Territorial extent and application
- The provision made by the Act for the acquisition of land and the authorisation of works is local in nature. The new high speed rail lines forming Phase One of High Speed 2 are to be situated wholly in England.
- However, as with the Crossrail Act 2008, the Channel Tunnel Rail Link Act 1996 and other hybrid Acts, this Act does not expressly limit its territorial extent. This means that the Act extends to the United Kingdom.
- At introduction this Act contained provisions that required a legislative consent motion that has been passed by the Scottish Parliament. The provisions relate to the reserved matter of cross-border railways but alter the executive competence of the Scottish Ministers. Some of the services using Phase One of High Speed 2 will run to and from Scotland, albeit on the existing conventional rail lines and at normal speed from the West Midlands. Section 52 confers on the Scottish Ministers an order-making power to authorise works in Scotland which may be required for Phase One purposes – for example to extend train platforms so as to accommodate the larger trains. Also section 55, which relates to the exercise of rights of entry to carry out surveys or investigations for future phases of HS2, confers a role on the Scottish Ministers in relation to authorising works under section 54 (rights of entry for further high speed rail works). Such works could include, for example, boring holes to investigate minerals, or placing apparatus on land.
- None of the provisions contained in this Act will have an impact upon matters that have been devolved to the National Assembly for Wales or the Northern Ireland Assembly.
