The designs for a 2km cutting in Cubbington for the HS2 line have been signed off by Warwick District Council (WDC).

The high speed rail developer first put forward the plans for the 12-metre deep cutting at the end of last year.

Extending between Coventry Road and Mill Lane, the Cubbington Cutting will see a large number of trees planted along its length to mask it from view and also to replace any removed for it to be built.

Coming as close as half a kilometre to Cubbington Village, the cutting will also pass through Cubbington Ancient Woodland.

But the plans state: "Mitigation measures include planting native broad-leaved woodland, shrub and hedgerows to screen the proposed scheme from neighbouring residential properties and users of the adjacent public right of way (PRoW). 

"The woodland planting will aid integration of the proposed scheme into the landscape; and the selection of species will reflect tree and shrub species native to the area landscape and take into account possible climate change impacts associated with the quality and availability of water and the potential increase in pests and diseases. 

"Significant areas of woodland planting are proposed in the Leam Valley and Cubbington Wood areas, including advance planting to the south of the retained cut at South Cubbington Wood."

The high-speed rail developer announced last year that new designs for the Cubbington section of the line would reduce the amount of concrete and steel required by 60,000 cubic metres – the equivalent of around 8,500 HGV movements.

Originally the design would have had concrete retaining walls, but the line will now run in a V-shaped open cutting with grass slopes on the embankments.

The new designs raise the high speed rail line by around two metres, avoiding the need to excavate 150,000 cubic metres of soil - the equivalent of 60 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Approving the application, a WDC report said: "The proposed development is not considered to result in harm to the local environment or amenity, nature conservation or archaeology."

It added: "Furthermore, I do not consider that the development ought to, and could reasonably, be carried out elsewhere within the development’s permitted limits."

HS2 will need to submit separate schemes for road overbridges along Rugby Road and Coventry Road, as well as two 'green' footbridges.

The latter will be six metres wide "to maximize the amount of space available for planting to create habitat connection over the green bridge".

If approved, the cutting is expected be completed by 2026.

See the full plans here.