Cracks in high-speed rail vision

Published: 22 April 2010
INVESTIGATION by JOSIE HINTON

HOMES could be blighted by cracks and leaks in walls and roofs if plans to build a high-speed rail tunnel 20 metres under Primrose Hill go ahead.

The revelation from the project’s own engineers follows demands for answers by residents, who fear noise disturbance, damage to their homes and plunging property prices if the High Speed Two (HS2) line is built.

The New Journal has learned that HS2, a company set up by the government to work on the superfast link between Euston and Birmingham, has conceded for the first time that it may have to fund repair work to homes affected by the tunnel.

The line will see trains travel at 111mph beneath Primrose Hill, one of Camden’s most desirable neighbourhoods and home to some of London’s richest residents.

TV presenter Matthew Wright, who lives in Kingstown Street, described as “shameful” the absence of HS2 representatives at a packed public meeting in Primrose Hill Community Centre.

“Instead of hiding away like faceless, cowardly bureaucrats they should come face to face with the people they are likely to affect,” he said. “The lack of information alone has put the fear of God into people. We are often given the view that rail planners treat us like blocks on a map, and so far they have done nothing to dispel that.”

Primrose Hill residents will not get the chance to have their say on the project until autumn when consultation finally begins – even though the government has already spent large amounts of money working up the scheme and pinpointing the route. It will run below Delancey Street and travel under homes in Gloucester Avenue and Chalcot Square before following King Henry’s Road to Swiss Cottage.

Pressed on the issue by Lib Dem ward councillor Chris Naylor, HS2 admits the full extent of possible damage to homes in Camden Town and Primrose Hill is still unknown. It concede that properties could be affected “visually”.

HS2 said: “Properties on non-piled foundations directly above a tunnel 20m below the ground will experience a small amount of settlement during construction. This will not affect the structural integrity of the buildings, though some finishes may be visually affected. If this happens then HS2 would make good any such effects.”

The company said it did not know whether vibrations from the high-speed trains would be felt by residents, as surveys on the soil had not been carried out. But the spokesman said he did “not envisage” significant disruption to Primrose Hill residents once the tunnel was completed.

Up to 14 of the 400-metre trains would pass through the high-speed tunnel per hour. The line would reduce journey times from London to Birmingham by about 35 minutes.

Some residents at last Wednesday’s meeting, called by Labour councillor Pat Callaghan and Lib Dem  councillor  Chris Naylor,  remained open-minded.  Regent’s Park resident John Emanuel said: “The idea of high-speed rail is a good one. But what we need to address is how you achieve such a thing in the optimum way, with the minimum disruption to us and maximum benefit to the rest of the country.”

Other residents dismissed the proposals as “absurd”.  Dr Aubrey Sand­man, a retired electrical engineer, of Sharpleshall Street, described the scheme as “town planning at its worst”.

“The consultation time is so long that the whole thing is completely and utterly ridiculous,” he said. “The noise during construction would be severe and the cost will fall on the inhabitants of Primrose Hill in declining property prices.”

And Maureen Betts, who chairs Primrose Hill Community Association and lives in Regent’s Park Road, added: “I don’t understand why such a huge project is necessary to save a matter of half an hour.”

A major concern is that the line would have an irreversible impact on property prices in an area where houses sell for up to £5million. HS2 has responded by outlining a compensation package. Under the scheme, the government would offer to buy properties whose value had been seriously affected by the proposals. But this has only been put online and with the deadline for applications fast approaching – on May 20 – residents have been left with little time to consider their options.

Many still have unanswered questions including why the line can’t stop at Paddington, rather than continuing into Euston – a view championed by MP Frank Dobson. Others have refused to accept HS2’s assertion that the tunnel cannot be built beneath existing rail lines.