HS2 - last chance to have your say

But now the consultation period for the proposed high speed rail line from London to Birmingham is coming to an end.

As it passes through Warwickshire the line will affect towns and villages from Ladbroke and Southam, Offchurch and Cubbington, to Stoneleigh, Kenilworth and Burton Green.

Thousands of residents have already had their say, but with the closing date for the consultation on Friday July 29, the coming week is the final chance for people to make their views known.

Supporters of the scheme say it will improve transport between cities in the north and south. Birmingham City Council’s assistant director of development David Bull said it would create 8,000 new jobs in the West Midlands and 40,000 nationwide.

He said: “The benefits far outweigh the disbenefits. We are planning for the future and planning for investment.”

But campaigners opposing it say it will worsen the north-south divide, destroy countryside, and claim high speed lines elsewhere in Europe are faring poorly.

Many living near the route dear their lives will become unbearable and their homes unsaleable.

A report by the Institute of Economic Affairs release on Tuesday said HS2 would require a £1,000 contribution from every income taxpayer, but Prof David Begg, director of the campaign for High Speed Rail described the report as “a weak regurgitation of weak research” by the Taxpayers’ Alliance.

• Read this week’s Courier and Kenilworth Weekly News for an in-depth feature and MPs’ views.