Stores in path of high-speed train route, councillors told

A meeting at Rotherham town hall heard that the planned route will take the line through the sites of the Morrisons and Boundary Mills stores at Catcliffe.

The Europa Link Road would remain, with bridges crossing the proposed path of HS2, but the high speed rail project will have significant impact on a potential route to the Fence roundabout for the proposed Waverley Link Road.

Parish councils throughout the borough have been promised detailed maps of the route where it passes through their areas.

Construction on the high-speed rail link between London and Leeds could begin in the early part of the 2020s, or even earlier.

A council spokesman said there was no detail about when work might start but he added:  “The construction project will be significant in terms of job creation, given the scale of development and the length of time of construction works.”

Trains will be able to travel at more than 200mph on the planned line, which will have a station at Meadowhall.