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Call the grove! HS2 activists get caught up in a clash with security officers at the forest treehouse campground that inspired Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr Fox
- Private security guards got involved in a confrontation with environmentalists
- Protesters have been fighting the construction of HS2
- Almost half of the old Jones’ Hill Wood near Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, will be destroyed to make way for trains.
Protesters living in tree houses to prevent a forest area from being destroyed by the HS2 rail project clashed with police and security officials on Thursday.
A line of private security guards became involved in a confrontation with environmentalists who are trying to evict the site.
Almost half of the old Jones’ Hill Wood near Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, will be destroyed to make way for HS2 this fall, according to the Woodland Trust.
Protesters camped in the trees they are trying to stop being felled at Jones’ Hill Wood, near Aylesbury Vale in Buckinghamshire, one of the forests that will be affected by the construction of HS2
An HS2 protester looks on from her tree house as the tree protection camp faces eviction from the network
Protesters camping in the trees are trying to stop being cut down in Jones’ Hill Wood, near Aylesbury Vale in Buckinghamshire, one of the forests that will be affected by the construction of HS2
Wood is considered the inspiration behind Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr Fox and the author was a regular visitor there.
About 15 of the 40 activists were manning makeshift tree houses 60 feet above the forest floor, where Thames Valley police made three arrests.
The protesters, ranging from teenagers to retirees, have been fighting the construction of the high-speed train route through the forest for seven months, but eviction teams arrived to remove them yesterday morning. The gigantic rail project will see some 0.7 hectares excavated from the 1.8 hectare site.
Steve Masters, 50, a Green Party councilor at West Berkshire City Council and the oldest protester camping in the canopy of trees, said he had slept in the woods every night for the past three months.
: HS2 protester breaks through canopy as tree protection camp faces eviction
An HS2 protester looks on from her tree house. About 15 of the 40 activists were manning makeshift tree houses 60 feet above the forest floor, where Thames Valley Police made three arrests
The 1.8 hectare beech forest, one of 108 ancient forests that are scheduled to be destroyed along the proposed HS2 route, is considered a habitat of primary importance and home to bats, badgers, carax and foxes.
The activist said he wants his three grandchildren “to grow up safe from the effects of climate change,” which he believes “will not happen if projects like HS2 … go ahead.”
Ultimately, the rail line will provide high-speed connections between London Euston and Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds.
But after a series of setbacks and delays, the initial cost of £ 36bn has now rocketed to £ 106bn.
HS2 said in a statement: “The land at Jones’ Hill Wood is the legal property of HS2 and we need secure access to begin archeology and ecology work.”
A Thames Valley Police spokesperson said: “Our role is to ensure public safety and facilitate a peaceful protest while at the same time guaranteeing HS2 Ltd’s legal rights to do its job.”
