Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of creating wetlands close to the route of the proposed HS2 line between London and Birmingham.

HS2 Ltd has assessed the potential merits of creating wetlands within the land required for the construction and operation of the railway and has included over 70 hectares of wetlands in the Phase One (London to West Midlands) design where considered appropriate; taking into account factors such as land use, hydrology and topography. One example is the Colne Valley Western Slopes on Phase One where HS2 Ltd is creating 127 hectares (314 acres) of wetlands, wood pasture and species-rich grasslands using chalk taken from tunnelling under the Chilterns.