Regent’s Park will be blighted by dirt, noise and lorry traffic for the next 16 years if rail bosses are given the go-ahead for their plans for work on the HS2 high-speed link, peers were warned today.
The project team behind the £50 billion rail link from London to Birmingham wants to turn part of the visitors’ car park opposite London Zoo into a “holding site” for trucks that will be used in the building of the terminal and start of the route near Euston.
But campaigners today said the scheme would be a disaster for central London’s largest grassy area, which attracts eight million visitors a year.
Ianthe McWilliams, chairman of the Friends of Regent’s Park and Primrose Hill, told a House of Lords select committee scrutinising the plans for HS2 that it would spoil one of the capital’s most treasured open spaces.
She said: “This is planning without thinking ahead properly. Even to blight Regent’s Park for a year with construction traffic would be unacceptable.
"To blight it for 16 years means a generation of young people won’t see the unspoilt peace and beauty of one of the jewels of this city. Restrictions on coach access will mean that for many of them it will be very difficult to get to London Zoo.”
She added that the hundreds of daily truck movements could endanger the groups of school children who walk to the park and the zoo along Prince Albert Road, as well as cyclists.
A thriving colony of hedgehogs could also be threatened by the lorry park.
The HS2 team is trying to push a special Bill through Parliament that would grant legal powers to acquire the wooded car park for zoo visitors.
The Bill is expected to win royal assent by the end of the year, with construction work starting early next year.
A spokesman for HS2 said: “We need to identify potential lorry holding sites to help manage the flow of HGVs into the Euston site and minimise disruption on local roads. The London Zoo car park is our preferred option.
"We will continue to work with Camden council, TfL and our future contractors on our traffic management measures. The protection of all wildlife and the safety of pedestrians and road users will be key considerations.”
