Warwickshire County Council approves £409k funding for bridge over HS2 line at Stoneleigh Business Park near Kenilworth and Leamington

The council has said: "HS2 Ltd is committed to constructing two bridges in the Business Park.

"The funding will cover the additional costs incurred by HS2 Ltd in constructing the southern bridge to the higher standard required by the council to facilitate delivery of a new link road.

"The council's transport planning Unit has a proposal to construct a new strategic link road through Stoneleigh Business Park connecting the B4113 Stoneleigh Road with the B4115 Ashow Road, C32 Birmingham Road and the A46 Stoneleigh junction.

"The new road will address the long-standing issue of congestion through the village of Stoneleigh, protect the Grade II listed bridge over the River Sowe and facilitate economic expansion by improving connectivity to Stoneleigh Business Park itself, the University of Warwick and allocated residential development at Kenilworth and King’s Hill.

"The proposal intends to make use of the southern HS2 bridge within Stoneleigh Business Park to deliver the link road but this is dependent on the bridge being constructed to the appropriate highway standard and incorporating additional pedestrian and cycle infrastructure.

"In order to achieve this, HS2 Ltd will be required to construct the bridge to a higher standard than originally planned and this will incur additional costs that are beyond the scope of the HS2 budget."