THE head of conservation at an Oxfordshire conservation charity will address the House of Lords tomorrow on the impacts of HS2.

Matt Jackson, from Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust (BBOWT), will speak to a select committee of the impact of the high-speed rail line in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

He will warn the committee of the impact on several habitats and call on the lords to strengthen wildlife protection as part of the scheme.

It comes after the Government rejected the findings of a Natural England report this month which reviewed HS2 Ltd's approach to wildlife and said in order to achieve 'no net loss' of biodiversity, 'significant changes' must be made.

Mr Jackson said: "I will ask the committee to endorse Natural England’s recommendations, especially that ancient woodland and Sites of Special Scientific Interest must be treated separately, and that compensation for impacts on wildlife habitats, including woodlands and meadows, should be provided in line with Natural England’s review.

"The Government’s proposal to increase compensation by £5 million is derisory, and goes no way to actually compensating for the loss of habitats along the route between London and Birmingham."

He will specifically ask for no net loss of wildlife as a result of Phase 1 of HS2; that all losses of ancient woodland losses are fully compensated at a 30:1 ratio; that Phase 2 of HS2 is developed with the aim of achieving an overall wildlife gain, that provision be made to address any further deficits that emerge during the construction of the railway - along with the original shortfall and that HS2 Ltd to use and apply Government methodology developed by Defra for calculating impact, instead of creating its own.