HS2 bosses are still buying homes along the northern branch of the project, more than a month after it was halted
- Firm set up to deliver the project continues with 201 property acquisitions
HS2 bosses are still buying dozens of properties along a section of the route that was axed more than a month ago.
The private company set up to deliver the high-speed rail project is going ahead with the purchase of 201 properties, the Daily Mail can reveal.
Internal figures show that 100 of them are on the Birmingham to Manchester route, which was axed by Rishi Sunak over concerns about rising costs.
A further 101 are located along the route from Birmingham to East Midlands Parkway, which the Prime Minister announced would be dumped at the Tory party conference in early October.
Internal estimates suggest the properties are collectively worth between £60 million and £100 million.
HS2 bosses are still buying dozens of properties along a section of the route that was axed more than a month ago. Pictured: Mockup of an HS2 train
An aerial view of Whitmore Heath in the West Midlands, where 70 percent of homes have been bought for the HS2 project
A general view of the HS2 construction site on Curzon Street in central Birmingham
Phases 2a and 2b of the project, which were to connect Birmingham with Crewe, Manchester and Leeds, were scrapped earlier this year
Ministers last night defended the purchases, saying if HS2 pulled out it would be ‘detrimental’ to homeowners who were already planning to move and whose deals were part of a chain.
But critics branded the situation ‘absurd’ and called on ministers to tell HS2 Ltd to halt purchases.
Tory MP Greg Smith, a member of the House of Commons transport committee, said: ‘The concept of buying more properties is absurd on several fronts.
‘It is absurd because any assessment will be completely out of step because that country is no longer being destroyed. And it’s absurd to ask taxpayers to pay for property for something that will no longer happen.
“It’s just more evidence of the incoherent inability to deliver a coherent, sensible or well-considered plan.”
He added: ‘Essentially the a*** doesn’t know what the elbow is doing and that’s been the case throughout the whole project.’
Lord Tony Berkeley, who was vice-chairman of a government-ordered inquiry into HS2, said: ‘It’s extraordinary. The Prime Minister has already said that these sections will be canceled and another £100 million is being wasted here. It’s fucking stupid.
‘The sooner things are stopped and contracts are terminated, the better. The Government clearly has no control over this and the Department for Transport apparently does not seem to think that HS2 has been largely cancelled.’
Tory MP Greg Smith, a member of the House of Commons Transport Committee, called the situation ‘absurd’
A weathered ‘NO TO HS2’ sign in rural Cheshire, on the route of the HS2 Birmingham to Manchester section
Phases 2a and 2b of the project, which were to connect Birmingham with Crewe, Manchester and Leeds, have been scrapped.
The entire HS2 project initially had a price tag of just over £30 billion, including the eastern and western routes to Leeds and Manchester from Birmingham. But it later emerged that it would easily have cost more than £100 billion to fully complete.
An HS2 spokesperson said: ‘HS2 Ltd is acting on advice from the Government. We may continue to acquire some properties through our discretionary schemes and statutory penalties if the claimant wishes to proceed and there is a compelling reason to do so.
‘This also applies to cases where applications were submitted before the government’s announcement [of cancellation] on October 4.
“We have also identified a limited number of locations and properties where the expropriation process is well advanced and must continue until it is completed.”
A Department for Transport spokesperson said many of the purchases “would have started months earlier and failure to complete could in some cases be detrimental to property owners.”
The spokesperson added: ‘We will ensure that our approach to selling land no longer needed for HS2 delivers value for the taxpayer, while we act decisively to reduce the costs of HS2 more broadly. A national program is being developed for this purpose, more details of which will follow in due course.’