HS2 “strikes at the heart of Cheshire’s wealth creators,” claims campaign group member Ros Todhunter from Lostock Green.

Ros is a geologist and a member of Mid Cheshire Against HS2, which is opposed to the proposed high speed link.

Ros is a vociferous campaigner against HS2, and her latest comments come in the wake of a debate in the national media about the security of the UK’s gas supplies.

“The blight of HS2 strikes not only homes but a major industrial development of national importance for energy security,” said Ros.

“Since January 2013 the high speed rail link HS2 has put on hold an underground gas storage project near Northwich by King Street Energy Ltd.

“This strategic gas store has direct economic benefit to Cheshire and the UK, brings much-needed jobs to the area, but the project has ground to a halt before it even started.

“In December 2009 King Street Energy’s gas storage project in giant underground salt caverns was granted planning permission.

“That was six years ago, and in spite of the national need nothing has happened.

“The UK’s national needs for secure gas storage are still not being met, and we are still very vulnerable to a hiccup in our gas supply if demand suddenly peaks or our expected foreign gas supplies are sold elsewhere or get cut off.

“Let’s hope HS2 doesn’t sterilise the gas storage potential in Cheshire, one of the limited places in the UK where gas could be stored due to its particular geology.”

Ros said the proposed route of HS2 may appear to be going through the “green fields of leafy Cheshire.”

“In fact it strikes at the heart of the wealth creators of Cheshire, major extractive industries and chemical industries based on vast reserves of halite – rock salt, under the line of HS2,” she said.

“HS2 traverses the brine fields of Northwich and Middlewich, supplying the feed stock to the chemical industries of Cheshire and Merseyside, and rattles over the only rock salt mine on mainland UK in Winsford.

“It skims by an ever-growing number of active and proposed enormous underground salt cavities.

“These are full or filling up with gas, helping extend the couple of weeks of secure gas supplies for the UK to meet our nation’s growing energy needs.”

HS2 spokesman Ben Ruse said: “Improving rail connections across the north will help to deliver significant benefits for the region.

“There are, of course, engineering challenges in delivering the largest infrastructure project in Europe, but we will have the best people to help us achieve our aim of building a railway network fit for the 21st century.

“We very much value local knowledge, and our engineers have previously met with Ros Todhunter to talk through the geology in the area.

“We are working on technical solutions to the geological challenges in Cheshire, and will continue with that process as we progress the design of the route.”

A spokesperson for King Street Energy Ltd said: “The company was obviously very disappointed when we were informed of the HS2 phase 2 route announcement.

“We were well under way with our plans to develop the project after the time and effort we expended to get the consent from the Secretary of State.

“There is no question in our minds that the current and future prospects of the company have been financially damaged.

“We are approaching a stage in the company’s plan where we would have benefitted from the significant cash flows from the project and used them to further invest in our considerable brownfield asset base and other energy projects in this part of the country, in keeping with the company vision.

“Undeterred as ever, we are working through ideas to try and improve the situation we find ourselves in through no fault of our own.”