WHATEVER your thoughts are regards the decision to give HS2 the green light. That green light currently stops at Crewe.

It is quite right that further review is needed to consider how to deliver connectivity, value for money and our environment going north.

I remember being in a meeting with HS2 discussing environment and water drainage with engineers shortly after the local storms and floods in August last year.

The design of open field drains going into holding ponds and ultimately flowing into the river Bollin was discussed at length. It was designed to cope with a one in a hundred year flooding event plus 40 per cent flow.

What occurred that August was unprecedented rainfall of 19mm in just eight hours. It was a one in a thousand year event. As we can see from more recent events flooding is becoming more extreme and frequent. If HS2 had been built as planned this event would have overwhelmed the system and caused extensive further flooding to the area, and of course failed to cope.

As the climate emergency begins to grip and sadly will only get worse, we must factor in our environment as we look to find the best solution of providing connectivity across the north and to HS2 at Crewe, if it does ever get there.

Nigel Hennerley, Cheshire East Green Party