Solihull MP Lorely Burt has submitted a letter to the select committee which is looking into HS2, calling for the marshalling yards originally proposed for Washwood Heath to be brought into the Meriden constituency either at Bickenhill or Chelmsley Wood.
Her position is at odds with both that of Solihull Council and Meriden MP Caroline Spelman who have strongly resisted efforts to relocate the marshalling yards into the greenbelt.
Caroline Spelman said, “Against parliamentary convention, my neighbouring MP has without discussing it, opined that a major development of marshalling yards should be placed in my constituency. It shows a complete lack of understanding about Solihull’s UK Central proposal to create a garden city by connecting up the new interchange station to the Chelmsley Wood estate so that local people benefit from the development. Laying down railway tracks and creating marshalling yards would make this impossible.”
The Department of Transport had looked in depth at where to locate marshalling yards for HS2 and chosen the Washwood Heath site as the most sustainable option.