HS2: Residents say they cannot sleep due to construction work

People living near the construction route for HS2 say they have been unable to sleep due to noise throughout the night.

Residents in parts of Hillingdon in west London, and Maple Cross Hertfordshire, say they feel nothing is being done to help them.

One councillor says the situation is "unacceptable" and changes are needed.

However, HS2 says agreed noise levels "have not been exceeded" and no rules are being broken.

Gabrielle Grobbelaar, who lives in Rickmansworth near Maple Cross, said the noise has had "a big impact" on her life and is worried it will "drive us all out of our homes".

"It's mostly at night, when we all want to kind of settle down and sleep. It gets into your head, into your body, into your ear and you just cannot sleep," she said.

"It's a humming noise and it's a vibration and the vibration feels it actually gets into your body and in some cases actually sometimes make me makes me feel a bit nauseous... and you think, when is it going to end?"

Ms Grobbelaar added: "We keep getting the same generic email and they keep fobbing us off to say it's all under the perimeters, everything is being monitored."

She said she did not want construction to stop, or for the HS2 project and its benefits to go away, but said residents should have more say over night-time activity, and the most noisy work should be done "in working hours".

About 170 miles of the line is under construction, and work on HS2 is expected to continue in the area until at least 2029.

David Crofts, 83, who has lived in the neighbourhood for half a century, said he and his wife would have to move out of their home "long before this is finished".

"It's very noisy, there's a lot of light, and there's a particularly bright set of lights which shine right into our bedroom window," he explained.

"My wife has hearing aids which she obviously isn't wearing at night and she can hear it easily."

Paula Hiscocks, Hertfordshire County Councillor for Rickmansworth West, said she had seen an increase in emails from residents since January - including from families whose children are due to sit exams, and from some who are contacting her in the early hours of the morning because they were being kept awake.

She said that despite HS2 being "an amazing project", she felt that "the noise level has changed and it is waking people up or keeping them awake".

"It's unacceptable, it's a human right to be able to have a night's sleep," she said.

"I understand that HS2 have to to do this, but maybe they need to change the timings of when it's done. Maybe they just need to put more insulation into the buildings."

A spokesperson for HS2 said: "We take all complaints extremely seriously and we're working to address local concerns.

"Noise levels agreed with the local authority have not been exceeded and data is published on our website on a monthly basis."

A spokesperson for Three Rivers District Council said: "Council officers are aware that additional noise monitoring has been undertaken by HS2 contractor Align, which appears to show that current levels remain within the limits of the consent.

"Council officers have regular liaison meetings with HS2 and Align, and have scheduled an on-site meeting with them later this week to discuss the concerns of local residents."

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