EALING Borough residents living near the building site of a new HS2 station are concerned about noise, pollution and threats to a local beauty spot.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps gave the go-ahead for work to begin on the massive £1.6billion Old Oak Common station on June 23.

It is set to become the UK's largest station built in a single stage and will have six HS2 platforms taking passengers from London to the Midlands, Newcastle and Glasgow.

The roof will be the size of at least three football pitches.

The station will also serve Crossrail and other mainline routes once it has been built.

HS2 says the construction work will support 2,300 jobs.

But locals are worried as HS2 recently said it was considering filing a compulsory purchase order for an area of Wormwood Scrubs, a nature reserve that stretches 170 acres.

This is because development on the HS2 sewer works site and utilities area might not be finished by their February 2022 deadline.

Wormwood Scrubs charitable trust committee chair and Old Oak councillor, Alexandra Sanderson, said: "We are deeply concerned about this development and are seeking professional advice about the options available to us."

The committee shares management of the open space with Hammersmith and Fulham council.

HS2 told Hammersmith and Fulham Council that once their work is finished, they will return the land to the trust.

The Friends of Wormwood Scrubs campaign group said it was 'vehemently opposed' to the nature reserve being snapped up with a compulsory purchase order.

Faye Thomas from the Friends of Wormwood Scrubs said: "It's a very popular beauty spot and was protected in perpetuity 140 years ago by an act of Parliament.

"It's a natural spot, which is quite unusual in London.

"There are common lizards and is a major migrating site.

"If birds can't nest, they can't breed."

Thomas added that she was 'concerned about the ecological impact' of development on the site.

She said: "Their powers run to February 2022 but the Secretary of State can extend it.

"Will they give it back?"

Hammersmith and Fulham Council told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "We're very disappointed that HS2's disruptive works on Wormwood Scrubs may extend beyond February 2022.

"Although an Act of Parliament appears to permit such a [compulsory purchase order], we're deeply concerned.

"We're seeking advice on our options and we'll provide an update to residents shortly."

David Mitchelhill, who lives near the Scrubs said: "This area is much loved and during lockdown it has been used a lot."

It has also been a much loved spot for birdwatchers, picnics, football and flying model aeroplanes as well as dog walking.

He told the Local Democracy Reporting service that he did not think he would be using HS2.

Emma Ranson who is a garden designer said she was concerned that a compulsory purchase order could see 'more land opened up for better access to the station.'

Across the other side of the railway tracks, residents in Wells House Road are fed up with the noise and disruption from the building work.

Amanda Souter, who is a market researcher, said: "It's a living hell.

"My street is stuck for the next decade in the centre of the biggest construction site in the UK as they are building the biggest station in the UK."

Ms Souter has had problems with her lungs and believes it may have been caused by pollution from the building site.

She added that 'most of us will be dead by the time it opens,' so will not benefit from speedier rail links to the rest of the country.

"We can't even sell our homes, they are worth nothing."

And Toby Johnson said: "It's removed so much from our lives.

"The pollution is bad.

"The road by it has traffic jams daily."

Paul Allison, a local who moved near the site of the Old Oak Common station in 2015, said he has sympathy for residents who lived in a nice, pleasant road and then had HS2 built down the road from them.

Many families have lived there for generations.

"The impact for residents living here is really hard," he said.

He said he might use the station for its links to Central London or Heathrow and said eventually the area will change with more amenities.

But he pointed out that many of his neighbours are elderly and do not want to experience disruption.

Alex Kaye who also lives on the street said: "I do not think Old Oak Common station is necessary.

"I just can't see why we have got this when they are already running Euston station.

"It's unnecessary."

He added: "There will be no benefit and I will not use the station.

"I wonder why they put the terminus here."

"This is just a small part of what's been happening all the way down the line."

An HS2 spokeswoman said: "HS2 currently has temporary legal possession of a small area of Wormwood Scrubs for utilities diversion and is arranging to compulsorily purchase sufficient land to ensure utilities companies have legal protection for their assets while works elsewhere are completed."

She added that land from Wormwood Scrubs would be returned once works had been completed, and noted that HS2 had set aside £3.9million for restoration of the site.

HS2 plans to open the route from Old Oak Common to Birmingham between 2030 and 2033, with six trains an hour running on the line.