The Transport Secretary has reassured Lichfield residents that a consultation over the preferred route for HS2 will be “genuine”.
A number of local residents and businesses in and around the city are set to be affected by the high speed rail line after the Government released details of the second phase of the scheme.
Cutting across Streethay and between Curborough and Fradley, one section of the line will connect with the West Coast Main Line while the main route would continue north to Manchester.
However, in a letter to Michael Fabricant, Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin revealed that a consultation period will begin later this year “to find the right balance between delivering essential infrastructure and respecting the rights and justifiable concerns of those who will be most affected”.
He added: “I should stress that although I have published an initial preferred route, this will be a genuine consultation process.
“Changes are always possible as the outcome of the consultation on Phase One of HS2 has shown.”
