A TATTON MP has reiterated the importance of a high-speed rail link that will pass near Lostock and Wincham.

The proposed HS2 phase two route runs from the West Midlands to Manchester, via Crewe, close to Winsford and villages in Mid-Cheshire.

George Osborne MP claimed the development would help bring jobs to the area and that the government were set to deal with families affected by the route on a ‘case-by-case’ basis.

“I think HS2 is a really important piece of infrastructure for the whole of Britain and is also very important for Cheshire,” he said.

“It’s going to make travel easier, help local stations, bring jobs to the area and bring people to the rest of the country.

“I am pro HS2, but I also represent people who are affected. I understand if you are anxious but there is compensation available.

“We deal with these cases on a case-by-case basis and we are helping families get what they need.”

However, following a closed meeting with parish councillors from Tatton held at Macclesfield Town Hall, the Chancellor’s approach to the £50billion scheme was slammed by anti-HS2 campaigners.

“George Osborne used police decoys to avoid meeting 20 of his constituents who were waiting to speak to him after a ‘closed meeting’ – not in his Tatton Constituency by the way,” said chair of All Cheshire Against HS2, Ewen Simpson.

“His constituents had been trying to meet with him at surgeries, so that they can meet a Member of Parliament ‘face to face’ to air their views and grievances, but not George.

“We thought this meeting was to be George on his own, but no. HS2 Ltd people were there too – in other words, an HS2 Ltd presentation. No Opposing views or challenges allowed.”

Mr Simpson insists Tatton will no longer be a ‘safe seat’ for the Conservative govrnement, claiming HS2 is becoming the ‘Tatton Brown Envelope’.

“George must surely realise by continuing to avoid his constituents a groundswell of opposition is building up,” he explained. “Such that fringe parties opposing HS2 are gaining a great deal of support.

“If he and his advisers think his majority of just under 15,000 makes Tatton a safe seat, he should think again – a previous Conservative MP though so and lost out.”