HS2 blows £100million on a 'shed' to protect bats - even though 'there is no evidence that high-speed trains interfere' with the mammals

HS2 is blowing more than £100million on a steel mesh 'shed' to protect bats from being hit by the high speed trains.

Its executive chairman chairman Sir Jon Thompson told a rail industry conference the structure in Buckinghamshire is needed to appease Natural England because bats are legally protected in the UK.

This is despite there being 'no evidence' that the trains will interfere with the mammals, he said.

He claimed this is an example of the UK's 'genuine problem' with completing major infrastructure projects.

The publicly-owned company built the structure alongside woodland to protect the Bechstein's bat, which is very rare in the UK.

Former Conservative Prime Minister Liz Truss previously slammed the idea of spending money on 'bat bridges' to help protect the mammal which raised the cost of an expansion of the A11 in Norfolk.

He told The Financial Times : 'That's my favourite one because it involves the bat.

'People then have this simplistic way of saying, 'oh, you've gone over the budget'.

'Well, yeah, OK but do people think about the bat?'

Stephen Schwarzman, the boss of the Blackstone Group, has recently told Rachel Reeves that work at his £80m Wiltshire country estate was also interrupted because he needed to put in measures in case there were great crested newts living there.

Sir John said the bat problem is was just one example of issues contributing to HS2's spiralling costs.

The Tory Government binned half of the rail line to save money and the enormous cost has created a running headache for both governments.

Speaking about the bat measure, Sir Jon said: '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.'

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

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

After receiving the go ahead from Natural England for the design, HS2 Ltd was forced to spend 'hundreds of thousands of pounds' on lawyers and environmental specialists because the local council did not approve the work, Sir Jon said.

'In the end I won the planning permission by going above Bedfordshire County Council's head,' he explained.

He told the Rail Industry Association's annual conference in London that HS2 Ltd has been required to obtain 8,276 consents from other public bodies related to planning, transport and the environment to build phase one of the railway between the capital and Birmingham.

He said: 'I'm being trite about it but I'm trying to illustrate one example of the 8,276 of these (consents).'

Sir Jon, who has led the project since Mark Thurston left his role as chief executive in September 2023, warned in January that the estimated cost for phase one has soared to as much as £66.6 billion.

In 2013, HS2 was estimated to cost £37.5 billion (in 2009 prices) for the entire planned network, including now-scrapped extensions from Birmingham to both Manchester and Leeds .

It comes after the announcement that ministers will take charge of the HS2 rail project after costs have been 'allowed to spiral out of control'.

Transport Secretary Louise Haigh described the state of the expensive infrastructure scheme as 'dire' and she promised to 'work fast and fix things'.

Latest estimates indicate the line from London to Birmingham - the only surviving part of the original scheme linking the capital to the north - could run at more than £20 billion over budget.

Last month, it was announced that ministers would take direct control of the high-speed rail project with regular meetings and an independent review would be held into major transport projects to learn lessons for future schemes.

The new Transport Secretary recently came under fire for 'caving in' to rail unions by agreeing to inflation-busting pay deals which will cost taxpayers billions.

She insisted her intervention in HS2 will bring the over-budget project 'back on track'.

Ms Haigh, Rail Minister Lord Hendy and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones will 'ensure greater accountability' with regular meetings with HS2 bosses.

Ms Haigh said previously: 'It has long been clear that the costs of HS2 have been allowed to spiral out of control, but since becoming Transport Secretary I have seen up close the scale of failure in project delivery - and it's dire.

'Taxpayers have a right to expect HS2 is delivered efficiently and I won't stand for anything less.

'I have promised to work fast and fix things and that's exactly why I have announced urgent measures to get a grip on HS2's costs and ensure taxpayers' money is put to good use. It's high time we make sure lessons are learnt and the mistakes of HS2 are never repeated again.'

Former Tory Prime Minister Rishi Sunak cancelled Phase 2 of the HS2, linking Birmingham with Manchester, due to the huge cost of the line. The link to Leeds was also axed by the Conservative government.

The Labour government said it will not reinstate the Manchester link.

It is not clear exactly how much the project will end up costing taxpayers.

Sir Jon has warned the estimated cost for Phase 1 had soared to as much as £66.6bn, against a budget of £44.6bn, using 2019 prices.

A new chief executive will soon take over at HS2 and will be responsible for 'resetting the project,' the Department for Transport said.