Another member of an activist group who tunnelled under Euston Square Gardens has handed himself over for arrest after 19 days underground. In the early hours of Tuesday morning, 46-year old Scotty, also known as Digger Down, became the third activist to voluntarily leave the 100ft network of tunnels.
Nine people entered the tunnels on 26th January 2021, just hours before bailiffs evicted several others who had been occupying the site above ground since August. The protesters – who are linked to HS2 Rebellion, an alliance of groups and individuals campaigning to prevent the construction of the high-speed railway – spent two months “around the clock” secretly digging the tunnels.
They aim to resist proposals to redevelop the gardens as part of the planned megaproject and have been living underground for three weeks despite ongoing attempts by bailiffs to remove them. Digger Down’s arrest comes a week after 20-year old Lachlan Sandford, known as Lazer, also voluntarily left the tunnels due to ill health. Bailiffs had unsuccessfully attempted to remove him from a ‘lock-on’ tube for a number of hours the previous day.
“I have nothing to prove by being the last one in so have decided to volunteer my exit”, said Digger Down in a Facebook post on Sunday evening, adding that his return to the surface would “ease the pressure on resources [and] allow others to stay longer”.
Latest developments on the protest have been announced on HS2’s social media pages on Wednesday. 16-year old Rory Hooper has become the fourth protestor to to leave the tunnels under Euston Square Gardens. The teenager is the son of well-known environmental activist Dan Hooper, also known as Swampy, who entered the tunnels alongside him and remains underground.
What is HS2 and why are people protesting?
High Speed 2 (HS2) is the planned high-speed railway line that is set to link London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds. HS2 Ltd. states on its website that the 20-year project hopes to “reduce rail passenger overcrowding and help to rebalance the UK’s economy” by creating jobs away from London. The railway was given the final go-ahead by Boris Johnson before Covid-19 saw travel plummeting.
However, there are numerous environmental, economic and social arguments against the project. According to an in-depth survey by The Wildlife Trusts, the implementation of HS2 would destroy or damage irreparably five internationally protected wildlife sites, 693 local wildlife sites, 108 ancient woodlands and 33 legally protected sites of special scientific interest. It is also stated that current HS2 proposals are set to put certain woodland species at threat of local extinction, including the UK’s most threatened bird, the Willow Tit. A 2020 HS2 report said that the project would not reduce CO2 overall for over 100 years, mainly due to the emissions created during construction. The company now claims this analysis is out of date, but no new figures have been provided.
Furthermore, the government has predicted that HS2 will cost £106 billion to implement – already the most expensive rail infrastructure proposal in world history – but independent experts have predicted a cost of up to £230 billion. In theory, the projected cost of a Manchester to London anytime ticket by HS2 could cost around £240, available only to an elite few, and yet the average taxpayer will have to contribute over £4k to its construction. It has also been stated that around 888 homes and 985 businesses will be demolished to enable the project, and a 2018 government report found that HS2 would permanently displace 19,590 jobs.
HS2 Rebellion claims that HS2 is the “most expensive, wasteful and destructive project in UK history” and has called on the government to implement a national citizens’ assembly to “lead the way out of the climate and ecological emergency”. A fact sheet distributed by the environmental network states:
“The 250 mph design speed… minimises functionality and flexibility by prohibiting freight and denying intermediate stops; it maximises the cost of building, operating and maintaining the railway; it increases the carbon footprint due to exponentially increasing energy requirements; damage to the natural environment, habitats and communities is increased as the design speed needs a far straighter route than normal railways or road, with the land-take in many places wider than that of a motorway; and instead of following an existing transport corridor.”
‘Protection’ and ‘resistance’ camps have been set up at seven other sites in the UK. On 13th February 2021, a group of activists living at Harvil Road in the Colne Valley, 25 miles away from Euston, were evicted by police. The site was occupied for three and a half years, making it the longest-running anti-HS2 camp.
Meanwhile, in response to the tunnel protest under Euston Gardens, a spokesperson for HS2 Ltd. has said: “illegal activities such as this is costly to the taxpayer and a danger to the safety of the activists, HS2 staff, High Court enforcement officers and the general public, as well as putting unnecessary strain on the emergency services during the pandemic.”
The remaining five activists continue to resist the redevelopment of Euston Square Gardens as part of the HS2 project. One of the protestors, Dr Larch Maxey, said as Digger Down left: “This isn’t going to stop with nine people down the tunnel, this is going to stop with thousands of people coming together.”
Flora Thomas
Featured image courtesy of Julian Osley via Geograph. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.
Update: it was announced on Wednesday afternoon, after this article was written, on HS2 Rebellion’s social media pages that 16-year old Rory Hooper had become the fourth protestor to leave the tunnels under Euston Square Gardens. The teenager is the son of well-known environmental activist Dan Hooper, also known as Swampy, who entered the tunnels alongside him and remains underground.