More than 135 extra households living near HS2 construction works in Water Orton and Coleshill will receive free window cleaning and subsidised car washes, following years of complaints about dust and grime coating homes and vehicles.
Expanded cleaning scheme quadruples eligibility
The eligibility for the cleaning scheme is set to quadruple this month, jumping from 37 households to 175. The expansion was secured by MP Rachel Taylor, who said her lobbying had forced HS2 to act.
“I’m delighted to have secured this big expansion of the HS2 subsidised cleaning scheme so that more than 130 additional families will get the restitution they deserve,” said Ms Taylor, MP for North Warwickshire and Bedworth. “For too long, residents living closest to the HS2 works have been plagued with the impact of dust and grime coming from the nearby building works.”
MP took complaints directly to HS2 chief
Last year, Ms Taylor invited HS2 chief executive Mark Wild to Water Orton’s Spud Club to hear directly from residents impacted by the works. She said she subsequently raised the issue in further meetings with HS2 and pushed for the scheme to be extended.
“When local people told me the existing cleaning scheme covered just 37 properties, I took that message directly to HS2’s chief executive and forced him to act,” she said. “But there is still much more to do. I will continue holding HS2 to account when it comes to the disruption, poor communication, and unfair treatment of my constituents in Coleshill and Water Orton.”
New eligible properties listed
HS2 has now agreed to expand eligibility to include additional homes on Gilson Drive and the south side of Vicarage Lane in Water Orton, and properties along the A446 in Coleshill. The MP said both she and HS2 would be writing to the properties now covered by the scheme to notify them that they were now eligible, but that anyone who was unsure could contact her office.
