In Your Area 1 Primrose Hill to Old Oak Common

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1 LOCAL AREA High Speed Rail Consultation In Your Area 1 Primrose Hill to Old Oak Common Find out here about: what is proposed between Primrose Hill and Old Oak Common; what this may mean for people living between Primrose Hill and Old Oak Common; what could happen during construction; and possible additional local benefits. What is proposed between Primrose Hill and Old Oak Common? The proposed HS2 tracks would pass northwards from Euston within an existing deep narrow railway cutting towards Parkway where they would descend into a twin tunnel. The tunnels (illustrated below) would continue north-westwards generally running underneath the existing West Coast Mainline railway corridor to the east of Primrose Hill. The tunnel for the link to High Speed 1 follows the same alignment. Beyond Adelaide Road, the tunnels would pass westwards deep beneath the existing railway tunnels in the area of Swiss Tunnel route Source: Crown copyright and database right All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey Licence number

2 Cottage and then below the West Coast Mainline in the vicinity of South Hampstead railway station. From here the tunnel would run in a south westerly direction, just to the south of the West Coast Mainline, passing under the areas of Kilburn, Queens Park and Kensal Green. The tunnels would then pass deep beneath Kensal Green Cemetery and into the proposed station at Old Oak Common. In order to gain access to the railway, should any emergencies occur, three vents shafts would be required on this part of the route. What this may mean for people living between Primrose Hill and Old Oak Common What happens below ground? There would be three rail tracks on this section; two for the main high speed line and one for the link to the Channel Tunnel Rail Link north of Kings Cross. The tunnels have been designed to avoid adverse effects on residential property by being located at a significant depth, approximately 25-45m below ground level. There would be one tunnel for each of the three tracks. Each of these would be about 7.25m in diameter. The tunnels would be linked by cross-passages built every 500m. The purpose of the cross passages would be to enable escape from one tunnel to the other in the remote event of an emergency. What would I notice above ground? The only sign of the tunnels on the surface would be the vent shafts, which would be designed to blend in and fit the local area. The area above the tunnels is densely populated. However, we would design and construct the tunnels to avoid any perceptible effects. All properties above the tunnels would be independently surveyed before and after construction to reassure residents and confirm we haven t caused any problems. The engineering design of HS2 would build on the application of proven technologies implemented successfully in similar tunnels on HS1 and now planned for Crossrail. As a result, vibration would be imperceptible and people should not be disturbed by ground borne noise. Vent Shafts Tunnel ventilation shafts are vertical shafts connecting a tunnel below the ground to the surface above. They would provide emergency ventilation and the ability to remove smoke from the tunnels should an incident occur below ground. Ventilation fans would need to be activated to remove the smoke and noise and may be noticeable at the time of an emergency incident or during the maintenance and testing of the equipment. However, in normal circumstances there would be no noise from the vents shafts. There are three proposed locations within London for vent shafts. Adelaide Road This vent shaft would sit between the existing railway and Adelaide Road, opposite Eton Road. It would be located to the east of a nature reserve and at the base of a railway embankment.

3 to 10 Proposed vent shaft locations for the London tunnel Alexandra Place West MP to to Langtry Walk LB 49 to 59 Grace Chapel a ROWLEY WAY 1 to 46 House to Air School 1 to 35 1 to 12 Dinerman Court Southbury Adelaide Road LB ADELAIDE ROAD DW 95 DW Air Shaft Primrose Hill Tunnels Queen's Park Station CLAREMONT ROAD FB 1 58d to 34 Salusbury Road El 59 to KING HENRY'S ROAD 39 R L 14 1 to 13 Court Works Shelter 2 House The Court 35 to PO KILBURN LANE War 238a Church Source: Crown copyright and database right All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey Licence number The proposed building would be approximately five storeys high but because it would be located at the base of an embankment, only two storeys would be visible from Adelaide Road. Planting would be used to screen the building and parking from view. Alexandra Place West This vent shaft would be located between the railway and Alexandra Place West. It would replace a small block of shops, with flats above. The building would be designed to match surrounding properties in style and material. The building would be approximately two storeys high. Salusbury Road The shaft at Salusbury Road would take the existing site of a small office building and car park. Again, the building would be designed to match surrounding properties in style and material. The building would be approximately two storeys high. Property It would unfortunately be necessary to demolish a small block containing around seven homes in order to build the vent shaft site at the Alexandra Place West site. However, we do not believe that it would be necessary to demolish any homes to build the Adelaide Road or Salusbury Road vent shafts. Also, we believe that it would not be necessary to demolish any further homes between Primrose Hill and Old Oak Common Station outside the areas of the vent shafts. See also factsheet Arrangements for Dealing with Property Blight for more details.

4 Primrose Hill to Old Oak Common Noise Impact Key Areas where dwellings are within HS2 Noise Appraisal Criteria with Additional Indicative Mitigation High HS2 Noise Levels Within the areas which could qualify for noise insulation we have also identified locations which could be exposed to high average noise levels i.e. greater than or equal to 73dBL Aeq18hr. This is the level taken from the Environmental Noise Regs. Noise Insulation (NIRR) Areas which could have a requirement for noise insulation (based on regulations) where façade noise levels are more than 68dBL Aeq,18hr with a 1dB increase or more. Noticeable Noise Increase Areas which could have a noticeable change in average daytime railway noise levels where the predicted noise level is more than 50dBL Aeq,18hr and there has been a 3dB increase or more. Key Environmental Features World Heritage Site SSSI Ramsar Special Conservation Areas Special Protected Areas Scheduled Monuments Registered Parks and Gardens Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty National Nature Reserve National Park Historical Battlefields!. Listed Building Grade I Listed Building Grade I!. Listed Building Grade II* Listed Building Grade II* WCML Proposed Route Surface Cutting Green Tunnel Tunnel Viaduct HS1 Connection Surface Tunnel Primrose Hill to Old Oak Common In this location, the route is virtually all within tunnel so noise from trains, would not be heard. That is why there are no noise effects shown on this map. The new Euston station would be 2 metres lower than current arrangements. We would intend to cover the station and potentially parts of the approaches for over-site development. This would offer opportunities to contain noise in this area. The design of the London tunnels on HS1 has successfully avoided ground-borne noise (low frequency rumbling) and vibration in dwellings and other buildings. The design of HS2 would build on this experience ensuring that vibration would be imperceptible and that ground-borne noise would not disturb people or affect their quiet enjoyment of their homes. Vent shafts would be provided at points to serve the tunnels in the event of emergency. The buildings would contain fans which would only operate in emergencies and for occasional testing. In day to day use, the buildings would be passive and would not generate any noise. I km This map is reproduced from Ordnance Survey material with the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationary Office Crown copyright

5 What would happen during construction? Apart from work to construct the tunnel entrance at Parkway and the vent shafts, the tunnel on this section of the proposed HS2 route would be built entirely from below ground. We would use tunnel boring machines to minimise ground settlement and hand tools for the cross passages. Excavations would commence from the Old Oak Common Station site with work then proceeding towards Euston. The vast majority of construction activity would take place at Old Oak Common on existing railway land away from residential areas. We would establish a construction site there containing staff offices, storage for materials and plant and providing a means to remove the earth dug from the tunnels. Construction would take four years, with the tunnel boring machine advancing forwards about 15m per day. We would aim to minimise effects on local roads by maximising the use of rail and perhaps making use of the adjacent Grand Union Canal. If you would like more detail on this topic Please visit our website where you will see the High Speed Rail: Investing in Britain s Future Consultation and the supporting documentation, as well as detailed maps of the proposed route between London and the West Midlands, images and visualisations. Construction code of practice The work required to build both the tunnel and the vent shafts would be controlled and managed through a code of practice for construction that would provide contractual obligations upon builders to ensure, for example, that construction, noise and dust would be kept to a practicable minimum. Modern construction techniques, modern plant and effective management controls would be applied to ensure minimal disruption to local people. We would work with local residents, businesses and local councils to minimise any impact during construction.

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