MID Cheshire residents descended on Winsford to find out more about a proposed high speed rail link for the UK.

Winsford’s Lifestyle Centre played host to the public consultation event last Thursday which gave concerned residents the chance to give their views on the £50 billion High Speed Two (HS2) project.

Representatives from HS2 Ltd were on hand to speak to residents, who explained why the project is needed and what benefits it will bring to the UK and, in particular, to Cheshire.

HS2 Ltd believe the project, - dubbed the biggest infrastructure investment for a generation – will improve capacity across the rail network, shorten journey times between Britain’s major population centres, boost the economy and create around 400,000 jobs – 70 per cent of which are expected to be delivered outside London.

Stephen McFarlane, HS2 Ltd’s head of community and stakeholder engagement, told the Guardian the event gave people the opportunity to learn more about such benefits.

He said: “The point of these events is that people can put forward their concerns and talk to us about what improvements they think we can make.

“People can find out about the proposals’ benefits for Cheshire, for Crewe, for the country as a whole.

“We will be able to take the information we collect today and we will look at the route and whether there are ways we can improve it.

“We have had a fairly mixed response today – a lot of positive people and then people who have concerns and people who just want to know more about it. “

But those opposed to HS2 believe it is a ‘white elephant’ that will only further increase the north and south divide while ruining the countryside and livelihood of farmers in the process.

Mid Cheshire Against HS2 member Graham Dellow said: “They have put on a good show but so much of their stuff is wrong, we know that.

“Again, everyone who has approached us today has been against HS2, like we have found when we have had stalls in Northwich, in Middlewich, Knutsford and at the Cheshire Show.

“In the latest polls in Manchester, 92 per cent of people are against HS2 – that’s in Manchester where there actually are benefits, and we will admit that there are benefits in Manchester.”

Fellow campaigner Ros Todhunter, who lives in Lostock Green, said: “This seems to be a consultation to get as much local knowledge as they can, so they can find out where the gas mains are, where the areas of salt subsidence are.”

HS2 Ltd staff in the fields of engineering, environment, property compensation, noise mitigation and community engagement were on hand to offer a range of advice and information to people attending the event.

A special sound booth, demonstrating how the HS2 line will sound in a particular section of the proposed route, was also on offer.

The Phase Two consultation will run until January 31, 2014. A series of public information events will run throughout the Cheshire area, including Tatton Park and Crewe.

Responses can be made online at hs2.org.uk