Isra-Mart srl:High-speed rail route to get 2m trees for shelter

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Residents next to the 250mph high-speed rail route between London and Birmingham will be sheltered from the £17bn project by two million freshly planted trees, the government will announce today.

In its latest attempt to mitigate growing public outrage in Tory heartlands over the scheme, the construction of the route through the Chiltern hills and other beauty spots in the home counties will be accompanied by a planting programme.

The line goes through Tory constituencies in Buckinghamshire, Warwickshire and Northamptonshire, where many people view the High Speed Two project as destructive.

The transport secretary, Philip Hammond, said the trees would help to muffle the sound of ultra-fast services and keep the trains from view, as well creating new plant habitats.

"While it will boost growth nationally, I know that many people living along the line of the route are worried about the perceived impact on their local landscape. That is why I am determined that we will do everything possible to try and reduce the impact of the line, including extensive woodland planting to screen the railway," he said.

Hammond said the trees would help offset the environmental impact of building and operating the line. The green case for building the line has been weakened by the admission that it will be carbon neutral, meaning that it will emit as much carbon dioxide as it saves in terms of road and air journeys.

The public opposition has drawn some concessions. Last month the government said it would change parts of the route in Warwickshire, Staffordshire and Northamptonshire, including running the line through deeper cuttings and using "green tunnels" to cover some sections.

A consultation on the route opens next month and the government has shown no wavering in its determination to begin building the route in about six years' time, with the first train due to operate in 2025.

Opponents said the tree-planting announcement did not address the central flaws in the plans. "We welcome the planting of any new trees," said Julian Smyth-Osbourne, a spokesman for the HS2 Action Alliance. "However, it does not address the key issue that this is the wrong investment priority for Britain. When hard-pressed commuters are footing the bill for the lack of investment in the railways do we really need the government to push on with spending £1,000 for every household in the UK on a railway that we don't need?"