Water Orton villagers feel 'marooned' by HS2 works

People living in a village near continuing construction for the new HS2 line in Warwickshire say they feel marooned by building works.

Two viaducts are being built for the high-speed rail line close to Water Orton, near Coleshill, which will carry trains over the River Tame.

But residents say the works have made life difficult with road closures, vibrations and noise.

HS2 Ltd is working hard to minimise the impact, a spokesperson says.

Judith Cleaver moved to the village "for peace and quiet" and said she felt "encapsulated" by HS2.

"You can't go anywhere in the village and when there's temporary lights, you're stuck, you can't move, you have to take different routes. It is quite difficult living here," she added.

Ms Cleaver said she had carried out a survey of the health of 120 villagers after she felt her asthma was worsening during the work.

"What we want is more monitoring, air quality monitoring systems here," she added.

Free monthly car and window cleaning has been offered by HS2 to people who live in Attleboro Lane.

However, one resident on the road, Feli Freeman, said she felt the noise and vibration was affecting her wellbeing.

"It is so torturous. There's no escape. I can't see myself doing another seven years of this," she said.

The road diversions and temporary traffic lights have proved testing for Jason Smith, who teaches martial arts classes in the village.

They "seem to be getting worse" and have left him with an eight-mile daily diversion "so it takes me over an hour to get to class".

Residents told the BBC they have regular meetings with agents about problems but felt, as the work progresses, their problems remain.

"We encourage the residents to keep talking to us so we can act on their concerns," HS2's spokesperson said.

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