There are multiple ancient woodland protection camps across the country https://hs2rebellion.earth/camp-locations/ which I haven't seen anyone talking about much, presumably because they don't annoy anyone.Why stop HS2?
HS2 is one of the largest and most damaging infrastructure projects our country has ever seen and is representative of everything we are seeking to change within this toxic system.
HS2 will not be carbon neutral for over 120 years.
Far from reducing flights HS2 is being lobbied for by 4 major airports who all state that it is essential for their plans for aviation expansion.
HS2 will require 3TWh/yr of electricity to run, that’s 67% of the electricity the entire UK rail network currently uses.
693 local wildlife sites, 33 sites of special scientific interest, 21 designated local nature reserves, 5 wildlife refuges of international importance and 108 ancient woodlands are all threatened by HS2. 9 major rivers will be diverted and 34 KM of the route goes directly through flood zones.
As for Birmingham, HS2 will increase rent prices in Birmingham, pushing low income earners away from the city centre. For the cost of HS2, Birmingham City Council’s budget could have been paid for 124 years. 195 QE size hospitals could be built for the cost of HS2.
The train tickets for HS2 will cost over £250, which means the regular people of Birmingham will not be able to afford the tickets. Only the elite will be able to afford the tickets.
HS2 requires 6-10 million litres of water a day to carry out the drilling of the chilterns tunnel, an estimate of 30 billion litres of water over three years.
Affinity Water, the water company which draws 60 % of their water from this source supplying 3.2 million people have told HS2 that they cannot meet their demand for water and in 2013 highlighted their concerns that the water supply could be entirely jeopardised by HS2 works.
In addition to the catastrophic environmental cost the human cost is huge. 888 homes and 985 businesses are being demolished to make way for the project. HS2 is by far the most expensive high speed railway the world has ever seen – £106 Billion according to the government, but independent experts have predicted up to £230 billion. Tickets will likely never be affordable for the average person on the street. Its projected users will need a salary over £60k/year and most of the economic benefit is heading to London, yet the average taxpayer will contribute over £4k to HS2’s construction.
ETA the point about electricity consumption is pretty weak. I have seen them say elsewhere (and it's mentioned in that Guardian article I posted) that electrifying the existing network would be a better use of the money from a carbon perspective.