AN ALTERNATIVE vision for HS2 has been proposed to help minimise its impact on wildlife.

A new report has been published by The Wildlife Trust which reveals the impact the high speed rail plans will have on wildlife sites such as Lightshaw Meadows.

The report, HS2: A vision for large-scale nature restoration along the Proposed Route, makes The Wildlife Trust’s environmental, social and economic case for the Government to properly address the impact of HS2 on wildlife and ecosystems.

The scheme is devised around creating natural areas, wild havens, green bridges and cycleways along the corridor of the HS2 route.

Lancashire Wildlife Trust spokesman David Dunlop said: “The wildlife and setting of our Lightshaw Meadows nature reserve near Golborne would be directly affected by the construction and operation of a huge HS2 train marshalling yard.

“The meadows are a haven for ground-nesting birds, breeding birds of fen, reed swamp and willow scrub.

“It would also, we believe, create such disturbance – by lighting and irregular noise and visual disturbance during construction and operation – that the nationally declining breeding bird communities would be diminished and/or lost from the sites.”