late 19th Century.

The St. Mary’s Field Museum will open to the public on the weekend of 29th and 30th May, and at regular dates throughout the summer .

Inside a specially constructed tent the size of a football pitch, archaeologists working on behalf of HS2 are currently excavating the remains of the former parish church of St. Mary the Virgin as part of a once-in-a-generation opportunity to learn more about the ruins of a medieval church and churchyard.

Inside the museum you will be able to ascend the viewing platform for a bird’s eye view of ongoing excavations, as well as watch displays, films and interactives exploring the history of St. Mary’s church and the amazing archaeological discoveries in the surrounding area. Our experts will also be available to answer any questions you may have.

Archaeologists have begun unlocking almost 900 years of history at St Mary’s Church in Stoke Mandeville, Buckinghamshire.

The Old St Mary’s Church in Stoke Mandeville was built in 1080AD, shortly after the Norman conquest that transformed Saxon England. Renovated in the 13th, 14th and 17th Centuries, it played a central role in the community, furnished with a variety of extensions and the construction of a brick bell tower. The site sits on the line of the new HS2 route and is being carefully removed by a team from LP-Archaeology, working with our enabling works contractor, Fusion-JV.

The construction of a new church closer to the centre of the village in the 1880s saw the building abandoned and it fell into disrepair. According to local accounts, a child was killed by falling masonry in the 1930s, and by 1966 the building was considered so dangerous that the Royal Engineers were drafted in to demolish it. Over the next 50 years the rubble pile left became overgrown with vegetation, blending into the surrounding greenery, meaning newcomers to the area may have been unaware of the existence of the church building there previously.

The St Mary’s site is unique and we are providing a rare opportunity to excavate and understand the history of this building, how its use and meaning changed over time and what it meant to the community of Stoke Mandeville. The burial ground at St Mary’s was in use for 900years, with the last recorded interment in 1908. The team of 40 archaeologists working on the site will be able to construct a picture of the role of St Mary’s in the local community from its construction in the 11th Century through to its decline in the late 19th Century.

In 2018 LP-Archaeology began initial work to carefully pick apart the rubble mound. A comprehensive series of archaeological excavations, surveys, and building recording has followed, revealing well preserved walls and structural features of the church. In October last year, we revealed that unusual stone carvings, medieval graffiti and other markings have been found, with questions raised as to whether they were sun dials or witching marks.

In early 2021 works begun on the final phase of excavations at the site. A large “tent” structure was constructed over the whole church and churchyard to protect it from the elements and provide a stable environment for the excavations to take place. This covering also helps the archaeologists give those people buried there the dignity, care and respect they deserve.

Over the next six months, a dedicated team of archaeologists, assisted by engineers, will remove the remaining structure of the church and excavate all of the individuals buried in the churchyard. Around 3,000 burials are expected. Before work on the burial ground began a virtual blessing was given by the Bishop of Buckingham. All remains will be reburied in a local spot to be determined, with a specially created monument to mark the location.

All artefacts and human remains uncovered will be treated with dignity, care and respect and our discoveries and stories of what life was like in Stoke Mandeville over a 900-year period will be shared with the community through open days and expert lectures. Our archaeology programme seeks to engage with all communities both local and nationally to share the information and knowledge gained, as well as leaving a lasting archival and skills legacy.

Ambitious plans to create 127 hectares of new grasslands and woodlands around the southern portal of our Chilterns tunnel have been enabled by an innovative solution to reuse the waste chalk slurry generated during the tunnel’s construction .

Two giant tunnel boring machines (TBMs) will spend three years boring out 2.6 million cubic metres of chalk beneath the hills to create the new high speed rail network’s 10-mile long twin bore tunnel. The chalk cut away by the 170-metre long TBMs will be mixed with water before being pumped out as slurry back along the tunnel to its entrance.

Slurry from boring the tunnels will be processed on site at a construction base just inside the M25 motorway – avoiding the need to transport the waste off site for reprocessing elsewhere. Once out of the tunnel, the chalk and water slurry will be separated on site in a giant, purpose-built slurry treatment plant (pictured) where it will be pressed through ever-finer filters until all the water is removed to leave behind a dry chalky “cake”.

One of the key challenges the separation process faces is preventing the thickening slurry from clogging up the filtering machinery. Working with its supplier MS, which has delivered the slurry treatment plant, our civils contractor Align opted to use a polymer specifically developed to be effective with Chilterns chalk, which will enable the entire separation process to happen in around a week.

The chalk cake will be used to deliver the Colne Valley Western Slopes project - part of our Green Corridor programme to re-establish the locally distinctive chalk valley landscape and create the right growing conditions for calcareous grassland across the site.

The initiative will be a major contributor in helping us meet our carbon reduction targets by delivering significant ecological gain in the Colne Valley, reducing road haulage, and enabling habitats to sequester carbon by replacing arable land with natural habitats. Almost 65,000 trees and shrubs comprising 32 species will be planted together with nearly 3.5km of new hedgerows. Around 90 hectares of chalk grasslands will be created and areas of historic woodland reinstated.

Our construction partner for the Chilterns Tunnels and Colne Valley Viaduct, Align joint venture, has taken an innovative step to reduce the use of single use plastic on its construction sites .

Analysis of Align’s purchasing data showed that the joint venture, which is made up of three companies, Bouygues Travaux Publics, Sir Robert McAlpine, and VolkerFitzpatrick, was using over 100,000 pairs of disposable blue plastic overshoes in indoor areas at its construction sites every month.

Neil Hancox, Align’s Health, Safety and Wellbeing Director, who spotted the data trend collaborated with the company’s family-run supplier of construction consumables to come up with an innovative and more environmentally friendly solution. Within a matter of weeks, Crawley-based OnSite Support Ltd returned with a prototype shoe made from recycled Taslan.

Each pair of the newly designed overshoes contains recycled material from six plastic bottles. The product is also fully washable and has an anti-slip sole to offer better grip on slippery surfaces. The new shoes, which have been developed in three different sizes to meet the needs of male and female workers, are now in use across our Align construction sites. Within the first month, the shoe covers had proven effective in reducing littering as well as contributing to Align’s target to ensure that 70% of plastic is recycled or reused by the end of the project.

OnSite Support is among the latest innovation-led SMEs to join our supply chain. Over 2,000 companies have already won work on the project, 70% of which are SMEs and over 95% are based in the UK.

We are holding virtual one to one sessions to enable you to find out more about HS2 works in your area.

You can book individual or group meetings of up to 3 people with our engagement team, who are available to answer your questions about the HS2 works in your area directly. These can be anything from questions around the HS2 construction that’s happening in your area to finding out more information about available community funding and job opportunities.

Book your one to one appointment by clicking on the following links below:

The 100th freight train arrived at our main construction site in Buckinghamshire this week, as the latest figures show that construction of the UK's new high speed railway has helped the rail freight industry bounce back from the pandemic.

The first 100 trains - operated by DB Cargo and Hanson for our contractor EKFB – have so far delivered 150,000 tonnes of aggregate for use around the Calvert Railhead. Transporting this material by rail instead of road has already taken the equivalent of 7,500 HGVs off local roads and cut over 24,000 tonnes of carbon emissions.

The temporary 26,200 sq/m Calvert Railhead being built EKFB – a team made up of Eiffage, Kier, Ferrovial and Bam Nuttall – will be the main construction and logistics hub during work on the central section of the railway. New temporary access roads will then be used to move people and materials from the railhead, helping to take construction traffic off local roads. Once the new railway is built, the railhead and temporary access roads will be removed and the site landscaped, leaving only a small infrastructure maintenance depot.

Despite being seriously affected last year, the amount of freight on Britain’s railways in the last three months is now 2% above pre-pandemic levels. Construction traffic, including that from our sites, showed the largest increase, according to figures released by the Office for Rail and Road earlier this month. Across the whole project, 15,000 freight trains are set to haul 10 million tonnes of aggregate to construction sites – taking the equivalent of 1.5 million HGVs off the UK’s roads.

At the peak of construction, more than 650 people will work at the Calvert Railhead. They will be some of the 4,000 jobs set to be created by EKFB over the next two years, constructing an 80km section of the railway between the Chilterns and south Warwickshire, including 17 viaducts, 81 bridges and three ‘green tunnels’.

The railhead is also next to a section of disused railway which is being brought back into use as part of the East-West rail project which is set to link Oxford, Milton Keynes, Bedford, Aylesbury and Cambridge. The two teams are working closely together on their construction plans, and we are set to deliver three bridges and 3km of earthworks along the southern edge of the Calvert site on behalf of East-West Rail.

Our works to build the railway in the Twyford to Greatworth area are underway and we will be working at Finmere Bridge (A4421) to create our haul and access road crossing.

The works will involve a series of road closures at Finmere Bridge, Newton Purcell to carry out the following activities:

Vegetation clearance on the existing Finmere Bridge

Surveys and trial holes

Construction of a hard surface to support a crane

Demolition of the existing Finmere Bridge

Removal of the materials and remedial works

Creation of the access and the new haul road crossing

As part of the preparatory works building the railway, Western Power Distribution (WPD) will be undertaking utility works in Finmere. The following works will take place:

• Complete the utility diversion

• Featherbed Lane road closure between 29 March - 11 April

Further information including the diversion route can be found here:

Amersham Cricket Club and Prestwood Methodist Church in Great Missenden are the latest Buckinghamshire recipients to be awarded grants from our Community and Environment Fund (CEF) .

The pavilion at Amersham Cricket Club in Shardeloes will be refurbished with a CEF award of £65,330. The funding will be used to reclad and replace the roof of the building to make it watertight. The pavilion is a unique wooden structure which complements the grounds, although it is in need of repair and the new cladding and roofing will retain its aesthetic charm and ensure it remains fit for purpose.

Prestwood Methodist Church in Great Missenden received a £4,000 CEF award towards the cost of replacing four windows in the main hall. The funding will also be used to replace an existing access door and emergency exit door with aluminium-framed units. As a safety measure, the lower panels in the windows and doors will be fitted with non-glass blanking panels.

Prestwood Methodist Church, Great Missenden

Since our Community and Business funds were launched in 2017, £9million has been awarded to projects between London and the West Midlands. In Buckinghamshire, a total of 47 projects have shared over £2.7million. Projects have ranged from upgrades to swimming pools, improved children’s play areas, to a new café and visitors centre at Wendover Woods.

Community and Business Funds

With construction of HS2 underway, applications for the funds are still being welcomed. Our Community and Environment Fund (CEF) and the Business and Local Economy Fund (BLEF) for Phase One are worth £40 million. They give local communities and businesses disrupted by the construction of HS2 the opportunity to receive funding of up to £1 million for projects to improve their local area or support their local economy.

As part of ours to build the railway we will need to carry out works on the M40 Junction 11.

There will be a slip lane closure on the M40 J11 on 12 April 2021 between the hours of 20:00hrs to 06:00hrs.

We will be closing the southbound exit slip road on the M40 at Junction 11. The works will enable the installation of road surface ‘loops’ for the new traffic signals to the motorway slip lanes and ‘A’ road approaches.

The night-time closure will require a diversion along the M40 to Junction 10.

Further information, including the diversion route map please go to:

Preparations for the launch of our first giant tunnelling machines increased this week as the first of 112,000 wall segments for the Chiltern tunnel rolled off a purpose-built production line at the project’s tunnelling HQ close to the M25 .

The project’s first two Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) - named Florence and Cecilia - are due to launch in early summer. Each of the 170-metre long, 2,000-tonne machines will spend more than three years underground, digging and slotting the wall segments into place to create the 10-mile long tunnels.

Made of high-performance fibre-reinforced concrete, the segments are being produced at a temporary pre-cast factory next to the TBM launch pads at what will be the south portal of the tunnels. This will avoid putting extra HGVs on local roads and ensure a steady supply of segments for the TBMs.

Construction of the Chiltern tunnel, and nearby Colne Valley Viaduct, is being led by our main works contractor, Align JV - a joint venture made up of three companies: Bouygues Travaux Publics, Sir Robert McAlpine, and VolkerFitzpatrick. Work on the two structures will support around 1,200 jobs.

Once construction is complete, the pre-cast factory and the rest of the south portal site will be cleared, with the chalk excavated from the tunnels used to landscape the site and create high-quality chalk grassland and other wildlife habitats.

Construction of the UK’s longest railway bridge began this week, with an expert team of ground engineers sinking the first of almost 300 piles that will form the foundations for the Colne Valley Viaduct .

The viaduct, which will carry the new high-speed rail line for 3.4km across a series of lakes and waterways on the north west outskirts of London, will be almost a kilometre longer than the Forth Rail Bridge and carry trains travelling at speeds of up to 200mph.

Set low in the landscape, the design was inspired by the flight of a stone skipping across the water, with a series of elegant spans, some up to 80m long, carrying the railway around 10m above the surface of the lakes, River Colne and Grand Union Canal.

The structure will be supported by 56 piers, with the widest spans reserved for where the viaduct crosses the lakes, and narrower spans for the approaches. This design was chosen to enable views across the landscape, minimise the viaduct’s footprint on the lakes and help complement the natural surroundings.

Over the next year, engineers from HS2 Ltd’s main works contractor Align JV – a team made up of Bouygues Travaux Publics, Sir Robert McAlpine, and VolkerFitzpatrick – will construct 292 piles under the ground to support the viaduct piers.

On top of each group of piles – some of which will go up to 55m into the ground - a concrete pile cap will support the pier which will in turn support the full 6,000 tonne weight of the bridge structure above. Instead of hammering the piles into the ground, holes will be bored before being backfilled to create the pile. The main deck of the viaduct will be built in sections at a temporary factory nearby before being assembled from north to south.

Over the last six years, HS2 has worked closely with Affinity Water and the Environment Agency to monitor water quality and agree working methods. These will be monitored by a team of specialist engineers during construction in order to protect the natural environment.

An extensive programme of test piling has already been completed with engineers sinking 12 piles at two locations with geological and structural data from these tests fed back into the design of the viaduct. This has resulted in a 10-15% reduction in the depth of the piles and associated time and cost savings.

We have introduced a new, user-friendly interactive map to the HS2 website, making it easier and simpler for you to find out what current and upcoming works we are carrying out in your area .

An ambitious scheme designed by our landscape architects, ecologists, engineers and soil specialists, aims to reuse construction materials to create 127 hectares of new chalk grassland, woodland, wood pasture and wetland habitats that will substantially enhance the local natural environment.

Chiltern Tunnel South Portal Aerial View

The Colne Valley Western Slopes project will be a major contributor to help meet our carbon reduction targets by delivering significant ecological gains. It will also reduce the carbon footprint of the project by cutting road haulage and waste treatment activities and arable land will be replaced with natural habitats.

Plant species and habitats are being carefully selected to be resilient to a changing climate. Almost 65,000 trees and 32 species of shrubs will be planted, together with nearly 3.5km of new hedgerows. Around 90 hectares of calcareous grasslands, which once thrived on the valley slopes, will also be established and areas of historic woodland reinstated. The project, being designed and delivered by our civils contractor Align, will provide wider health and recreation benefits for neighbouring communities, including providing new connected green spaces and around 4.5km of new footpath, cycling and horse-riding routes.

We will be carrying out utility works as part of our work to build the railway.

WPD paused work in November 2020 and will return to site in March 2021 to complete the diversion works. WPD built all but two high voltage towers in 2020 and left the site ready for work to recommence in 2021. In March 2021 the overhead line works will begin and will be diverted off the existing towers onto the underground cable section. These works are planned to be completed by August 2021.

We will be carrying out utility works as part of our work to build the railway.

WPD work paused in September 2020 and will return to site in March 2021 to complete the diversion work. In March 2021 the overhead line works will recommence, the towers will be installed and diverted off the existing towers onto the underground cable section. These works are planned to be completed by August 2021.

We are delighted to announce that from today (Monday, February 22), applications are now open for residents across Phase One and Phase 2a of the HS2 route to become Local Community Representatives .

As part of the Construction Commissioner Steering Group (CCSG), you will represent your community, share and communicate a range of experiences and perspectives as Britain’s new high-speed railway is built, and also help to monitor the performance of the Independent Construction Commissioner (ICC).

We are seeking to recruit a number of Local Community Representatives to sit on the CCSG, which is independent of HS2 and the Department for Transport. The Group meets three to four times a year, in either Birmingham or London (when attending physical meetings) and also virtually.

For more details about these exciting opportunities and how to apply, please click on the links below. If you have any questions about the CCSG or about becoming a Local Community Representative, you can also contact: community@hs2.org.uk

Applications close on Friday, March 26, 2021 .

We have introduced a new and innovative approach to tackling Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS), saving money - an estimated £1.8m in the Colne Valley - time, and carbon output by minimising soil excavation and heavily reducing waste to landfill.

INNS are recognised as a major cause of biodiversity loss in the UK, and are unwelcome intruders in many areas. Non-native plants such as Japanese Knotweed, Himalayan Balsam, Giant Hogweed and Rhododendron are becoming more common to our landscapes, to the detriment of native habitats. Working with AECOM, we have implemented an effective strategy which drastically reduces waste creation, only implementing offsite disposal of soil contaminated with INNS and their seeds if other solutions are not feasible.

Traditionally on infrastructure projects, all soil containing INNS plants, rhizomes and seeds would be removed from site, including excavation of a larger buffer zone, and disposed of according to current legislation for controlled waste. Instead, we are implementing measures focused on biosecurity and ‘surgical’ excavation, avoiding most of the costs and lorry movements associated with waste disposal, while assuring removal of the problem.

Our contractor Fusion JV worked with specialists in AECOM to manage a range of INNS, including the removal of significant areas of Japanese Knotweed in the Colne Valley area. Minimising excavation saves substantial time, cost and carbon footprint by heavily reducing waste to landfill, resulting in cost savings estimated at £1.8m. The site preparation works by Fusion JV for the 3.5km Colne Valley Viaduct involved extensive herbicide treatment followed by 4,700m3 of Japanese Knotweed-infested soil removal, all executed with strict biosecurity protocols within the Mid Colne Valley Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Conventional excavation of the Japanese Knotweed would have required vastly more soil to be removed, including areas adjacent to waterbodies in the Colne Valley, which would have necessitated major temporary works and significantly more waste disposal and imported backfill. Through a more strategic approach involving avoidance, partial removal, selective re-use, and capping instead of simply transporting away soil potentially impacted by INNS material, the excavation requirements were less than 30% of original estimates.

AECOM uses an array of different methodologies focused on biosecurity, including soil protection, fencing and washdown stations, as well as in situ herbicide treatment. Alongside detailed specialist surveys and minimised excavations, this approach reduces environmental impacts and lorry loads of waste that would otherwise be transported away from site to landfill.

The final works required to complete the A413 junction, including road closures on the A413.

The main works will involve:

• Planned closure of the A413 at Bottom House Farm Lane in both directions from the week commencing 1 March 2021.

• Overnight diversions on the A413

• Completion activities for the final road surfacing, traffic light installation and white lining

• Widening the existing lane from Upper Bottom House Farm to the A413

• Excavating holes and using construction machinery

In February 2020 we held an event to share our plans for the Chalfont St Giles vent shaft, the construction processes, traffic management plans and the early plans for the layout of the construction site.

After the public Design Input event, you completed questionnaires covering four topics: Landscape Design; Ecology; Headhouse Design and Construction. We asked you to rank our objectives in order of priority and provide comments and we are now able to share how your feedback has been incorporated into the design at our 'You Said, We Did' online engagement events.

Due to COVID-19 we are not currently able to hold face-to-face public events, but we are holding these online events to update you on the design of the Chalfont St Giles ventilation shaft and to also provide an update about our construction works at the Chalfont St Peter vent shaft.

Our works to build the railway in the Twyford to Greatworth area are underway and we will be working at Finmere Bridge (A4421) to create our haul and access road crossing.

The works will involve a series of road closures at Finmere Bridge, Newton Purcell to carry out the following activities:

We have launched our brand-new jobs site to promote the estimated 20,000 roles that Phase One of the project is creating in the months and years ahead, the first time all opportunities to work directly on HS2 have been available to search in one place.

This follows the Prime Minister's announcement of the 22,000 job opportunities available on the high speed rail project, when officially starting construction in September 2020. The initiative has the backing of the Department for Work and Pensions and a Memorandum of Understanding, which sets out the agreed roles and responsibilities of HS2 Ltd and its job brokerage partners, is in place between the two organisations.

The first of five headhouses that will provide ventilation and emergency access to HS2’s ten-mile long Chiltern tunnel has gained planning approval from Buckinghamshire Council.

We engaged with the Chilterns AONB Review Group and Buckinghamshire Council during the development of the designs for the Chalfont St Peter headhouse and held a series of public engagement events to gather views from the local community.

The Chalfont St Peter headhouse is designed to fit into the surrounding landscape, taking its inspiration from the style of nearby barns and other agricultural buildings. Set back from the road, the single-story building will be wrapped in a simple grey zinc roof with doors and vent openings picked out in a dark bronze colour to provide contrast.

The pre-weathered grey zinc roof will age naturally over time, without loss of robustness or quality, while the whole structure will sit on a simple dark blue brick base. Below ground level, a 78 metre ventilation shaft will reach down to the twin tunnels below, with fans and other equipment designed to regulate air quality and temperature, remove smoke in the event of a fire and provide access for the emergency services.

Mature trees along the existing boundary will be retained as far as possible and once construction is complete the whole site will be landscaped with new trees and hedgerows to help screen the site from neighbouring properties. Within the site boundaries, species-rich grassland habitats will be created, designed to further blend the site into the surrounding Chiltern Hills. Material excavated from the shaft will also be used to create much of the landscaping and avoid putting extra lorries onto local roads.

A temporary access road has already been completed to link the site with the A413, Amersham Road. This allows construction traffic to avoid the centre of Chalfont St Peter and stop heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) driving past Robertswood School and the Epilepsy Society. A new temporary marshalled lorry holding area has also been established on the A413 near Gerrards Cross where HGVs can be held until their approach to the vent shaft site is clear, helping to reduce congestion and eliminate queueing at the site entrance.

The plans were drawn up by our main works contractor Align JV (Bouygues Travaux Publics, Sir Robert McAlpine, and VolkerFitzpatrick, working with its design partners Jacobs and Ingerop-Rendel, the architect Grimshaw and landscape designers, LDA).

As part of our preparatory works, we are continuing with our ground investigation (GI) and utility trial holes. These works will be carried out on or adjacent to the road. Due to the works being carried out in a confined area, we are required to put in place short duration road closures.

As part of our preparatory works we are continuing with our Ground Investigations (GI) and utility works. For this we need to carry out utility trial holes and surveys.

Competing against 500 other nominees worldwide, HS2’s main works civils contractor Align JV and civil engineering company Roadbridge have won a Green Apple Environment Award in the Innovation category for their use of thermal camera drones to spot Skylark nests.

The Green Apple Awards are run by the Green Organisation – an independent international environment group that recognises, rewards and promotes environmental best practice around the world.

A thermal camera drone used for surveys

Align JV, responsible for delivering the section of the highspeed railway which includes the Chiltern Tunnel and the Colne Valley Viaduct, worked with its contractor Roadbridge, to introduce thermal camera drones to dramatically improve the accuracy of nesting birds’ surveys, helping to protect the species and enable faster and more effective results for ecologists working on the project.

As ground-nesting birds with well camouflaged nests, Skylarks are very difficult to survey. However, using a thermal camera, the drone can calibrate to the ground temperature and other objects to lock onto a heat source and identify the birds’ nests extremely accurately. This includes birds on the nest, eggs on the nest and birds sheltering on the ground.

At 12 metres above ground level the drone captures an area of approximately 9m2, which reduces search times and provides a clear perspective from a 90 degree view of the ground below. Exclusion zones are then put on Computer Aided Design (CAD) drawings and into the Global Positioning System (GPS) of machinery working on site to let operators know when they are working near exclusion zones, to protect nests and allow works to progress safely.

With many parents supporting children who are learning at home during the current time, we have developed a range of interesting curriculum-linked projects to work on at home. These include shorter activities ideal for families supporting younger children with learning at home and pre-planned lessons that secondary school teachers could set students as part of their curriculum learning.

As part of our preparatory works, we are continuing with our ground investigation (GI) and utility trial holes. These works will be carried out on or adjacent to the road. Due to the works being carried out in a confined area, we are required to put in place short duration road closures.

Over 300,000 trees will be planted by our specialist ecology teams across the Phase One route during the winter months, taking the total number of trees planted between London and the Midlands to more than 730,000 by this spring .

Our works to build the railway in the Twyford to Greatworth area are underway. This includes early earthworks in preparation to build the HS2 route and the construction of compounds.

We have recently published some new documents which may be of interest to you. This is part of our commitment to keeping you informed about HS2 progress and construction activities in your area.

We have published the fifth public report that documents our progress towards being a good neighbour by putting engagement with communities at the heart of everything we do.

This report covers the six-month period from January to June 2020, and draws on a number of case studies of activity during the first half of the year, along with currently available data such as from our Helpdesk, community funding awarded and the events we have held.

We have produced Traffic Information Guides to give you detailed information about traffic during the construction of the HS2 main works from Great Missenden to Godington. The traffic information guides show the routes used by HGVs to construction works compounds and forecast vehicle numbers, as well as some useful information about the controls we have put in place.

The Traffic Information Guides will be made available to communities and stakeholders along the route in areas that are taking part in the initial pilot. As part of this, we would welcome any suggestions you may have about these guides. Once this pilot is complete we will be working to produce similar guides with our other construction contractors across Phase One of the route.

Please see attached traffic information guides

Our first two Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) have arrived in the UK ahead of their launch early next year. The two 170m-long TBMs are the largest ever used on a UK rail project and will start to be assembled on site this week, ready to begin digging the 10-mile-long Chiltern tunnels.

TBM Florence during manufacture

The two enormous 2,000 tonne machines, named Florence and Cecilia, will now be reassembled, tested and commissioned at the on site by an expert team of tunnelling engineers, before they start work on the high speed rail project’s first tunnels. Built by Herrenknecht, a world leader in TBM manufacturing, at its factory in south-west Germany, the two machines were transported to the UK in more than 300 separate shipments over the course of two months.

Sections of the TBMs ready for assembly on site

The ‘twin bore’ Chiltern tunnel will be the longest on the project and the first to start construction, with the TBMs working underground 24/7 for more than three years. Designed specifically for the mix of chalk and flints under the Chilterns, the two identical TBMs will dig separate tunnels for north and southbound trains, with Florence set to launch first and Cecilia to follow a few weeks behind.

Each machine operates as a self-contained underground factory, which as well as digging the tunnel, will also line it with concrete wall segments and grout them into place as it moves forward at a speed of 15 metres a day. Each tunnel requires 56,000 segments which will all be made on site. A crew of 17 people will operate each TBM, working in shifts to keep the machines running 24/7. They will be supported by over 100 people on the surface, managing logistics and maintaining the smooth progress of the tunnelling operation.

The TBM seals at the South Portal

These first TBMs will be operated by our main works contractor, Align – a joint venture of three international infrastructure companies: Bouygues Travaux Publics, Sir Robert McAlpine, and VolkerFitzpatrick. Align expects to recruit 1,200 vacancies, with over 100 opportunities for apprentices. Recruitment and investment will be targeted at upskilling unemployed local people, particularly women, under 25s and those with disabilities.

The TBM names were suggested by students at Meadow High School in Hillingdon and The Chalfonts Community College, Buckinghamshire, which are close to the tunnel launch site. They were inspired by Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern medicine, and pioneering astronomer and astrophysicist, Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin. Around 4,500 people from across the UK took part in the poll to select the final names, with Florence taking 40% of the vote and Cecilia a close second with 32%.

One of Britain’s oldest schools, the Royal Latin School in Buckingham, is the latest beneficiary of the HS2 Community and Environment Fund after securing a £75,000 grant to transform their sporting facilities.

Architect's drawing of the completed sports campus (Image courtesy of the Royal Latin School)

The project will mean that a new sports campus at the school will be created, containing a large fitness suite, mind and body zone, sports lab and a seminar space. The new facility will be available to community groups outside of school times as well as being used by school pupils during the school day. The facility is being built around three themes – ‘energise, enjoy and excel’. Pupils and the local community will be energised to participate in sport and physical activity through a wide variety of activities that they can enjoy and encouraged to excel with state-of-the-art facilities. There will even be visits from elite athletes.

People of all ages will be encouraged to participate and, with a programme of seminars and links with the University of the 3rd Age, the aspiration is to attract older people and adults who may have been less active since leaving school.

The funding of this project and two others this month means that 133 projects have now shared over £8million. Fifteen projects in Buckinghamshire have shared over £2.5 million between them, nearly a third of the total allocated so far. This week, our Chief Executive Officer Mark Thurston will be virtually visiting the National Paralympic Heritage Trust in Stoke Mandeville. He will hear how they continue to work through the pandemic and are using £250,000 CEF funding to deliver their project to record local Paralympic history, while reaching out to local communities, encouraging cohesion, connectivity and well-being through a wide range of activities.

Community and Business Funds

As construction of HS2 gets underway, applications for the funds are still being welcomed. Our Community and Environment Fund (CEF) and the Business and Local Economy Fund (BLEF) for Phase One are worth £40 million. They give local communities and businesses disrupted by the construction of HS2 the opportunity to receive funding of up to £1 million for projects to improve their local area or support their local economy.

During January 2020, we asked for views and ideas on some of the detailed aspects of three of our proposed Common Design Elements (CDEs): parapets, piers and lineside noise barriers.

As part of our preparation works we will be carrying out some Ground Investigations (GI) along a section of Preston Bissett Restricted Byway 5A (track open to vehicles, walkers, cyclists and horse riders), near Preston Bissett.

Due to COVID-19 we are not currently able to hold face-to-face public events, but we are holding the below online events to share information about what we're doing in each area. Following earlier news posts issued about these events, we wanted to follow up with a reminder in case you still want to signup to attend.

World-leading onboard robot technology is being harnessed to improve safety and efficiency on our first two giant tunnelling machines, set to launch early next year.

The 'Krokodyl' robot, pioneered by main works contractor, Align, is the first of its kind in the world and will be installed in the two tunnel boring machines (TBMs) used to bore the 16km-long Chiltern tunnels. Similar to robotic arms used on car factory production lines, Krokodyl will perform simple repetitive tasks, removing wooden spacers between tunnel segments and inserting connection dowels – something people would normally do.

As the TBM moves forward, tunnel segments are erected to form a structural watertight ring designed to support the ground loads. Each segment weighs up to eight tonnes and is delivered to the TBM with wooden spacers between them, generally removed by hand. By fully automating this process, the Krokodyl removes the need for people to work in this potentially hazardous area and helps with the installation of the 112,000 tunnel segments. A second feature of the robot, known as the Dobydo, then places the dowels into position ready for the segment to be slotted into place. Automating this process also reduces risk to people and improves safety and efficiency.

The Krokodyl in action

Both 170m-long machines are specifically designed for the mix of chalk and flint they will encounter under the Chilterns. Operating a pioneering ‘continuous boring’ technique, they are expected to take around three years to excavate the 9.1m diameter tunnels which will be lined with a concrete ring made of seven separate segments as they go. They will convert the spoil into slurry which will then be treated before being used for landscaping on-site, removing the need for additional HGVs on local roads.

The 'Florence' TBM

We want your views on the design of the Little Missenden Vent Shaft Headhouse

We are creating two new site entrances and building crossing points for a haul road on the A412 near Denham Water SkiClub on Moorhall Road. This work is in preparation for the creation of a new haul road to support the construction of the Colne Valley Viaduct.

In order to carry out this work we need to put in place a full road closure on the A412 road over two weekends:

As part of a series of junction improvements across Buckinghamshire we are making enhancements to the roundabout junction of the A355 and A413, known as the Gore Hill roundabout .

These works are being carried out as the A355 and A413 forms one of our construction lorry routes. As the works are starting to develop, we would like to invite you to find out more information about our activities in your area.

We will be running online information events, or webinars, to provide you with updates and more details on these works, and you will have the opportunity to ask the project team questions. During this session you will hear from our early works contractors Fusion, who will provide a background to the works they have completed and outline future activities. Our main works contractors, Align, will also provide a look ahead for the coming months.

As part of our continuing works ahead of the construction of the railway we need to undertake some further work in your area, these works will consist of:

• Newt and reptile relocation

• Vegetation clearance

• Road closure of a section of Old Risborough Road

We are part of continuing works ahead of the construction of the railway, we will be planting a large quantity of small and large trees. These sites will form part of the green corridor that provide connectivity for wildlife alongside the future railway.

Archaeologists excavating the remains of the medieval church of St Mary in Stoke Mandeville have already discovered unusual stone carvings, medieval graffiti and other markings, possibly connected to warding off evil spirits.

Two stones with a central drilled hole from which a series of lines radiate in a circle have been uncovered at the site. Historians consider these to be ‘witches’ marks, created to ward off evil spirits by trapping them in an endless line or maze. There are several well-known examples of these around Britain, in churches, houses and even furniture.

However, they can also be interpreted as early sun dials, used by the church to divide up the day into morning prayer, midday prayer and evening prayer, with these ‘scratch dials’ usually found close to the southern door of the church. At St Mary’s, an example was found low down in the west buttress close to ground level, leading archaeologists to question its purpose as its position suggests it wouldn’t have been used as a sun dial. It could have been there to ward off evil spirits, or been a stone from a sun dial re-used as part of the church building.

Archaeologists from Fusion JV, working on our behalf, have been given the rare opportunity to excavate and carefully deconstruct the remains of the medieval church – something not done in Britain since the 1970s. The old church was built to serve the manor house and located some way from the village centre and was replaced in 1866 by a new church closer to the village. Though it was known that the building had been demolished, the method and extent of demolition had not been recorded and archaeologists were surprised to discover that beneath the rubble the church survived to a height of almost 5ft with floors intact.

Detailed research into the structure has allowed the team to piece together a history of the development of St Mary’s. The church started off as a chapel built in about 1070, shortly after the Norman Conquest and may have been at first the private chapel belonging to the lord of the manor at that time. It was soon extended, and an aisle added in the 1340s, with these new additions seeming to mark a transition from a chapel used for private prayer to a church used by the local villagers.

Work to dismantle and excavate the church will continue into next year and archaeologists are looking forward to answering many more questions concerning the church and its architecture, including discovering whether there may be a Saxon church lying beneath its floor.

We are carrying out early construction works to prepare the area for the HS2 route. This activity includes:

1. Ground Investigation (GI) works

2. Utility works including trail holes

3. Continuing to set up works compounds and establishing new ones as required

4. Localised clearance of vegetation and fencing

5. Haul road, access roads and drainage activities

6. Excavation, movement and storage of earthworks

Our HS2 Helpdesk team is available all day, every day to listen and help with any questions you may have about the project. This is a key part of our commitment to keep you informed while we build the new railway.

So if you want to find out more about where it's going, the opportunities available or any other changes it might bring to your area, you can contact our Helpdesk team on:

As part of our continuing works ahead of the construction of the railway, we will be carrying out works in the Wendover area. These works include pump testing and spring flow monitoring.

A dedicated online engagement resource is now available for you to learn more about our highway improvement works to Station Road in Quainton.

Due to COVID-19 we are unable to hold a community information event near to you, so we have created a virtual exhibition room. The virtual exhibition room is an online hall which you can navigate around, read and interact with information boards about the works, leave your feedback and sign up to attend one of our online webinars that will be delivered by the project team working on Station Road (please see below).

As part of our continuing works ahead of the construction of the railway we need to undertake highway improvement works to Station Road between the A41 and the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre at Quainton. We are also upgrading the junction of Station Road with the A41.

These works are required as the section of Station Road approaching the Railway Centre from the A41 forms part of the HS2 lorry route for the main construction of the railway. Once we have completed these highway works the road will be reopened for public use. This will consist of four phases of work, beginning on October 19, 2020, and scheduled to be completed by summer 2021.

We will be holding two webinars in October to share information about highways works on Station Road, Quainton. There will also be two webinars to update you on our works in the Calvert area .

At both events our team of specialists will provide a presentation and will be available to answer questions during a Q&A session.

As part of our continuing works ahead of the construction of the railway we will need to construct a temporary compound and chalk embankment trial in the Great Missenden area. The compound will be used as a base to manage the works along this section of the route and provide office accommodation, parking and welfare facilities for staff.

As part of our continuing works ahead of the construction of the railway we need to construct a small compound and material laydown area for our highway improvement works in the area. This work includes:

• Setting up a small works area

• In some areas stripping topsoil and installing hardcore material to firm the ground for our vehicles

• Laying areas of temporary track matting to create a works access road from the existing highway entrance

• Erecting temporary fencing and placing low level lighting

• Delivery of plant and machinery required for the works

• 24-hour security on the site during the period of the works

• Storage of construction materials

The construction compound is a local hub for the highway construction works in the area and will provide office and welfare facilities, including car parking. The compound will operate during weekday nights, and during the day to support highway improvements further along the A41. The highway works will be taking place overnight to minimise travel disruption. The compound will be established in October and will remain operational until summer 2021.

We are carrying out early construction works to prepare the area for the HS2 route. This activity will include:

1. Ground Investigation (GI) works

2. Utility works including trial holes

3. Setting up of works compounds

4. Localised clearance of vegetation and fencing

5. Haul road, access roads and drainage activities

6. Excavation, movement and storage of earthworks

We are carrying out early construction works to prepare the area for the HS2 route. This activity will include:

1. Ground Investigation (GI) works

2. Utility works including trial holes

3. Setting up of works compounds

4. Localised clearance of vegetation and fencing

5. Haul road, access roads and drainage activities

6. Excavation, movement and storage of earthworks

We are carrying out early construction works to prepare the area for the HS2 route. This activity will include:

1. Ground Investigation (GI) works

2. Utility works including trial holes

3. Setting up of works compounds

4. Localised clearance of vegetation and fencing

5. Haul road, access roads and drainage activities

6. Excavation, movement and storage of earthworks

Three Rivers District Council has granted planning permission for a new artist-designed landscaped play area for Maple Cross JMI school in Rickmansworth, bringing a request to HS2 from a local pupil to life.

The ambitious project to redesign the school’s grounds was initiated by a letter to HS2 from a child in Year Six at Maple Cross JMI, which asked that some of the material being excavated at the nearby South Portal construction site be brought to the school to “make a mound to roll down”.

After receiving the letter, HS2 developed a year-long programme of engagement between artist and designer Emily Cropton and the pupils, staff and wider community, in order to make the pupil’s wish come true.

The project involved educational workshops with school children in different year groups, in which they learnt about local history and the natural environment, and developed ideas for the design of their new play space.

Planning permission granted by Three Rivers District Council now means that HS2’s main works contractor Align will start the landscaping phase of the project by moving soil from its construction site 600 metres south of the school.

During the Autumn, Align’s local contractors will work with Emily Cropton to create the new play area which will include an orchard of fruit trees, a meadow of flowering plants, an area of scattered tree trunks for climbing, and a willow tunnel. There will also be a fossil wall built of clay bricks designed with the children, showing what might be found at Maple Cross in another two million years and the stories these fossils will pass on.

As part of HS2’s preparation works we will be carrying out some Ground Investigations (GI) along a section of Preston Bissett Restricted Byway 5A. This is a track open to vehicles, walkers, cyclists and horse riders. This will be closed for the duration of these investigations.

Westbury Parish Council in Buckinghamshire has been awarded £40,574 for a series of community space improvements from the HS2 Community and Environment Fund (CEF) .

The ‘Westbury Investing in the Future’ project will provide upgraded outdoor spaces including a large area to the side of the village hall for young people to play sport, as well as a permanent gazebo on the patio which will offer the ability for all year round events, whatever the weather.

The project is a continuation of other upgrades which began in 2016 with the rebuilding of the village hall, surrounding road improvements and a revamp of existing village play facilities. Their success has driven the need for further work to increase the capacity of the space for community activities. In addition to the physical upgrades, the project will also see improvements made to signposting for the local village trail and an updated booklet, encouraging more people to enjoy the outdoor historic space the village has to offer.

To date, over £7.5million has been awarded from the funds across 125 projects near the HS2 route. In Buckinghamshire, 40 projects have benefitted, sharing over £2.4million between them. The projects range from upgrades to community facilities, to a contribution to the multi-million pound redevelopment of Wendover Woods, where the funds helped build a new café and visitors centre.

Other projects include two that have received grants from the Business and Local Economy Fund including £120,303 for the ‘Open for Business’ project run by the Chilterns Conservation Board which aims to promote tourism in the HS2 central Chilterns corridor, and £75,000 for Buckinghamshire Business First for their Visit Buckinghamshire Business Advisory Service.

Community and Business Funds

As construction of HS2 gets underway, applications for the funds are still being welcomed. The Funds for Phase One support urban and rural, community, environmental and business projects. Our Community and Environment Fund (CEF) and the Business and Local Economy Fund (BLEF) for Phase One are worth £40 million. They give local communities and businesses disrupted by the construction of HS2 the opportunity to receive funding of up to £1 million for projects to improve their local area or support their local economy.

As part of our continuing works ahead of the construction of the railway we need to undertake some further work in your area. These works will consist of:

Before we build bridges, tunnels, tracks and stations, the largest archaeology programme ever undertaken in the UK is taking place along the line of route. Our archaeology programme is continuing to unearth discoveries across our sites.

To share information about these works and some of the exciting finds uncovered we are running a series of online archaeology events to support Heritage Open Days 2020.

We're holding the following online events for Heritage Open Days 2020 (click on the events below to register):

The new 400 metre-long road will take heavy good vehicles (HGVs) directly from the A413 Amersham Road to the site of the Chalfont St Peter vent shaft, avoiding the centre of the village, Robertswood School and the Epilepsy Society. The 60 metre-deep vent shaft is being built to provide ventilation and emergency access to the Chilterns tunnel. A single storey headhouse will be built on top containing fans and other technical equipment.

Once construction of the vent shaft is complete, the temporary access road will be removed and the land restored to its former condition. Mature trees will be retained at the perimeter of the vent shaft site, with new planting and wildlife habitats created around the building. In addition, a new temporary marshalled lorry holding area will also be put in place on the A413 near Gerrards Cross. HGVs can be held in this newly surfaced layby until their approach to the vent shaft site is clear – helping reduce congestion and eliminate queuing at the site entrance. The two projects are part of a package of mitigation measures designed to reduce the impact of construction on the local community.

Alongside the new access route, completed by a team led by our main works contractor, Align JV, we have also agreed to work with local highways authorities on a series of road improvements across Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire designed to ease traffic flows during construction. This includes a new relief road at Chipping Warden, road widening and improvement at Wardington and junctions close to Great Missenden.

We have launched the design for the Amersham Ventilation Shaft headhouse, one of five structures that will be built to provide ventilation and emergency access to the high-speed rail line’s 16 kilometre-long Chiltern tunnel. Set in the middle of a road junction just outside the town, the circular single-storey building will be surrounded by a spiral shaped weathered steel wall designed to echo the shape of the site and the natural tones of the surrounding landscape.

The Amersham Ventilation Shaft is a Key Design Element, which means it is a significant structure. We want it to respect its surroundings and the local area as much as possible and we would like your views on the design of the ventilation shaft including:

As part of our continuing works ahead of our construction of the railway we need to carry out some further works in Wendover.

These will consist of archaeology and A413 junction improvement works.

Our first two enormous Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM) - Florence and Cecilia - have been completed in Germany, ready to be shipped to the UK and begin the 10-mile-long Chiltern tunnel excavation.

After a public vote, the first machine was named after Florence Nightingale: the founder of modern nursing who spent many years living in Claydon, Buckinghamshire. The second machine was named after pioneering astronomer and astrophysicist, Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, who was born in Buckinghamshire.

The names were suggested by students at Meadow High School in Hillingdon and The Chalfonts Community College, Buckinghamshire, inspired by the female scientific and medical pioneers. Both machines will excavate the twin-bore Chiltern tunnel on the first phase of the high speed railway between London and the West Midlands.

Around 4,500 people from across the UK took part in the poll to select the final names, with Florence taking 40% of the vote and Cecilia a close second with 32%. The schools that suggested the names are close to our South Portal site, from where the machines will launch early next year.

These first TBMs will be operated by our main works contractor, Align JV and the giant 2,000 tonne machines – which have been built by world-leading German tunnelling specialists Herrenknecht – will be shipped in pieces to the UK and arrive later this year. Florence is set to be launched early in 2021 to begin digging the 10-mile-long Chiltern tunnel. Cecilia will launch around a month afterwards and dig the other half of the ‘twin bore’ tunnel.

Both 170m long machines are specifically designed for the mix of chalk and flint they will encounter under the Chilterns. Operating a ‘continuous boring’ technique, they are expected to take around 3 years to excavate the 9.1m metre diameter tunnels which will be lined with concrete as they go. The TBMs will mix the spoil with water to form a slurry which will be pumped back to the main site where it will be treated before being used for landscaping on-site, removing the need for additional lorries on local roads. The tunnels will also be as deep as 80m below ground – ensuring that the communities and countryside above are not impacted by the railway.

As part of HS2’s preparation works, we will be carrying out Ground Investigations (GI) works around Wendover, in the Small Dean Lane area off the A413.

As part of HS2’s preparation work, we will be undertaking exploratory CCTV investigation work on the culverts which feed into Hampdon pond. This process is entirely non-intrusive but will require the closure of Church Lane to ensure that these works are carried out safely.

We will be conducting utility surveys over four consecutive nights from Monday 3 August to Thursday 6 August between 9pm and 5am. For the safety of road users and personnel involved with the works, we will need to implement lane closures and use temporary traffic signals to manage traffic.

We are working closely with our construction partners to review the works on all our construction sites in line with Government and Public Health England (PHE) advice on dealing with Covid-19. The Government's current Covid-19 strategy makes clear that construction activity can continue as long as it complies with this guidance.

The below works are going ahead as our contractors are confident that they can operate in line with PHE and industry guidance, protecting our staff and the communities in which they are working.

As part of HS2’s continued programme of surveying works in your local area we have carried out geophysical surveys to identify areas of possible archaeological interest. The next steps of our archaeological investigation work will involve excavating trenches and recording any finds.

Before the main construction works for the railway begins, we need to undertake a number of activities:

• Construction of a compound north of Station Road

• Construction of access roads, including one from the north of Station Road to the west of Greatmoor sidings, culvert crossings for existing water courses and a temporary bridge across the River Ray

• Construction of public highway crossings where the access road crosses the existing highway

• Survey and investigation works on Station Road and to the junction with the A41ahead of highway improvement works

Archaeologists working on the HS2 project in Buckinghamshire have made an eerie discovery, unearthing a skeleton believed to be a murder victim from the Iron Age. Other discoveries at the Wellwick Farm site near Wendover span over 4,000 years of human history, and include a circular timber monument resembling Stonehenge.

As part of our continuing works ahead of the construction of the railway we need to undertake some further work in your area, these works will consist of:

• Set up of small site compound and traffic signage

• Archaeology

The works will start in late July 2020 and will be completed by mid- September 2020

As part of our continuing works ahead of the construction of the railway we need to undertake some further work in your area, these works will consist of:

• Set up of small site compound and traffic signage

• Minor tree and vegetation shrub clearance

• Archaeology

The works will start in late July 2020 and will be completed by mid- September 2020.

As part of our continuing works ahead of the construction of the railway we need to undertake some further work in your area, these works will consist of:

• Construction of two small compounds

• Hedgerow and tree clearance

• Great crested newt fencing

• Archaeological investigations

As part of our preparatory works we will be widening the A413 Link Road in Great Missenden. The works will commence mid-July and are planned to be completed by September 2020.

As part of our continuing works ahead of the construction of the railway we need to undertake some further work in your area, these works will consist of:

As part of a series of junction improvement works across Buckinghamshire we need to undertake some utility surveys at the A413 roundabout junction with Small Dean Lane. This is ahead of further junction improvement works planned for August 2020.

We have been carrying out work to the A404/A413 Whielden Lane junction to improve its capacity and safety ahead of HS2 construction traffic using the road to build the Chiltern Tunnel Amersham vent shaft. Works will start this month (July) on the vent shaft site to create two bellmouths, a combined path/cycle way and relocate BT services and a water main. Whielden Lane will remain closed as a through route until September 2020. We will continue running a replacement bus service between Amersham hospital and Gore Hill/A355 bus stops near Tesco during the closure.

This service runs seven days a week. Monday to Saturday from 7am to 6.30pm on a half hourly basis. Additionally, outside of outpatient appointments on a Sunday, a reduced hourly service will operate from 7.49am to 6.30pm.

Affinity Water are carrying out the construction of a water pipeline between Chalfont St Giles and Amersham pumping stations and setting up three compounds where the works will be managed from. These are at Gore Hill in Amersham, at a shared facility with HS2 enabling works contractors Fusion at Bottom House Farm Lane and at the pumping station at Mill Lane in Chalfont St Giles.

In preparation for our main works to begin, we are undertaking the following works during 2020

In preparation of our main works starting, we will be undertaking the following works during 2020

HS2 will provide opportunities for businesses of all shapes and sizes.  As part of being a good neighbour, we are keen that local companies along the line of the new high speed railway are able to make the most of the benefits the Project will bring, and get involved in the supply chain wherever they can.

HS2 Ltd are running a series of webinars that aim to help local businesses navigate the HS2 supply chain and better understand some of the things that we are looking for from suppliers.  At each event, you will hear from a different expert speaker, and also be able to take part in a Q&A session.

Communities and businesses located near to Britain’s new railway are invited to a webinar on Thursday 25 June at 13:00 to find out more about the funding schemes and local business opportunities available.

Up and down the line of route, over 100 projects have already received funding through the HS2 community and business funds, while over 1,000 local businesses are already working on the project, providing goods and services to help build Britain’s new railway. 

As part of our ongoing works in your area we need to construct a new temporary road entrance (called a bell mouth) off Risborough Road. This access point will enable us to subsequently build a temporary internal access road that will allow us to continue the archaeological works at St Marys Church. We will send further information on this road in the near future.

For us to build this bell mouth, SGN and Vodafone will need to re-lay their roadside verge utilities to a deeper depth, in the same location. This will ensure that that the utility connections are not impacted by the creation of the access point and are not disturbed while we use it.

Pupils at Meadow High School in Hillingdon have suggested a name for one of the first of 10 giant tunnel boring machines (TBMs) which has been shortlisted for a national vote launched by HS2 Ltd. The TBMs will excavate more than 35 miles of tunnel on the first phase the UK’s new high speed railway between London and the West Midlands.

We have published the fourth public report that documents our progress towards being a good neighbour by putting engagement with communities at the heart of everything we do.

This report covers the six-month period from July to December 2019, and draws on a number of case studies of activity during the second half of the year, along with currently available data such as from our Helpdesk, community funding awarded and the events we have held.

We will continue to publish these reports on a regular basis.

We're carrying out work to the A404/A413 Whielden Lane junction to improve its capacity and safety ahead of HS2 construction traffic using the road to build the Chiltern Tunnel Amersham vent shaft.

Whilst these works take place, we have to temporarily close the hospital bus stop. Working with Buckinghamshire Council we will be running a replacement bus service from Monday 18 May between Amersham hospital and Gore Hill/A355 bus stops near Tesco.

This service will run seven days a week. Monday to Saturday from 7am to 6.30pm on a half hourly basis. Additionally, outside of outpatient appointments on a Sunday, a reduced hourly service will operate from 7.49am to 6.30pm.

We have recently made some changes to the HS2 in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire website, to help improve the user experience and navigation of the site.

We are continuing to work closely with our construction partners to review the works on our construction sites in line with Government and Public Health England (PHE) advice on dealing with COVID-19. The Government’s current COVID-19 strategy makes clear that construction activity should continue as long as it complies with this guidance.

The below works are going ahead as our contractors are confident that they can operate in line with PHE and industry guidance, protecting our staff and the communities in which they are working.

National Grid works on Small Dean Lane in Wendover

Balfour Beatty will be fitting netting to scaffold structures and installing wires to nearby pylons on Small Dean Lane. As the pylons oversail the road, they need to close the lane for certain periods so contractors can keep themselves and the public safe.

Due to programme delays relating to COVID-19, the closures dates have changed from when we originally notified you of these works in April. Intermittent closures on Small Dean Lane will be put in place until early August. Advanced warning notices will be put up to alert drivers to the closures, which we expect will be in force for a couple of hours at a time.

The number of community and business groups to receive awards from the HS2 community and business funds has topped over 100 with Buckinghamshire receiving the largest share of this with 37 projects, totalling £2,232,688 between them. The Community and Environment Fund (CEF) and the Business and Local Economy Fund (BLEF) for Phase One, between London and the West Midlands, make a combined total of £40 million available to local communities and businesses disrupted by the construction of HS2.

Amongst Buckinghamshire's 37 awarded projects is the biggest single Community and Environment Fund award to date – which went to Forestry England to help towards their multi-million pound Wendover Woods project. The £450,000 award contributed to the build of a new café and toilets, which has provided a valuable facility for visitors.

A £250,000 award for the National Paralympic Heritage Trust in Stoke Mandeville has been announced this month, which will be used to develop a number of events, activities and resources designed to tell the story of the Paralympics and challenge attitudes to disability. 

Other projects include two that have received grants from the Business and Local Economy Fund including £120,303 for the ‘Open for Business’ project run by the Chilterns Conservation Board which aims to promote tourism in the central Chilterns corridor, and £75,000 for Buckinghamshire Business First for their Visit Buckinghamshire Business Advisory Service.

As we work through the COVID-19 pandemic, the approval for the next stage of the project has meant that our contractors now have the go ahead to start building the new railway whilst remaining within the Public Health England (PHE) and industry guidelines. As part of our commitment to being a good neighbour, we realise that communities are affected by the construction of HS2, and the community and business funds are key to help offset the disruption caused.

As construction of HS2 gets underway, applications for the funds are still being welcomed. The Funds for Phase One, administered by community charity Groundwork UK, support urban and rural, community, environmental and business projects. Community and Business groups along the HS2 route between London and the West Midlands have been able to apply for funds since March 2017. 

We are continuing to work closely with our construction partners to review the works on our construction sites in line with Government and Public Health England (PHE) advice on dealing with COVID-19. The Government’s current COVID-19 strategy makes clear that construction activity should continue as long as it complies with this guidance.

The below works are going ahead as our contractors are confident that they can operate in line with PHE and industry guidance, protecting our staff and the communities in which they are working.

Enabling works between Quainton and Mixbury

As part of our continued programme of enabling works in your area we will be relocating Great Crested Newts, carrying out vegetation clearance and setting up a compound ahead of the future construction of HS2.

Please see the links below for further details on works in the following areas:

We are continuing to work closely with our construction partners to review the works on our construction sites in line with Government and Public Health England (PHE) advice on dealing with COVID-19. The Government’s current COVID-19 strategy makes clear that construction activity should continue as long as it complies with this guidance.

The below works are going ahead as our contractors are confident that they can operate in line with PHE and industry guidance, protecting our staff and the communities in which they are working.

National Grid works on Small Dean Lane in Wendover

On 15 April 2020, the Department for Transport gave approval for HS2 Ltd to issue Notice to Proceed to our four Main Works Civils Contractors (MWCC) working on Phase One of the project.

The issuing of Notice to Proceed marks the point in the MWCC contracts where work transitions from scheme design and preparatory work, to full detailed design and construction of the railway between London and the West Midlands.

The health, safety and wellbeing of the communities along the route of the new railway, and our staff, remains our absolute priority.

We are working closely with our construction partners to review the works on our construction sites in line with Government and Public Health England (PHE) advice on dealing with COVID-19. The Government’s current COVID-19 strategy makes clear that construction activity can continue as long as it complies with this guidance.

Work at the majority of our sites has been paused as we complete this review, noting that some staff may be present to make the safety assessments and to ensure the sites remain safe and secure.

We do expect that work will restart at some of these sites where our contractors are confident that they can operate in line with PHE and industry guidance, protecting our staff and the communities in which they are working.

We have taken the decision to postpone all face-to-face engagement events and meetings during this period. We have been notifying local residents and putting in place alternative ways of communicating and engaging with communities over the coming weeks and months.

The HS2 Helpdesk remains operational all day, every day, and will be the public’s first point of contact should they need advice or information from HS2. You can contact the Helpdesk:

Following UK Government advice to stop non-essential contact with other people, and avoid all unnecessary travel, we have taken the decision to postpone a number of face to face engagement events and meetings. You may already have received notifications about some of these. We have made this decision to support the government aim to reduce the time spent in public places and the amount of contact between people due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

We are looking at alternative ways of engaging and communicating with you over the coming weeks and months.

The HS2 Helpdesk remains operational all day, every day, and will be your first point of contact should you need advice or information from HS2.  You can contact the Helpdesk on:

As part of our continued programme of archaeology in your area we have undertaken geophysical surveys and trial trenching to identify areas of possible archaeological interest.

These works are planned to start in late March 2020 and will be completed by summer 2020. The site for the archaeology works is located between Bacombe Lane and Ellesborough Road. Access to the site will be from Bacombe Lane.

The HS2 Community Drop In Event on 18 March 2020 at Westbury Village Hall has been postponed. We will provide an update when a new date is confirmed.

Sorry for any inconvenience caused.

A new project has been awarded funding in Buckinghamshire as part of the HS2 Community and Business Funds.

As our work continues across Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire we've added some Advance Works Notices and Community Event Invitations for various locations shown below. For more information please follow the links:

Four new projects in Buckinghamshire and one new project in Oxfordshire have been awarded as part of the HS2 Community and Business Funds.

We would like to invite your feedback on the design of HS2’s Common Design Elements planned for the Phase One route between the West Midlands and London.

Archaeology - Various Locations

As part of our works in your area, we have already carried out geophysical surveys to identify areas of possible archaeological interest. The next steps of our archaeological investigation work will involve excavating trenches and recording any finds.

For further information please click the links below:

As part of the preparation works for the construction of the Chalfont St Peter vent shaft a temporary access road is being built from the A413 to the site. Works will start in late January through to April 2020 when the access road will then be in use. This means HGVs will not have to come through the village to the site. There will be temporary bus stops in operation on the A413 until the access road works have finished in the Spring and a diversion of Public Right of Way (CSP 10/1). The access road will be in place until the vent shaft has been completed, when it will then be removed and the area reinstated.

HS2 and our main works contractor Eiffage Kier would like to invite you to the Thame Valley viaduct key design event on Saturday 8th February from 12:30 - 5pm at The Fairford Leys Centre , Hampden Square, HP19 7HT.

This event is an opportunity for you to find out more about:

Update: The planned overnight full road closure on Frith Hill to undertake the widening of the exit onto the A413 towards Amersham to allow a dedicated left turn onto the A413 roundabout, commenced Monday 13th January 2020 at 7pm, and will continue for one week finishing on Saturday 18th January 6am.

These works and the overnight road closure will restart on Monday 27th January at 7pm for one week, and set to be completed by Saturday 1st February 6am.

We would like to invite your feedback on the design of HS2’s Common Design Elements planned for the Phase One route between the West Midlands and London.

Common Design Elements are parts of the railway with a standardised appearance which will give it a recognisable look and make it more efficient to build. They include frequently used structures, such as bridge piers and parapets, as well as lineside noise barriers.

Since Parliament approved plans for the Phase One route in 2017, we've been developing the design of the new railway and now we need your views to help inform how we progress with the Common Design Elements.

Four more projects have been awarded funding in Buckinghamshire as part of the HS2 Community and Business Funds.

The Saye and Sele Hall in Quainton receives £7,400 for an outdoor space to teach preschool children about sustainable planting

The Saye and Sele Foundation charity owns the Saye and Sele Hall in Quainton. The funding will help to improve the outside area so that a pre-school group can utilise the space as an outdoor classroom and an area to grow plants. The project will also provide chairs and tables for use inside the hall to support meetings and events.

Claydon Community Café receives £75,000 to convert a vacant retail space in Steeple Claydon into another Community Café

Claydon Community Café CIC will be converting a vacant shop unit in Steeple Claydon into ‘Molly’s Community Café’. This will create a welcoming facility for everyone, where they can enjoy healthy food and drinks in a relaxed and supportive atmosphere. It will be staffed by volunteers, including those with disabilities and special needs who will be supported.

Charndon Parish Council receives £9,900 for a new inclusive children's play area