This week HS2 Ltd will be in court seeking a route-wide injunction making it a criminal offence for anyone to enter what they call “HS2 land” or delay their operations. HS2 Land in part used to be rolling fields, nature reserves and beautiful places where people took their walks and encountered nature. Now it seeks to exclude everyone and stamp on people’s right to peacefully protest against this environmental disaster.

The injunction will be so massive it has even been given it its own email address (HS2Injunction@governmentlegal.gov.uk) and to show the land covered by the injunction takes 283 pages of plans.

BBOWT has long opposed HS2, not least because of the impact on our reserves: the company took possession of parts of our Calvert Jubilee nature reserve between Bicester and Buckingham in 2020 to facilitate the construction; our nearby Finemere Wood reserve is directly affected by the works, and staff and visitors also now have to cross land in HS2 possession to get into our Bacombe Hill reserve near Wendover.

Security staff have already been accused of being heavy-handed and we have had BBOWT members complain that they have been intimidated by such staff and have avoided our reserves as a consequence. Emboldening security staff with such an injunction risks making the situation worse.

HS2’s fencing in some parts is so poor that visitors to some of our reserves are able to freely wander onto “HS2 Land” without even realising it. Should they accidently stroll onto HS2 land after an injunction is granted they could find themselves facing criminal proceedings. The mere existence of such an injunction could cause people to stop visiting our reserves that neighbour “HS2 Land” through fear of being intimidated by security staff.

We are surprised that, given our visitors, staff and volunteers need to pass over what is now “HS2 Land” to access our reserves, HS2 Ltd did not make us aware of their application and we had to learn of it from members of the public. HS2’s poor record at properly maintaining boundaries and communicating with local communities means one can have little confidence that it would properly follow the terms of any injunction granted.

HS2 Ltd seeks a court order restraining people from entering “HS2 Land” in a way that delays or hinders HS2 or their contractors. HS2 Ltd wants such people to be imprisoned, fined or have their assets seized. The injunction would also forbid people from obstructing or interfering with the movement of vehicles, equipment or people accessing “HS2 Land”. A person doesn’t even need to be on “HS2 Land” to risk being imprisoned.

By way of example, should a person choose to stand on a road whilst a HS2 lorry is trying to turn into “HS2 Land”, they risk prison. The proposed court order even states that “slow walking in front of vehicles in the vicinity of the HS2 Land” would be illegal. HS2 says it does not intend to “prohibit lawful protest” yet it is hard to see what form of peaceful protest remains if standing still or even walking slowly is suddenly illegal.

As a Wildlife Trust we do not support illegal protests, but people are protesting because HS2 Ltd has continued to fail in its duties to protect nature, and people must be able to protest peacefully. The proposed injunction goes too far and would not just stop illegal activities, but make peaceful protest illegal itself.

It seems somewhat ironic that an organisation that has caused its own delays at the cost of billions of pounds, want others who cause delays to be fined or imprisoned. The court should refuse to grant the injunction HS2 Ltd have applied for.