HS2 Ltd & SSfT v Persons Unknown & Ors
Approved Judgment:
many of these HS2 hearings. The Claimants have never sought to enforce their costs against the crowd funding bank accounts or trustees.
The Issues 18.
There were 5 substantive matters to be determined: 18.1 Should the Claimants be required to take the claim to a final hearing? 18.2 Should the duration of the routewide interim injunction be extended? 18.3 Should the routewide injunction relating to the purple land be ended? 18.4 Should the amendments to the details of the routewide injunction be permitted? 18.5 Should D6 and 13 other Defendants be removed as parties to the claim?
The lay witness evidence 19.
I have read the evidence from the Claimants’ witnesses and from D6.
8 21. Mr Dobson informed the Court that since 17th March 2023 there had been no major direct action activist events or incidents targeting the HS2 project that had resulted in a delay of works by more than an hour. He considered there was direct evidence from activists that the reason the disruption to the HS2 project had stopped was the deterrent effect of the injunction and gave evidence by way of a few examples. However, he set out what he described as “minor incidences” of random trespasses to land which had not impacted on the works of the project. He asserted there were increasing incidences of unlawful occupation of phase 2 property and set these out. There were 24 events set out in a five column table. I summarise them below. Unfortunately he did not specify which was on phase 1 land and which was on phase 2 land. I have done my best to identify which is which in brackets below. In March 2023 urban explorers broke into the Grimstock Hotel in Birmingham (phase 1). The same month 10 caravans trespassed upon a business park in Saltley in Birmingham (phase 1) and, when challenged, left after about 10 hours. In May and June 2023 a group called Universal Law Community Trust occupied a building at Whitmore Heath, which is part of the phase 2A land. The description of the group paints them as debt buyers who control the debtors’ behaviour after taking over their debt, for anarchic purposes. In May 2023 in Old Oak Common Road, London (phase 1), a man, who had previously trespassed on HS2 land, assaulted a security officer on a closed road. In July 2023 graffiti and some criminal damage had been done in Westbury Viaduct near Brackley (phase 1 land). In August 2023 three children set up a small campsite on HS2 land in Buckinghamshire (phase 1 land) and, when their parents were asked to remove them, they left. In the same month two people trespassed on land in Greatworth, Oxfordshire (phase 1) and interfered with some 33 20. James Dobson is a security consultant and advisor to HS2. He reviewed the internal computer and documentary sources. He set out the Claimants’ evidence. He asserted that the Claimants no longer considered 13 of the named Defendants to be a sufficient risk to the HS2 project for them to remain parties to the claim. These were D5, 6, 7, 22, 27, 28, 33, 36, 39, 48, 57, 58 and 59. After the removal of these Defendants, only 5 named Defendants would remain.
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online