THE final route for the Phase 2b of HS2 has been announced by government and the Mid Cheshire Against HS2 group says the scars it will leave on the area are ‘unbelievable’.

The route, announced today, Monday, will see the high speed rail go from Crewe to Manchester, dissecting Winsford and Middlewich and going straight through Whatcroft, 200 yards from Whatcroft Hall.

A four kilometre-long depot will also be built in Wimboldsley.

“It just couldn’t be worse for Wimboldsley,” said Graham Dellow, of the Mid Cheshire Against HS2 campaign group.

“The depot was originally going to be in Golborne, but then they decided for some reason to move it to Wimboldsley and the scar that this is going to permanently leave on rural Cheshire is unbelievable.”

The scale of the impact on Mid Cheshire remains to be seen, but main roads such as the A533 from Northwich to Middlewich and the A54, will certainly have to be realigned.

An independent report also raised concerns of the route, suggesting that it was likely to cause land to collapse over Winsford Salt Mine.

Announcing the route, David Higgins, chairman of HS2 Ltd said: “We have taken a huge step forward in connecting eight of our largest cities, freeing up space on our railways and building a catalyst for growth across the country.

“Once completed 30 million people will be served by HS2 across over 25 stations, helping to change the economic geography of the country, and bring prosperity to the midlands, the north, and beyond.”

Mr Dellow described the route as a ‘disaster’ and said the group is devastated by the news.

He said: “We’re devastated that they have not seen common sense. They’re going to potentially threaten thousands of jobs at Roberts Bakery and Morrisons and all the rest at Gadbrook Park.

“They came up with a route originally which was a disaster and now they’ve managed to make it even worse and they’re sticking to it. It’s absolutely horrific.

“The original route was 800 yards away from the Grade II listed building, Whatcroft Hall, and we thought that was bad. Now they’ve moved it so it’s only 200 yards away. They really could not have picked a worse route.”

The campaign group commissioned the independent report in January, after the new route was proposed.

The report’s findings showed that there was a ‘high risk’ of land collapse above Winsford Salt Mine.

Mr Dellow added: “It would appear they have completely ignored that report. But we are not going to give up, that’s for sure. We have got to continue to fight it.

“The subsidence issues that the report highlighted over Winsford Salt Mine are a real problem for this route, but they will just pay more money to find a way around it. It seems that cost just isn’t a matter of concern anymore. They’re now talking of £100 billion for this project.

“The A533 will certainly have to be realigned from the Morrisons roundabout to the M6, but now there’s talk of just building a new motorway junction. The implications are massive.

“We know that all the work done by HS2 so far, has been cursory desktop work, and when they start the real surveying they’ll realise how big of a job it is. But by that point it will be too late, and they will just throw more and more money at it.”