Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the presence of brine on (a) levels of subsidence and (b) ground condition on the HS2 route in (i) Weaver Vale constituency and (ii) Cheshire.

HS2 Ltd has reviewed the ground conditions, the associated risks, and the appropriate mitigation measures for the HS2 Phase 2b Western Leg scheme as it passes across the Cheshire Plain in areas of former salt mining and other areas where salt mining is ongoing. Their assessment is published in the ‘Crewe to Manchester: Understanding the Ground Risk across the Cheshire Plain’ report published on the GOV.UK website on 3 March 2023.