Camden business owners joined their MP and council leader on a visit to parliament yesterday as Camden Council handed in its petition highlighting its concerns over the impact of the High Speed 2 rail link.

The HS2 Bill, permitting the construction of the London to West Midlands section of the £50bn route, passed its second reading last month.

The bill now moves into its committee stage where specially-appointed MPs will meet to consider the detail of the bill and hear any petitions submitted by affected parties.

Business owners have until tomorrow to submit their own petition.

Representatives from restaurants in Drummond Street - famed for its Asian cuisine and food shops - joined Camden Council leader Cllr Sarah Hayward and Frank Dobson MP, representative for Holborn and St Pancras, in submitting their petition.

Traders along the street say disruption caused by the construction of HS2 and its London terminal at Euston station could put them out of business.

In a bid to minimise the damage construction could have on the borough, the council’s petition has called for a number of changes to me made to the proposals.

This includes asking that Old Oak Common – a proposed HS2 station to the north – be used as a temporary London terminus to allow more time to be given to the design and construction of Euston station.

Current proposals in the Bill see hundreds of homes and businesses in the borough facing demolition and many areas feeling the effect of 10 years of construction.

This includes road closures, the construction of ventilation shafts in Adelaide Road and South Hampstead, and the impact of hundreds of HGVs travelling throughout the borough.

HS2 Ltd - the state-owned company tasked with delivering the line - insists mitigation measures helping alleviate any disruption will be implemented.

For more on this story, see next week’s edition of the Ham & High (out May 22).

Related stories:

Euston station plans hang in the balance as overseas developers move in

Transport secretary axes section of HS2 rail link that threatened Camden markets

MPs reject pleas from Camden campaigners to halt HS2

The ‘decade of disruption’ - a breakdown of how HS2 will affect Camden and your community