HS2 threat to cottage near canal

A woman living in a canalside Grade II listed cottage will have a better view than most of a planned £30 billion high speed rail link — as the route passes yards from her property twice.

The proposed HS2 line would hem in Woodend Lock Cottage, Curborough, near Lichfield, if the route gets the green light.

The route may pass feet away from Sylvia Arnold's house as it crosses the Trent and Mersey Canal either side of her home.

Mrs Arnold, who has lived there for 25 years, faces having the line cross the end of her garden and the front of her house as the track curves around Lichfield city centre.

She said: "If you look North East it's going to go right across the field on a viaduct taking it across the canal twice."

Mrs Arnold says she had no Governmentwarning letter and it only became apparent as a rail enthusiast friend studied the route and saw the HS2 goes close.

"I'm devastated, it's going to have a terrible impact with the noise and the rush of the trains," she said. The HS2, set to see London-Birmingham journey times cut to 49 minutes, may cost more than £30billion.

Trains would not start running until 2025 and Staffordshire and Lichfield District councils formally announced objections to plans. Mrs Arnold is concerned that many people do not know that period to have a say on the route ends on July 29.