Water Orton HS2: 'What is going to happen to us now?'

As the PM confirms the cancellation of HS2's second leg residents living where work has started are left wondering what will happen now?

Judith Cleaver moved to Water Orton for peace and quiet but said she felt the Warwickshire village was now encapsulated by work for HS2.

The first phase of the line, from London to Birmingham, crosses the M6 and M42 in the north of the county, towards what is known as the 'Delta Junction' near Water Orton.

This work will still continue. The route was then scheduled to continue north of this.

Two viaducts are being built nearby to carry the trains over the River Tame.

The government never should have started the project if it was not going to be completed, Ms Cleaver said.

Her asthma has been affected by poor air quality due to the construction works, she added.

"Our village has been absolutely decimated, totally.

"The whole of Water Orton is a tip, it is disgusting, the roads are a mess, the air pollution is awful - it is an absolute tip."

At the Gardeners Tearooms in the village resident Barry Knight said the village has been in hell due to the development.

"What is going to happen to us now with all the land they have ripped up and the hedgerows they have ripped out and the roadworks that have gone on, what is going to happen with all of that? How long is that going to take to put straight?" he said.

"To me it was a waste of money in the first place."

But, Mr Knight said, it was right for Rishi Sunak to cancel it.

"Who was going to benefit from it? Who would have been able to afford it? Who wanted to get to London that much quicker?"

Fellow resident Jill Ball added: "I think [the Prime Minister] has done the right thing, it is just a shame it is a bit late in the day, it has destroyed our village."

Christina Rees said: "I've been here 51 years and this community was beautiful when we came.

"Everywhere you go now there's lights, you can't get through the roads, everything is filthy and now they have decided to waste all that money."

Joe Rukin, from the Warwickshire-based campaign group Stop HS2, added: "They've just created a massive mess with scars up and down the country.

"A few bridges, a few tunnels have been built here and there but that's it."

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