'HS2 has cut our village in half. Daily life has become a nightmare'
Nestled in the Warwickshire countryside, Burton Green is a quintessential English village, its history stretching back to the 1500s.
Yet, this serene community of around 600 residents now finds itself cleaved in two by the construction of the 700-metre Burton Green Tunnel, part of the High Speed 2 (HS2) rail project.
Images reveal a landscape transformed from its previous picturesque scenery, with heavy machinery and a sprawling construction site slicing through the village's heart, with locals calling it an 'eyesore building site.'
For many, life has become a 'daily nightmare,' with vibrating homes, dust-covered gardens, and the roar of machinery disrupting the rural tranquility.
Over the past five years, some residents have moved away, while those who remain grapple with the destruction of surrounding countryside.
Yet, the HS2 project, of which the Burton Green Tunnel is a key component, promises significant benefits that extend far beyond Warwickshire's borders.
Designed to connect London and the West Midlands, HS2 aims to slash journey times – cutting the Birmingham to London trip from 1 hour 21 minutes to just 49 minutes – while boosting rail capacity and fostering economic growth.
The project is touted as a catalyst for regional prosperity, creating jobs, upskilling workers, and injecting an estimated £10 billion into the West Midlands economy over a decade.
The Burton Green Tunnel itself, one of five eco-conscious 'green tunnels' on the route, will be topped with trees and shrubs to blend into the landscape, aiming to mitigate its environmental footprint.
As construction reaches its halfway mark, Burton Green residents have spoken out about the changes to their home as a result of HS2.
Grandmother-of-one Eileen Thompson, 77, a retired secretary, has lived in Burton Green for six years.
She said the work has been 'absolutely horrendous from the start' and claims her house has vibrated while work has been going on.
Thompson said: 'The dust, the dirt, the noise – all the diversions and road closures, it has literally split our village in two…
'We had three weeks of them blasting concrete posts out they had erected wrong and the noise and dirt from that was appalling.'
Thompson said as well as the 'destruction of the greenery', the scenery has changed dramatically, with walkways and a Victoria railway now replaced by 'mess'.
Hitting out at HS2, she said empty properties had been bought and knocked down, adding: 'It is just disgraceful how it has been planned and executed and I can't even see who its really going to be benefit.
'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 one of the biggest scandals in Britain.'
Other residents say they are concerned that house prices, which currently average around £500,000, could plummet by as much as £100,000.
Dad-of-two Phil Fairclough, 55, said: 'When the plans were announced there was all this talk saying we could be the worst-affected by HS2.
'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. We think house prices will drop by around £100,000 at least.'
A spokesperson for HS2 Ltd said they were 'working hard to reduce disruption' during the construction of the Burton Green Tunnel, and said that they have provided a new village hall for the community, as well as vowing to return much of the village to its former glory.
The spokesperson added: '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.'
HS2's new chief executive, Mark Wild, appointed in December last year, warned that the project faces a 'very serious situation' and needs a 'fundamental reset.' However, last month he insisted the project has 'great value, intrinsic value', adding: 'HS2 will prove its worth'.
He was speaking after the Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said that HS2 is an example of 'how not to run a major project' and the government 'must not waste' its latest opportunity to reset the programme. In its damning report, the PAC said HS2 Ltd – the government-owned company responsible for building the high-speed railway – and the DfT have 'failed to work together effectively'.
The DfT's estimated cost of HS2 in November 2023 was in the range of £45 billion to £54 billion, while HS2 Ltd's latest estimate in June 2024 was between £54 billion and £66 billion. However, all these figures were in 2019 prices and once adjusted for inflation, the cost 'might be close to £80 billion', according to the report.
Earlier this month, Buckinghamshire Council rejected HS2's plan for an underground chamber and ditch in Wendover to manage groundwater, potentially delaying the Wendover Green Tunnel. The decision could cost taxpayers tens of millions of pounds.
Click below to see the latest West Midlands headlines
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Opinion: How My California Middle School Uses Glyphs to Teach English Learners to Read
In the agricultural regions of California's San Joaquin Valley, schools like Firebaugh Middle School are surrounded by fields. But many of Firebaugh's students struggle to read that word. If they were to see 'field' on the board, they would likely pronounce it as 'filed,' a reflection of their unfamiliarity with the varied pronunciations in English. Firebaugh's student body is 98% Hispanic, and about 30% of its 530 sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders are designated as English learners. Based on diagnostic testing, administrators know many of them have limited or nonexistent phonics skills. In some cases, the students did not attend elementary school and lack the basics of literacy even in their primary language. Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter If you think of reading as an equation with specific components, you might assume reading instruction is straightforward. But as with any equation, there are variables, and English learners have many of them, from Individualized Education Programs to a diversity of home languages that makes it difficult for teachers to find a starting point for reading instruction. Any supplemental instruction educators provide must be flexible enough to account for those individual differences. This is hard enough at the elementary level, but in middle school, students do not merely need to know how to read; they need to know how to read well, so they can comprehend information, analyze it and synthesize it. But in most middle schools, educators likely do not have comprehensive training in supporting basic reading development. While they may have picked up some strategies, their job and focus is to teach a single subject‚ not literacy. I'm a perfect example. I was a history major, and I am credentialed in social science. I was trained to teach ancient civilizations, modern government and economics, and everything in between — but not reading. Related Time is also a limiting factor. At Firebaugh, students rotate through a seven-period school day. Teachers cannot adapt their schedules the way elementary educators can, making it challenging to spend extra time catching up students who are not reading at grade level. We had attempted many approaches to improving literacy at Firebaugh. We added English language development classes. Educators tried to emphasize reading strategies and target specific students who were two or more grade levels behind in literacy. However, none of these efforts proved effective. Along the way, we realized many students needed pieces of the reading equation that we did not know they needed, such as decoding words. Then, we discovered an unusual approach to adolescent literacy that uses glyphs as a resource to foster reading fluency and boost comprehension for English learners. The system consists of 21 glyphs, or diacritical marks, that function as a pronunciation guide for each word. These marks (think accents or umlauts) are widely used in languages other than English to aid with pronunciation and comprehension. The system indicates which letters make their usual sound, which make a different-than-usual sound and which are silent. It also denotes syllable breaks. We implemented this glyph approach for English learners who had no experience sounding out words. In the first stage of implementation, students worked with teachers to learn the glyphs and complete core skill-building activities. In the second stage, the diacriticals — which are available for more than 100,000 words — were integrated into students' daily reading practice to build fluency and comprehension. With the markups, words like 'field' and 'filed,' for example, were no longer a problem.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
State grants helps Fairmont State University plant more trees on campus
FAIRMONT — The number of native trees on the campus of Fairmont State University recently increased with help from a grant from the West Virginia Division of Forestry. In April, students and staff planted American holly, Blackhaw viburnum, common witch hazel and eastern redbud trees with the goal of boosting biodiversity on campus. Dubbed the Community EquiTree grant program, which originates on the federal level, helped plant alongside Campus Drive East, which is adjacent to Fairmont State's residence halls and outdoor recreation areas, which "will allow more students and local community members to experience the trees and their benefits," according to a press release. "As a public institution, Fairmont State University is committed to fostering a beautiful, welcoming campus where students, faculty, staff, and community members feel a true sense of belonging," the press release continued. Fairmont State's Creative Sustainability Council, a group of students, faculty and staff members, spearheaded the initiative. Assistant Construction Manager Devin Carpenter, Associate Professor of English Nathaniel Myers, and Councilmember and architecture major Ryan Williams collaborated on the grant. 'The trees themselves are a great project, helping to develop this underused space on campus into something that is both a beautiful showcase of West Virginia trees and helps to mitigate local issues like soil erosion or larger ones like global warming," Williams said. "But even more than that, I hope projects like this inspire more students to get involved. The more people are engaged with their community and campus, the more we can improve and better serve the present and the future.' The WVDOF Urban and Community Forestry program cooperates with communities to promote the long-term care of trees in cities and communities throughout the state. The program also establishes guidelines for planting, caring for and protecting trees throughout West Virginia. Fairmont State's project meets the goals of this program by providing an opportunity for students to get involved with community sustainability projects, for faculty to improve their instruction by helping others understand the importance of trees and nature, and for everyone to better understand and engage with their local environment during and after the planting. "As the trees grow, their benefits will as well. The canopies will help shade the area, especially nearby asphalt parking lots and roads, which can store heat. The roots of the trees will grow into the hillside, stabilizing the soil and preventing erosion. Additionally, their fall foliage will create a beautiful scene familiar to many West Virginians," states the press release. 'The planting of these native species not only aids in beautifying our campus but also offers back to nature a piece of what urban development once removed," Carpenter said. In the coming months, the Creative Sustainability Council will measure the success of the tree planting program using surveys to be administered in the local community and among students. A ceremonial tree planting was held on April 25, 2025 to mark the beginning of the project, which is expected to be completed this month. 'We are all very proud of Ryan and his hard work on this project,' Myers said. 'Hopefully this will inspire future projects that will contribute to sustainability on our beautiful campus.'
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Howard Library's Project Literacy celebrates dozens who learned English, obtained citizenship, earned high school diploma
When she came to America from Guatemala 38 years ago, Susana Rodriguez didn't know how to read — not even in her native language of Spanish. But after two years in the Howard County Library System's Project Literacy program, Rodriguez can now speak, read and write proficiently in English. Rodriguez was one of about 50 adult English language learners who were celebrated Thursday at Miller Branch Library for receiving a National External High School Diploma, or obtaining American citizenship, or successfully completing the Project Literacy program. Founded in Howard County in 1987, Project Literacy offers free classes and one-on-one tutoring sessions to help students learn English, obtain citizenship, improve work skills or receive a high school diploma . President and CEO of Howard County Library System Tonya Aikens said more than 13,000 English language learners have participated in the 'life-changing' program. 'There's never a dry eye at every single graduation,' Aikens said. 'It's just incredible to hear the sacrifice that these adults are making.' The program's graduation is paid for by the Friends and Foundation of HCLS, board member and Treasurer Ellen Flynn Giles said. The Friends group is a nonprofit organization with a mission to support Howard County libraries. 'This is a real milestone that's not simply a ceremony — it's a crowning achievement,' Flynn Giles said. 'It's a mark of their mental commitment and dedication. Most people were taking these classes at night after working during the day.' Lakeisha Hancock said she moved to Columbia with her four kids — Kira, Maurice, Diamond, and Jamal — to give them the best education she could so they could be successful. The former Baltimore City resident hadn't yet finished high school, so she joined the Project Literacy program. On Thursday she celebrated earning the National External High School Diploma. Hancock said setting an example for her children was her primary reason for completing the diploma — she wanted her children to know that 'they could do it, too' despite any obstacles they may encounter, and that 'the sky's the limit.' Thirteen other honorees received diplomas: Marco Tulio Benitez Jose Martin Contreras Carmelita Findlay Jacobs Kisha Lyne Kelly Yeonhee Kim Varsha Makwana Anderson Osmin Diaz Martinez Arturo Ernesto Martinez Norma Molina Michael Pettengill Johnny Trejo-Garcia Rania Refaat Abdelhafez Shaban Mike Minsup Shin The program is run by volunteers, Aikens said, who all have bachelor's degrees and choose to give their time each week to work one-on-one with students. Nancy Schear, Rodriguez's tutor, said she worked with Rodriguez on every aspect of learning the English language, from learning her ABCs for the first time to being able to write and send texts without any assistance to her two daughters, one of whom is a nurse in Columbia and one of whom is a student at a Baltimore university. Each tutor who had a student in attendance was also recognized at the ceremony for the time they volunteered. More than half the tutors celebrated multiple students who were graduating. Cindy Fitzpatrick, Hancock's coach, said there were no obstacles that could sway Hancock's determination to finish the program, calling her a 'superhero.' 'Perseverance is not just a skill, it's an art,' Hancock said. 'And because of that one word, we are the Class of 2025.' Have a news tip? Contact Kat Mauser at kmauser@
