Road in Southam will be closed for about two weeks due to HS2 works despite councillors' efforts to keep it open

A road in Southam will be closed for about two weeks from next Wednesday as HS2 works take place despite 'concerted efforts' from councillors to find an alternative course of action.

The closure of a section of Kineton Road will take place from Wednesday January 19 to Monday January 31.

And Southam councillor Andy Crump said that Warwickshire County Council (WCC) had to 'regretfully' accept the closure of a section of the road while HS2 contractor EFKB strengthens its surface for a crossing to be used by heavy works machinery.

Cllr Crump said: "Despite the concerted efforts of councillors Rock, Kettle and myself - with the support of councillors Bromwich, Adam and Harris - it is with regret that HS2’s closure of Kineton Road for the construction of a plant crossing will go ahead.

"WCC reluctantly acknowledged consent for the closure and diversion and made it clear that the county council was unhappy but unfortunately had to accept there was no reasonable alternative to the proposals.

"We and the [council] officers had a number of meetings with EKFB to challenge them to provide justification for closure and to look at alternatives .

"It is envisaged that in the longer term the plant crossing should take more construction traffic off the road.

"WCC is now satisfied that the contractor has engaged with businesses in the area that may be affected and that they have also been in contact with Southam College and Kineton MOD.

"It has also written to Julie King, HS2 Ltd’s director of engagement, to highlight its concerns around the practices of operating beyond what is described in the HS2 Act and on engaging with communities before issues have been resolved with a consent."

More details about the closure and works an be found here.

HS2 has said: "HS2 takes its responsibility to impacted communities very seriously, and we try to minimise disruption wherever possible.

"We let residents and businesses know about this closure and that it was subject to consents, to give people as much notice as possible.

"The plant crossing is part of a haul road which will take construction traffic off the local roads.”