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A dairy farmer wins a battle to stop nearly half of his land from being confiscated The scrapped HS2 railway line between birmingham and Manchester Says family farms could be under threat again.
John Edge, 74, said the future of his business faced further uncertainty after Transport Minister Heidi Alexander took over announced on wednesday Plans are underway to build a new north-south line between the two cities as part of investment in the Northern Rail Network.
Two years ago, in October 2023, Chancellor Rishi Sunak Northern HS2 line axed As costs rise and massive protests in villages and villages town along a predetermined 87-mile route.
Mr Edge’s farm at Wimboldsley, north of Crewe in Cheshire, will lose 300 of its 700 acres to construction of a railway line and branch line. still protected Department of Transportation plans for possible future projects.
Now, with plans for the new production line, Mr Edge, who also spent two years trying to sell his farmhouse before retiring, said he and his son, who runs a dairy farm, have been pushed back into years of uncertainty.
“This is another Sword of Damocles hanging over our heads,” he told us independent. “After all these years of uncertainty, when do we start? HS2 When it was initially announced, we hoped this would all be over and have a clear idea of the future.
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“But this news just reminds us of everything, we hear the line might not be built for another 20 years and you wonder when it’s going to stop. It’s been going on for too long and it’s affected so many lives, including our own. It’s not good enough.”
The family is among thousands of people Living along the abandoned HS2 line Despite assurances that the new line will not be an “HS2 revival”, they will still question its route and the potential impact on their lives.
Mr Edge and his wife Ruth had planned to retire and move to a bungalow near Nantwich. But after their farm and outbuildings were sold two years ago, it was only now that they appeared to be on the verge of selling.
“Whenever someone comes over to check [at the property]you have to mention HS2,” Mr Edge said. “It’s uncertainty and it affects people’s decisions. This did nothing to help sell the farm and delayed our plans.
“Now we’re wondering what would have happened if this line had followed the same route, and what would have happened to our family dairy farms, as the loss of any such land would have a big impact on herd size and viability.”
In the village of Wimboldsley, which has a population of about 140, Mr Edge said continued uncertainty over HS2 and future projects had left the community “in limbo”. He said HS2 had purchased about 20 homes, several of which were vacant and in poor condition.
As of August last year, HS2 had Spending over £380m on 459 properties Along the abandoned route from Handsacre, north of Birmingham, to Manchester. A spokesman for HS2 said some properties could not be rented due to their poor condition.
On Wednesday, the Department for Transport said independent None of the properties purchased between Birmingham and Manchester have been sold and conservation of land between Crewe and Manchester will remain, including Mr Edge’s farm.
Further afield, in Staffordshire, Ben Wilkes runs the Border Collie Trust Four-and-a-half acres of land on derailed section of road The head of the HS2 track said: “It’s like a kind of waterboarding. All we want is to get away from this uncertainty and be able to plan for the future with certainty.”
Also in the village of Whitmore Heath, Staffordshire, Approximately 35 of the 50 homes have been sold Regarding the abandoned HS2 line, Deborah Mallender, founder of Madeley and Whitmore Villages Stop HS2, said: “ [news of a new railway line] The worst nightmare for many residents. We’re back to square one. “
As plans for the north-south rail line are still being developed, it is unclear whether its route will follow the disused portion of HS2. No timetable has been provided for the opening, but it will not open until completion of the Northern Powerhouse Line, a proposed high-speed rail line covering part of the route between Liverpool and Leeds.
In the House of Commons on Wednesday, some MPs raised concerns on behalf of residents living along the disused railway line. Lichfield MP Dave Robertson said: “For 17 long years voters have had to deal with the utter failure of HS2 Ltd while ministers fell asleep at the wheel, and the scheme’s chaotic cancellation has done little to alleviate these problems and has instead created uncertainty. Unfortunately, today’s announcement only confirms that uncertainty will continue for another two decades.”
Mr Robertson urged Ms Alexander to commit to a rapid redesign of the HS2 line to free up land protections. The Transport Secretary acknowledged that “some people will face more uncertainty today”, adding that she wanted to find ways to reduce disruption to their lives.
But South Staffordshire MP Gavin Williamson told independent: “This is probably the worst-case scenario in the world. They’ve promised a rail line but there’s no funding for it, which means communities continue to suffer. A Labor government needs to get this huge white elephant under control.”
Ms Alexander said long-term plans for a new north-south route from Birmingham to Manchester were needed to tackle congestion and overcrowding on the West Coast main line. “This will not be a revival of HS2 and no decisions have been made on specifications or timetables,” she added.
The Department for Transport has been contacted for comment.
