Planners have signed off on the designs for a 50-metre viaduct which will carry the HS2 line over Finham Brook on the edge of Kenilworth.

Plans for a 35 metre embankment around the viaduct have also been approved, as has a two metre high noise barrier and "acoustic parapet".

The development is all part of ongoing works around Dalehouse Lane - which is set to shut again next month.

"The works submitted include Finham Brook Viaduct which is a two-span reinforced concrete viaduct carrying HS2 tracks over Finham Brook watercourse," the application said. 

"The viaduct comprises of a 50m long and 13.2m wide reinforced concrete I-beams with a reinforced concrete slab. 

"The viaduct will have an overall total height of approximately 7.4m from ground level to the top of the parapet."

The embankment will connect with the proposed Kenilworth Cutting which has already been put forward for approval (image via planning application)

An outline of the plans around Finham Brook (image supplied)

The land where the viaduct will be built is currently open fields, immediately north of Dalehouse Lane and Kenilworth Golf Course.

The High Speed Rail Act 2017 decrees the viaduct and cutting will happen at some point, but approval for certain design and construction matters still had to be given by the local authority.

Warwick District Council has now approved the scope of the development.

"The earthworks associated with Dalehouse Embankment will also include ground improvement works and a drainage ditch along the eastern perimeter of the embankment which takes runoff from the earthwork to Finham Brook," the application added.

Works on the embankment are hoped to start in the third quarter of 2024 and take two years. Works on the viaduct are expected to begin early next year and be completed by the end of 2025.

Designs for the Dalehouse Lane overbridge will be submitted separately.

The Finham cutting will connect with the 750-metre Kenilworth Cutting which has already been put forward for approval.

See the full application here.

(Header image by Robin Stott via geograph.org.uk)

The design for the Finham Brook Viaduct (image via planning application)