Warwickshire country parks ‘threatened by HS2’

The council’s concerns about the parks were contained in a report named Living With The Line.

It said: “Both of these parks… may no longer be viable as public open spaces” as a result of being on the HS2 route.

It added the impact of the rail link on north Warwickshire, where both parks are located, was the biggest in the count because both Phase One of the line – between London and Birmingham – and Phase Two – between Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds – would be built there.

The report said other communities, including the village of Burton Green, near Coventry, would be “devastated” by the rail link, while the village of Gilson would “cease to function as a community”.

It called on HS2 Ltd to set up a community benefit fund “to provide our residents and businesses with a lasting legacy of compensation for the many years of disruption caused by the construction of HS2”.

Sara Board, the council’s HS2 project manager, said: “While we oppose the construction of HS2, we have to accept there are plans to build it which appear to be going ahead and we have to start planning now to mitigate the effects of building the line.”

A HS2 Ltd representative said: “We will continue to consult with stakeholders, including local authorities, to ensure the effects of HS2 are reduced where possible.”