North Shropshire MP meets transport secretary Chris Grayling over HS2 concerns

Mr Paterson has teamed up with Stone MP Bill Cash to try and get a better deal for those who live in Woore, which lies on the Shropshire/Staffordshire border near Market Drayton.

The current proposed route would see about 500 HGVs travel from the A51 and turn onto the A525 at Woore daily.

Residents and councillors have formed an action group to fight the plans.

They said there are alternatives which would stop the need to route construction traffic through the parish – including the construction of a continuous tunnel from Whitmore Heath to beyond Madeley.

Mr Paterson said he put the views of the local residents to Mr Grayling when they met last week.

"I told him that if we can get this longer tunnel it would mean that the construction traffic would not have to go through Woore which would be a huge relief for local people and commuters, many from Shropshire who use the route," he said.

"I am working with Bill Cash on this, to campaign for a longer tunnel at Whitmore.

"This is a huge construction project and we must look at the effect that it will have on communities."

But Mr Paterson added he had not received any "commitment" from the minister.

Whitmore2Madeley HS2 Action Group said extending the tunnel would help to minimise the devastation of the local communities and surrounding countryside.

It said it would reduce the disruption to local and commuter traffic that will result from the construction of the HS2 train-line between Whitmore and Madeley.

Campaigners say many people who live in Whitmore, Baldwin’s Gate, Madeley Park Wood, Woore and Keele as well as anyone using the local road network will be detrimentally affected by the construction phase, which will last for at least five years.

"Our goal is to safeguard our beautiful countryside, its peaceful ancient woodlands and all the wildlife, which makes its home here, by persuading the government to build a longer, deeper tunnel," a spokesman said.

The government is planning a new high-speed rail network, from London to Birmingham and to Manchester and Leeds, known as HS2.

Ministers say it will improve the transport network and boost the economy, but there has been controversy about the exact route of the line and its effect on those living near it.

The initial plan is for a new railway line between London and the West Midlands carrying 400m-long trains with as many as 1,100 seats per train.