Expensive flutter: £100m bill to build HS2 bat 'shed'

HS2 Ltd is spending more than £100m building a “shed” for bats despite there being “no evidence” that high-speed trains interfere with the protected species, the chair of the government-owned company said.

- MILLIE COOKE

Sir Jon Thompson told a rail industry conference that a bat protection structure is being built in Buckinghamshireto appease government adviser Natural England, as all bats are legally protected in the UK. “We call it a shed. This shed, you’re not going to believe this, cost more than £100m to protect the bats in this wood,” he said.

The saga is an example of the UK’s “genuine problem” with completing major infrastructure projects, the HS2 chief told the Rail Industry Association’s annual conference in London.

The curved structure will run for around 1km (0.6 miles) alongside Sheephouse Wood, creating a barrier that will allow bats to cross above the high-speed railway without being affected by passing trains.

Other more expensive options, including a bored tunnel and rerouting the railway away from the wood, were considered during the passage of the High Speed Two (London to West Midlands) Act through parliament.