Planning restrictions around the High Speed rail link between London and Kent are set to be relaxed, the government has announced.

As a long-term infrastructure project, HS1 has been protected by planning regulations which limit development alongside or close to it.

Known as “safeguarding”, the regulations do not prevent development near HS1 but do ensure they allow access to, and protection of, the rail route which opened in 2007.

The regulations were primarily intended to ensure access to the site while the link was being built.

However, the government says there is now no need to retain them. A four-week long public consultation gets under way next week.

Among the proposals, the Department of Transport says it will lift restrictions from more than half of the existing land - equivalent to 14sq km - next to HS1.

Other plans are to reducing the safeguarding boundary next to the route from 60 metres to 30 metres.

Rail Minister Paul Maynard said: “HS1 has been a success story for ten years now, providing a high speed link between London and stations in continental Europe.

"These proposed changes will have no effect on the high speed service for passengers. They will simply reduce the restrictions on developments close to it.”

The public consultation can be viewed at https://www.gov.uk/dft#consultations from July 10.