WARRINGTON Borough Council says it is working on ‘world class mitigation’ in case it fails to derail the HS2 Golborne Link.

At a Cheshire and Warrington local transport body meeting on Friday, the council reiterated its support for the high-speed railway – but not the controversial spur between Warrington and Wigan, which would link HS2 with the West Coast Mainline up to Scotland.

David Boyer, assistant director of transport and operations at the council, said: “I’m sure all three [Cheshire] authorities will continue to push HS2 very hard, and that includes the Golborne Link section.

“We may or may not be successful in our campaign to remove the Golborne Link, but we are very much pursuing two workstreams – one arguing against it, and another working to secure world class mitigation should the decision ultimately be made to retain that section of the route.”