Anger in Oxfordshire as 500 HS2 lorries to be sent through village

Residents in a quiet Oxfordshire village have set up an action group after it was announced that rail bosses plan to send 500 lorries back and forth each day during construction of the new HS2 rail link between London and Birmingham.

The village of Wardington is on the proposed route for construction lorries that will help build the £50 billion project but villagers have warned that the trucks will destroy the area.

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The lorries will travel along the A361 transporting soil along a 25-mile section of rail line.

Parish council vice-chairman Nigel Bankes set up an HS2 action group to urge the government to change the route.

Speaking to Herald Series, he said: "Not only will all the lorries clog up the main road, it will also block all the side roads from the A361. The area will just become a rat-run for vehicles.

"There is a safety aspect too.

"Our pavements are very narrow and if people are walking there all it will take is a lorry to swerve and there will be trouble."

Charles Holbech, a barrister who is part of the action group, told the Daily Mail: "The pollution, the vibrations and the noise will be unbelievable. We're supposed to be in a lovely little village, but it will be like living in an inner city once the work starts."

Meanwhile, HS2 spokesman Ben Ruse said: "We have significantly reduced the number of planned HGV movements through Wardington and will work closely with our teams to keep disruption to a minimum."

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