Prompted by a discussion with colleagues in a Hillingdon Friends of the Earth meeting regarding cycling, last month I visited the HS2 Drop In Centre by West Ruislip tube station to find out if any of the billions in expenditure on this project are being directed towards local cycling infrastructure.
The very friendly staff at the portal were not aware of anything that had been funded that was cycling related. They explained that either the London Borough of Hillingdon would have to bid for funds as part of Section 106 or Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) or a local group could bid for specific projects. It was suggested that we submit a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the local authority to see if they had bid for anything.
Subsequent enquiries by a member of Ruislip Residents Association revealed the following web portal which shows details of community groups being provided funding under “HS2 Community and Business Funds” : https://hs2funds.org.uk/home/projects-funded-by-hs2-funds/
It seems that a number of local groups have been successful in being awarded funds for local projects, for example:
- £75,000 to Eastcote Hockey and Badminton club to improve car parking, fencing and flood management
- £39,969 to Eastcote Cricket Club for cricket nets
- £75,000 to improve facilities at Ickenham Village Hall
- £16,990 to install solar power at the club house of Ickenham and District Society of Model Engineers
- £17,728 to Ruislip Horticultural Society for flower shows and horticultural talks
- £75,000 to Ruislip Lido Railway Society Ltd to convert their diesel train to a battery electric train
- £75,000 to Ruislip Northwood Old Folks Association to provide meals and social events
- £66,047 to Thames21 Ltd for flood mitigation and other works on the River Pinn
The London Borough of Hillingdon also bid and was successfully awarded funds for two projects:
- £75,984 for Flood Management in Park Wood SSI
- £59,000 for Transforming the Bridgewater Open Space
That amounts to £575,718 being awarded to LBH and local groups. On discussion with the staff at the drop in centre, it was discovered that up to 700 people a day come to the site at West Ruislip to work on HS2. The vast majority of these workers come to the site by car. The bridge over the railway at West Ruislip is notoriously difficult and dangerous to cycle. Sterling work by individuals at Ruislip Residents Association improved safety at a blind corner approaching the bridge, but this took two years to bring about.
Did it not occur to anyone to try to improve cycling infrastructure for workers and local residents as a lasting legacy of the work being done on HS2?
Sadly, it seems not.