HS2 has been given the green light for a large new pumping station on the edge of Kenilworth which it says is "critical" to the running of the new railway.

The high speed rail developer put forward the plans for Canley Brook Pumping Station this summer.

Proposals now approved by Warwick District Council (WDC) showed the structure will be built alongside A429 Kenilworth Road and will need a new junction to access it.

"The proposed location for the works is the most efficient as the HS2 alignment has a low point at this location where track drainage can be collected by gravity," the application said. 

"The function of the pumping station will be to pump water up to an attenuation basin so that it can drain away via existing drainage." 

An artist's impression of the pumping station (image via HS2)

HS2 said there will be planting and landscaping around the pumping station to "soften" the view of it.

It will also have a 'green roof' of wildflower planting.

Signing off on the application, a WDC report said: "Officers are satisfied that the proposal is not considered to result in harm to the local environment or amenity, nature conservation or archaeology."

See the full application here.

The pumping station will have a 'green roof' (image via HS2)