Construction work for the controversial High Speed 2 rail line will see a tunnel built just metres below homes in Regent’s Park.

HS2 Ltd – the company behind the government’s new high-speed link connecting Euston Station with Birmingham – has told residents about the work in Park Village East.

An existing wall alongside rail tracks will be demolished and rebuilt to make room for the high-speed line.

HS2 Ltd has also announced a tunnel will be built underneath the road in Park Village East, just metres from nearby houses.

Laura Wise, HS2 Ltd area stakeholder manager for Euston, said: “To accommodate the new high-speed lines, a ‘dive under’ or underpass through the cutting into Euston Station is needed, with the high- speed tracks up to ten metres lower than the existing track in places.

“Work on the design of this section of the proposed railway has shown we will need to widen the cutting and replace a section of the retaining wall at Park Village East to make the space needed for the high-speed lines.”

The existing wall has suffered from movement and damage over time and HS2 Ltd say replacing it should address historic subsidence issues affecting local residents.

Construction will be carried out from Park Village East and is expected to take a year, leading to restricted access for cars for limited periods.

“We recognise and regret there would be some unavoidable disruption to residents during construction and are committed to minimising these as much as we can,” said Ms Wise.

Resident Stanley Johnson, former Conservative MEP, called for new consultation on compensating home owners who are affected by HS2 within the M25.

“It looks like the trains will be running about 20 feet from our living room,” he said.

“At the moment they’ve got to take these sort of things on board as they rehear, according to the High Court judgement, the consultation on compensation.”

He continued: “You could say that all these proposals, as far as Park Village East is concerned, do add up to a pretty substantial blight on the properties.”