A jewel village has been separated Scattered plans For an HS2 line, the locals claim, as it was revealed that the taxpayers were paying seven-day annual bills for the assets left vacant by the overall project.
Some of the 50 houses in Whitmore Heath were 35 bought The government from the government on behalf of the government from the government from London to Manchester from the residents seeking to sell the hillside for a huge tunnel under the Hilcide Hamlet under Hamlet.
But in the form of qualities – many of them with large gardens – Was soldDelay and spilling costs in October 2023, until, kept the line section via Stafordshire as doubt, till then, The ax was killed,
“This destroyed the community,” Graham Hutton said, which stays two miles away and fought against the line, which would have moved from Handcare to Manchester in Staffordshire.
“The village was a rich place where people went to earn their money.
Residents say that a house was converted into a cannabis factory, while other people were judged to be unsuitable to rent, hired with 24/7 security teams.
Whitmore Heath’s story is a snapshot of the situation along the early passage, which was planned to connect London and Birmingham to Leeds, along with reaching Manchester on a western leg.
The line from London to Handcare in Staffordshire, including Birmingham, will now be built.
Overall, HS2 spent £ 3.7BN on purchasing 1,727 properties from the department (DFT) for transportation, including £ 633M on 1,021 properties with axed routes.
They were purchased under several schemes, including a voluntary purchase and “need to sell”, where the seller was to provide a compelling reason to transfer after being unable to sell in the open market. Some were purchased under compulsory procurement order (CPO).
But around a quarter of the purchased properties – about 430 – are empty, some of them require security teams to protect them.
Data received by Independent It was discovered that £ 1.9m was spent on guarding the assets in 1.9m 2023-2024, which was equal to £ 37,000 a week.
In Staffordshire, £ 481,000 was spent.
“What a waste, a full waste of money,” said County Councilor Paul Northcott. “We now need a resolution, so we can sell assets to those they were purchased, or can return to the market – let’s get the community together again.”
“Whitmore was the jewel of the Heath region, but the community has been fragmented, it is exploded by people who come and go by people, people hire short -term.
“The villagers are at the bottom, they think they are in Limbo.”
The Parish Councilor Ian Web said the situation was “far from the ideal”. He said: “I know many houses that have been left empty for a long time.”
The maintenance of safety measures to prevent the land from developing in this way is not helped in uncertainty, which will struggle with future plans, with an inexpensive high speed alternative alternative proposed last year.
In waiting Edward Cavenagh-Menwaring is, which lost about 250 acres of his family farm in Staffordshire via a CPO for HS2.
But like other people in the region, they now fear that the amount offered was below the market rate, and if the opportunity comes, he will not be able to buy the land back.
“Many people are mentally hurt,” they told first Independent,
Last month, the ban on selling land for eastern legs between Birmingham and Leeds was lifted, which was canceled in November 2021.
The DFT said that an update on the security of the western leg line area will be given in the appointed time along with the proposals of rail routes in the north of England.
A spokesperson of HS2 Limited said: “HS2 LTD has a responsibility for the safety and safety of all land and property acquired for the construction of railway.
“Currently more than 1,700 properties are managed throughout the route by the company – which include the former steps 2 legs – and it is in the best interest of local communities, project distribution and taxpayers that they are safe and well maintained.”
Last month, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander stated that his department was working with HS2 Limited to “reset” the project after “mismanagement, flaw reporting and ineffective oversight”.
He said that by 2033 there was no “route” to complete the target date for running HS2 services.
