HS2 protest in Offchurch highlights impact of work on the countryside

Members of Stop HS2 have held a protest march in Offchurch to raise awareness of the impact of the high-speed rail line on the nearby countryside.
Stop HS2 members protest against the high speed railway line in Offchurch.Stop HS2 members protest against the high speed railway line in Offchurch.
Stop HS2 members protest against the high speed railway line in Offchurch.

A group gathered at The Stag pub car park in the village this morning and walked up Hunningham Lane to a site just outside of the village where works as part of the massive HS2 building project have already begun.

The work will intensify as time goes on and large parts of the countrsyide near Offchurch and at nearby Cubbington will make way for the line which will initially run between London and Birmingham.

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Organiser Matt Bishop, a member of Stop HS2 and a resident of Radford Semele near Offchurch said: "This is a local beauty spot, I grew up in this area and when you walk past that site you see the impact of a giant railway line ploughing in between two historic villages and it's shocking.

Stop HS2 members protest against the high speed railway line in Offchurch.Stop HS2 members protest against the high speed railway line in Offchurch.
Stop HS2 members protest against the high speed railway line in Offchurch.

"It's one thing talking about it and imagining it but when you see it you realise what's coming. This area will be destroyed and it means so much to local people.

"There's lots of different people coming today from different backgrounds and who support different political parties so there's lots of reasons why people are against the project.

"The costings are also worrying - they've gone from £20 billion to over £60 billion based on 2015 prices and now Carrilion, which was a massive HS2 contractor, has collapsed.

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"Balfour Beatty , a construction giant, are now questioning the figures HS2 have given to them so I think this is actuallly a good time for people to come out of the woodwork and say 'we really don't want this, nobody wants this, do we really need to get to London 20 minutes quicker?'."

For more information about the campaign against HS2 click here or search for Hs2 watch Kenilworth on Facebook.

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