Soil replanted at Chilterns South Portal Chalk Grassland Project

The largest project in our Green Corridor programme will see the transformation of what is now an HS2 construction site into one of the largest areas of new chalk grassland in the Chiltern hills.
Chalk grassland - a type of calcareous grassland - is a habitat of international conservation importance mainly found on limestone and chalk valleys of south-east England and the Isle of Wight.
As part of the ambitious scheme, 90 hectares of chalk grassland will be seeded into re-profiled soil layers using the nutrient poor subsoils on the site and mixing these soils with chalk from the tunnelling and recycled concrete and aggregates from construction works.
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[@1chish]

It is projects like this that have increased costs but it is money very well spent. HS2 had the environment and habitats as a primary focus and I am hugely disappointed the bean counters and blinkered civil servants in Whitehall cannot understand the ripple out effects this project is having now and will have on other projects and have cancelled the northern leg. More research and learning lost.

[@jonathansparkes4032]

Tbh £100bn is not a bean

[@CRIMSONANT1]

Haha, what absolute nonsense! "Money very well spent"? "HS2 had the environment & habitats as a primary focus" .. really? Are you aware that HS2 Ltd have already incurred numerous fines for multiple breaches of environmental issues? Thousands of trees planted along the route in Warwickshire where the vast majority perished due to lack of aftercare. The pollution of streams, rivers & other waterways with toxic chemicals. The bulldozing of mile upon mile of hedgerows containing nesting birds when they specifically promised to wait until the nesting season was over. The destruction of ancient woodlands, lakes, meadows, nature reserves .. the list goes on & on & on yet in your eyes they've had the environment & habitats as a primary focus .. just laughable 🤣 HS2 is an environmental disaster of epic proportions & Britain's biggest infrastructure mistake in half a century .. FACT.

[@1chish]

@@jonathansparkes4032 OK I get that. But it wasn't £100 Bn and even if it was that money spread over the 20 year build programme is more than affordable. And its all going back into the economy

[@cum3173]

I cannot agree with you more, but i believe that this is not the fault of the civil servants. HS2 has been made a ‘hated white elephant’ by politicians, so that they can look better when they cancel it and ‘save money’, while still spending all of it. People who whine about the £100BILLION!!!!!!!!!😮 cost are forgetting that it will still be spent, on other projects which are worse for the environment and less beneficial for wider britain.

[@PetertheRock.]

Well done! HS2 is great!

[@kevinlookatall]

Brilliant! 👍👍 I find it interesting that the naysayers regarding HS2 never seem to exploit or show these sort of things, especially BBC news . . . .

[@davecooper3238]

HS2 often comes up on our local BBC TV News bulletins. ( West Midlands )

[@cookn01]

Now HS2 is a horticultural organisation ? Green washing. How many acres / hectares have been destroyed or materially degraded beforehand ?

[@mattgoodchild8215]

Bang on right

[@sssdddkkksss]

I didn't know Hugh Skinner from Fleabag was a soil scientist!

[@johnwilliams-sc1vf]

Why are you wearing P.P.E. to look at a grassy field ?

[@Aloh-od3ef]

Could of just taken some soil samples from around the local area. To discover what chalk/grave/soil conditions, work best in that area. Would of saved you some money 😉

[@howardjones6752]

Which university are you a soil expert at ?

[@davedave6404]

I so want this to work for the next generations - I won't see it opened sadly. My hunch is with the way things are growing in my garden compared to 30 years ago (more heat, more water, more CO2 I am guessing), nature will within 20-30 years sort this all out. Just as it has with the big roads projects of 30 years ago, DFT was the biggest planter of trees, it may still be. Just look at the now mature copses and grasslands near motorways. Simply put, if these objectors and nimby types had curbed their carnal desires to excessively breed the country would not be overcrowded, the existing infrastructure could have coped. Dig deeper into their lives, you will find the 4*4's, the many foreign holidays by air, large investment houses, grand lifestyles and so on. These are incompatible with limiting climate change. How many of these bleated when around the turn of the century there were the first indications of updating and re-opening the Central Railway and then duffed up HS2 adding billions to costs, because they had bought land and properties close to a closed rail route, that had every prospect of re-opening at some stage. Weak politicians, mates in the right places and so on. HS2 should have just built the bloody thing at lowest costs, if you didn't like it, TUFF

[@briansr.5219]

Now all of a sudden everyone has green fingures ! From allotment to giving HS2 advice !!!!!!! I mean,really !!!! 🤔

[@thegreathonourandprosper52]

Minimum wage site to work at. What a joke 😢😢😢

[@mattgoodchild8215]

Another plush video with soft music makes you think aaaaah aren’t they amazing but it’s only a mask hiding the real truth of the utter trashing of our ancient woodlands of which there are 40

[@alexmckenna1171]

The local NIBYS are responsible for untold millions of extra costs..

[@scottpeacock5492]

@alexmckenna1171 Yep especially the 10 miles tunnels under the Chiltern Hills just to save a few trees, HS2ltd could have just ignore those nimbys and tear down those few trees in it path, would have loved to see the lovely views of the chilterns hills fields and trees whilst on my first ride of the line once built, now all i'm going to be left in the dark travelling through a tunnel, Up your nimbys brigade.

[@mattgoodchild8215]

You will have to get used to looking at concrete pal because for over 90% of its route will have ten meters of it each side of the track so start staring at concrete now if I was you so you can acclimatise to it ready for your glorious journey in twenty years time it won’t be as much of a shock then bless you Said the nimby 😅

[@mattgoodchild8215]

Hahahah

[@willlister9825]

No kidding! Top soil is best for plant growth! 👍 don't think I'd have needed a full-on trial to work that out!!! 😂

[@rubberduck3788]

Bit more to this than just put some top soil down and hope for the best when you're trying to reuse certain materials, and avoid flooding of the railway you've just built 👍

[@1chish]

That wasn't even clever use of sarcasm Will. Maybe if you had engaged more than 2 brain cells you would understand the huge research going on into different soils, re-used chalks and sub soils not only for this site but across the country on other infrastructure projects.

[@Joe90V]

So you've cut a huge swathe through the countryside destroying the biodiversity for decades, possibly forever, but you've reseeded some soil. Oh well done, Slow handclap.