Inside the 'worst-affected' village near Kenilworth that has been 'cut in half' by HS2 train tunnel

Residents have described the hell of living in a village dubbed the "worst-affected" by HS2 - after their small community was ‘carved in half’ by a 700m tunnel.

Burton Green, near Kenilworth, now lies completely divided by a HS2 construction site as work continues to build the Burton Green Tunnel in their rural area.

Images show how the works have carved straight through the middle of the village making life a "daily nightmare", according to locals.

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Villagers say their homes vibrate due to the loud machinery while dust and dirt reaches into gardens as the surrounding countryside is destroyed.

The small village of Burton Green is divided in half by a huge HS2 construction site as they install the Burton Green Tunnel. (Image: Emma Trimble / SWNS).placeholder image
The small village of Burton Green is divided in half by a huge HS2 construction site as they install the Burton Green Tunnel. (Image: Emma Trimble / SWNS).

Many residents have already moved out of the area and those who have remained have revealed how their lives have been blighted by the works.

When plans were announced for the tunnel the village was billed as potentially being the worst affected by the controversial high speed rail network.

And five years on many living in the village, which dates back to the 1500s and has around 600 residents, say that has come to fruition after it was turned into an "eyesore building site".

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Grandmother-of-one Eileen Thompson, 77, a retired secretary, has lived in Burton Green for six years.

Eileen Thompson. (Image: Emma Trimble / SWNS).placeholder image
Eileen Thompson. (Image: Emma Trimble / SWNS).

She said: "It has just been absolutely horrendous from the start.

"The dust, the dirt, the noise - all the diversions and road closures, it has literally split our village in two.

"There's been all the destruction of the greenery and lots of wildlife displaced. Some people have moved out of the area.

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"Sometimes if I'm sitting in my house I can feel the whole place vibrating.

The small village of Burton Green is divided in half by a huge HS2 construction site as they install the Burton Green Tunnel. (Image: Emma Trimble / SWNS).placeholder image
The small village of Burton Green is divided in half by a huge HS2 construction site as they install the Burton Green Tunnel. (Image: Emma Trimble / SWNS).

"We had three weeks of them blasting concrete posts out they had erected wrong and the noise and dirt from that was appalling.

"Before there was a lovely walkway alongside what used to be a Victorian railway with fields and wildlife on both sides - compared to this mess we have now.

"It's heartbreaking to see the destruction around us.

"It is just disgraceful how it has been planned and executed and I can't even see who it's really going to benefit.

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The small village of Burton Green is divided in half by a huge HS2 construction site as they install the Burton Green Tunnel. (Image: Emma Trimble / SWNS).placeholder image
The small village of Burton Green is divided in half by a huge HS2 construction site as they install the Burton Green Tunnel. (Image: Emma Trimble / SWNS).

"We're just going to end up with a shuttle train between Birmingham and London that doesn't quite go all the way into Birmingham or all the way into London.

"It is a waste of billions of pounds of our money and I think it will eventually be known as one of the biggest scandals in Britain."

Mum-of-one Karen Blake, 55, a creative director, accused HS2 of "ruining lives" and described the situation as like "living on the M25."

Karen, who has lived in Burton Green for six years after moving from Coventry, said: "We moved from the city for a quieter life and it's been anything but.

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"We were told it would be two fields over from the village but instead they have built it right at the back of us.

"Some days the noise from the vibrations can really make you feel quite sick, all the dust covering our homes can't be good for our health either.

The small village of Burton Green is divided in half by a huge HS2 construction site as they install the Burton Green Tunnel. (Image: Emma Trimble / SWNS)placeholder image
The small village of Burton Green is divided in half by a huge HS2 construction site as they install the Burton Green Tunnel. (Image: Emma Trimble / SWNS)

"Before we had fields for miles, loads of nature, we had deer and bats and now they have torn down thousands of trees in an ancient forest for this monstrosity.

"What they have done is heartbreaking, people here have had their lives ruined.

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"I've been in tears at some points. I work from home and you just can't concentrate, you may as well be living on the M25.

"You can only use your gardens on a Sunday - because that's the only day they have off.

"I just don't know how they can justify its existence or its cost. I can't see who it's even going to benefit".

Dad-of-two Phil Fairclough, 55, added: "When the plans were announced there was all this talk saying we could be the worst-affected by HS2.

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"And if you look around here now I don't think you could argue that - we've had our little village bisected by a railway line nobody here wants.

"I've had friends move out, it's divided and torn a community up. It's an eyesore building site.”

However, villager Alan Marshall has a different take on the issue.

He said: "Burton Green was actually “torn in two” by the London and North Western Railway when it built its new line from Kenilworth to Berkswell, which opened in 1884 — 141 years ago.

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"In order to pass through Burton Green, the LNWR line was laid into a deep cutting in order to cross the Severn/Trent watershed - which when excavated did, indexed, cut the then village in two with just one narrow road bridge connecting either side.

"In the 1980s, the original railway line was closed completely and was turned into the Kenilworth Greenway, a bridle way, cycleway and public footpath (a.k.a a linear park) developed and owned by Warwickshire County Council and which passed through Burton Green in the railway cutting first excavated and dividing the village in the 1880s.

"When HS2 was designed, it was decided to use the alignment of the original LNWR line through Burton Green but to place the new line in a “green tunnel” - now nearing completion along the original cutting, together with a replacement Greenway alongside it - which will provide a substantial public open space and amenity on its top and will extensively reunite the two halves of the village created by the original railway cutting in the 1880s."

HS2 was originally meant to link up London with Northern cities like Manchester and Leeds as part of a 330-mile flagship high-speed rail network.

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But after costs spiralled from £37.5bn to more than £180bn, then PM Rishi Sunak decided to only push ahead with a line between the capital and Birmingham.

The latest estimate suggests it will cost £66 billion for the high speed line between London and Birmingham.

HS2 says the Burton Green Tunnel, which is around 70 per cent complete, will be one of five "green tunnels", which will eventually blend into the natural landscape.

A spokesperson for HS2 Ltd said: “We are working hard to reduce disruption during the construction of the Burton Green Tunnel and have provided a new village hall for the community.

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"Excavated soil is being reused for nearby landscaping to avoid putting extra lorries on local roads and help blend the structure into the surrounding countryside.

“Once complete, the tunnel will shield neighbouring homes from noise and disturbance, with a new public green space for residents to enjoy.

"The existing Kenilworth greenway cycle and footpath will be reinstated along with new landscaping and tree planting to boost biodiversity and create new wildlife habitats.”

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