The company's High Court hearing on Thursday seeks a route-wide injunction making it a criminal offence for anyone to enter what it calls “HS2 land” or delay its operations. It also aims to criminalise “slow walking in front of vehicles in the vicinity of the HS2 Land”.
The Wildlife Trusts have long opposed the route of the high-speed rail project because of the associated environmental damage. The charities warn that the proposed injunction threatens people's right to protest peacefully against the construction along the route as many members of the public seek to protect their local wild places.
The Wildlife Trusts also fear that a route-wide injunction would prevent ecologists and other experts from visiting HS2 sites to undertake important ecological monitoring and checks during construction – checks that are intended to ensure that rules are adhered to. This is particularly important because HS2 Ltd has been accused of poor environmental practice since construction began.