HS2 in Hertfordshire – Key information

These look aheads provide you with information about HS2 works and developments taking place in Hertfordshire.

This section provides you with information about HS2 works and developments taking place in Hertfordshire, and how we’re managing the impacts of construction.

Residents may hear our works activity from viaduct fabrication plant at HS2’s south portal works site near West Hyde, Rickmansworth.

The below frequently asked questions (FAQs) may be useful to find out how we plan to manage construction noise at our south portal site.

We’re turning a former HS2 construction site into one of the largest new areas of chalk grassland in the Chiltern Hills.

Chalk grassland is a rare habitat of international conservation importance. Only 700 hectares remain across the whole of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

We’ll seed 90 hectares using nutrient-poor subsoil mixed with chalk from tunnelling and recycled aggregates from construction. The thin soil is lime-rich, holds little water and warms quickly — conditions that support more than 40 wildflower and herb species per square metre, including some of the UK’s rarest orchids and invertebrates.

Alongside the grassland, we’re also planting almost 65,000 trees and shrubs of 32 species and nearly 2 miles (3.5km) of new hedgerows, with new areas of woodland, wood pasture and wetlands on the western slopes of the River Colne valley.

Watch the latest progress updates of this work