This week, residents in Perivale, Greenford and Northolt got the news they had been waiting for when the Department for Transport and HS2 Ltd announced that instead of HS2 travelling through these parts of the borough on the surface, they would recommend it travel through them in a tunnel.
Residents should take the credit for this announcement. They fought a good fight with very little help from the Council. Over a year ago when the Councils approach to this issue was debated, the Conservative group in Council echoed calls from residents in Perivale, Greenford and Northolt to join the 51M group.
This was a group of local authorites who pooled their resources to fight HS2. Labour refused to join this group. See here. Labour claimed they had been knocking on every door in Government on behalf of the residents most affected by the decision.
When Greenford Green conservative Cllrs wrote to the Department of Transport to see what representations the Council had made on behalf of residents affected, we were told they hadn't made any. See here.
With that in mind, when residents gathered today in Northolt for a small get together with the Gazette, Cllr Eileen Harris was very surprised to see so many Labour Cllrs there.
Cllr Harris said, "the residents deserve the credit for this victory, but anyone here this morning would think that it was the Labour Cllrs who won this Victory. They were no where last year when we really needed them, but when the battle is won, they turn up for the photo opportunity".