Buckinghamshire Council approve plans for HS2 'barn' in Chalfont St Peter
The building will be one of five providing ventilation and emergency access
The barn-like building has been given planning approval by Buckinghamshire Council.
This building is the first of five headhouses the HS2 Ltd are planning, and will be built in Chalfont St Peter.
It will provide ventilation and emergency access to HS2's ten-mile long Chiltern tunnel.
The building will be single-story building and wrapped in a grey zinc roof with doors and vent openings.
HS2 say the pre-weathered grey zinc roof will age naturally over time, without loss of robustness or quality, while the whole structure will sit on a simple dark blue brick base.
Below ground level, a 78 metre ventilation shaft will reach down to the twin tunnels below, with fans and other equipment designed to regulate air quality and temperature, remove smoke in the event of a fire and provide access for the emergency services.
Rohan Perin, HS2 Ltd’s Project Client Director said:
“Planning approval for the Chalfont St Peter headhouse is a major milestone for the project and I’d like to thank all those who have helped get us to this stage.
"Throughout the design process we have been very aware of the unique rural setting of the headhouse structures and the importance of creating something that fits into the landscape.
"I’m glad that aspiration has been recognised and look forward to working closely with the council and community as we bring forward the designs for the remaining structures.”
HS2 engaged with the Chilterns AONB Review Group and Buckinghamshire Council during the development of the designs and held a series of public engagement events to gather views from the local community.
Local reaction continues to be divide over the highspeed railway, with campaigns and protests over it continuing.
Aylesbury's MP Rob Butler says although he continues to disagree with the decision to move forward with it, the focus now has to be on supporting locals:
"There is still a real struggle to justify its existence, especially in light of the pandemic and the changed ways of working.
"The government is determined it will go ahead and they are urging us to look forward 40-50 years into the future and the needs of the communtiy at that time.
"So unfortunately I have to deal with the reality that the line is being built.
"I now have to focus on achieving the best mitigation for our local communities, particularly those that will have the railway going close by.
"So Fairford Leys, Stoke Mandeville and Wendover so on. I an doing everything I can to reduce the impact of the construction and then of the line, and I am very keen to hear from people about how I can best do that."