If the plan is approved, many towns and villages claim they will be forced to make sacrifices as construction of the line moves through the countryside. Supporters highlight the economic benefits and the project's green credentials, such as taking traffic off the road. But that may be scant consolation for the people living along the proposed route or close to it, who say their lives and their homes are now blighted. One of those villages in Great Missenden in Buckinghamshire. Read more

If the plan is approved, many towns and villages claim they will be forced to make sacrifices as construction of the line moves through the countryside. Supporters highlight the economic benefits and the project's green credentials, such as taking traffic off the road. But that may be scant consolation for the people living along the proposed route or close to it, who say their lives and their homes are now blighted. One of those villages in Great Missenden in Buckinghamshire.

The government has revealed its preferred route for a high-speed rail link - HS2 - between London and Birmingham, slashing the journey time to just 49 minutes. The line would run westwards from Euston in London but wouldn't take in Heathrow Airport, however there would be a connection in west London. In Buckinghamshire, it would go through Chalfont St Giles in tunnel form and pass by Great Missenden. It would go through part of the Chiltern Hills, an area of natural beauty, before passing Brackley in Northamptonshire. It would end in Birmingham city centre althought the the ambition would be for it to continue to Leeds and Manchester.Close