Ghost towns of HS2: The homes abandoned and the locals left in limbo over £100BN high speed line that may never reach them
- HS2 has created ghost towns of abandoned homes across Britain as homes were bought and left empty
- READ MORE: Transport Secretary blames Putin’s war in Ukraine for two-year delay to £100billion project HS2
HS2 has left a trail of misery in its wake, destroying hard-working Brits’ lives, breaking apart their marriages and creating ghost towns of abandoned homes across Britain, MailOnline can reveal.
The massive high-speed rail network was supposed to help ‘level-up and unite the country’ but has been facing increasing calls to be scrapped entirely.
It was originally presented as providing a fast rail link from Leeds/Sheffield and Manchester to London, via Birmingham but the project has been progressively descoped as costs simultaneously exploded to astronomical levels.
Now all that remains is the Manchester (via Crewe leg) and the Birmingham to London section – and both were delayed. The phase 2b route from Birmingham to Leeds, Chesterfield and York via the East Midlands Hub at Toton has already been scrapped. Earlier this month the government said the Birmingham Curzon Street to Crewe part of HS2 will be delayed by two years. The extension to Manchester Piccadilly was delayed by 20 years, with the service not expected to be finished until 2043.
HS2’s projected final cost was £33billion in 2010, but 13 years later this has shot up to £100billion and will now rise significantly further due to delays and the project being ‘rephased’ for two years.
Homes beside the existing railway line on Bonsall Street in Long Eaton, Derbyshire, face an uncertain future. The proposed HS2 line is set to tear through the community, but only last month it was reported the Government is considering scrapping the eastern leg of the high speed line altogether, meaning it wouldn’t reach them at all.
Homes across the country, like this one in Twyford, Oxfordshire, have been bought up to make way for the proposed train link that could ‘level up’ the country
Station Cottage in Launton, Oxfordshire, was also bought up to make way for the new train link that hopes to ‘unite the country’
Retired postman Thomas McAuley, 65, (pictured) from Bonsall Street in Long Eaton, Nottinghamshire, said: ‘We have been suffering blight on these properties now for 10 years. No one did any improvements or anything because what was the point when it was all going to be knocked down’
Daniel Dunmore, 34, (left) a DJ who has lived on the street his whole life, said: ‘It is an absolute farce what has happened on this street.’ Delivery driver Michael Smith, 65, (right) said: ‘I heard it years back that this wasn’t going ahead from my deliveries. It was always a load of codswallop’
After 14 years of fretting about HS2, the residents of Bonsall Street in Long Eaton, Derbyshire, still don’t know if they are coming or going
The HS2 high-speed rail line is a ‘loss-making’ project, which will not be completed before 2041, Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen warned the House of Commons. The phase 2b route from Birmingham to Leeds, Chesterfield and York via the East Midlands Hub at Toton has already been scrapped. Earlier this month the government said the Birmingham Curzon Street to Crewe part of HS2 will be delayed by two years. The extension to Manchester Piccadilly was delayed by 20 years, with the service not expected until the 2043
The HS2 route is set to go through Bonsall Street in Long Eaton, although delays have left residents there in limbo
The black dotted lines indicate the route of HS2 as it goes over where one side of Bonsall Street is at the moment
Additionally, the cost of the controversial HS2 high-speed rail project increased by a further £1.7billion during Covid due to social distancing measures and work suspensions caused by the pandemic.
Earlier in March, the controversial rail project’s Birmingham to Crewe leg – known as Phase 2a – will be delayed by two years, Transport Secretary Mark Harper said.
READ MORE: HS2 will be like the ‘Ryanair of the rails’ – shall we just scrap it? says JONATHAN WEBB
It raises the prospect of the Crewe to Manchester section – part of Phase 2b – also being pushed back.
Bt last month, it was reported that the Government is now considering the scrapping of the eastern leg altogether, meaning that it wouldn’t reach Nottinghamshire, and the residents of Long Eaton, in Derbyshire, at all.
After 14 years of fretting about HS2, the residents of Bonsall Street in Long Eaton, Derbyshire, still don’t know if they are coming or going.
Plenty have gone and those who remain say their community has been devastated by the impact of the phantom rail line.
In the space of 100 yards, there are 11 empty properties.
The plan then was for one side of the mostly terraced street to be knocked down to create a viaduct as part of the East Midlands leg of the line.
The other side of Bonsall Street could stay, although none relished the thought of opening their front doors onto a fenced-off viaduct.
Jackie Blackburn, 73, who lives in a detached bungalow on the side of the street not destined for demolition, said: ‘It is disgraceful the way they have bought properties of people who did not want to go and then have left them empty.
‘This is my mother-in-law’s house and my husband has lived here since he was a teenager so I am pleased it is not going ahead.’
HS2 told MailOnline that on this part of the route the company didn’t have powers to buy home with compulsory purchase orders, so owners didn’t have to sell if they didn’t want to.
Daniel Dunmore, 34, a DJ who has lived on the street his whole life, said: ‘It is an absolute farce what has happened on this street.
‘There were plenty of older people in their 60s who suddenly found they had to get themselves another mortgage to buy the same type of property.
‘They were offering around £140,000 plus 10 per cent for these three-bed houses with big gardens. You can’t get anything close in Long Eaton for that money.
Daniel Dunmore said: ‘There were plenty of older people in their 60s who suddenly found they had to get themselves another mortgage to buy the same type of property’
Michael Smith said: ‘We are still in a bind because we can’t sell the houses or rent them because the plans are still on the books and would show up in any search’
‘It caused a lot of stress and one old lady died while worrying about moving. This is a street that people stay on for life. People used to have so much pride in their gardens and their hanging baskets but now with so many properties empty for so long, it’s gone to pieces.’
One of those whose former family home is now left to fester is Val Richardson, 65, who spent 34 years on the street before selling four years ago.
Now settled in a new property nearby, she said: ‘I was very, very sad to leave the street but did not feel like I had a choice.
Packington Moor Farm shop in Lichfield where the owners have moved on after being forced to sell up to make way for HS2
The farm has been left deserted after the owners were forced to sell up to make way for the controversial HS2 project
HS2 was supposed to whisk passengers from Birmingham to London in 52 minutes, but will now not even reach central London, with passengers being turfed out at Old Oak Common, where they will have to make their own way into the capital
Anybody wishing to travel to London from Birmingham, who plans to arrive by train into New Street, faces a luggage laden journey on the Midland Metro tram to Curzon Street before they can join their HS2 service
For the first decade at least, time savings will be negligible. Currently an Avanti train from Birmingham New Street to Euston takes approximately 90 minutes
This is just one example of the scourge of abandoned properties dotted across the UK because of the vastly expensive HS2 project
‘It all left a very bad taste and now to think we went through all that hurt and they’ve knocked it on the head…I felt very annoyed when I heard that.
‘I feel sorry for the people who are left on the street because HS2 have ruined it. They have never done anything to my house since they bought it. No upkeep, nothing. They have left those houses to rack and ruin.’
Her former neighbour, retired postman Thomas McAuley, 65, said: ‘We have been suffering blight on these properties now for 10 years. No one did any improvements or anything because what was the point when it was all going to be knocked down.
‘I’ve just put up the conservatory I’ve always wanted because of the news it wasn’t going to happen but it’s still hanging over us.
The Shimmer Estate (pictured) in Mexborough, near Doncaster, was supposed to bring new life and hope to an area that hadn’t seen any housebuilding in 40 years
Just 160 families had moved in and the remainder were still being built by developers Strata when a letter dropped from HS2, revealing the line was coming straight through the estate on its way to Leeds
‘HS2 have not withdrawn their plans and I am hearing that if Labour win the next election they could give it the go-ahead again.
‘The indecision has been driving us all mad but I was always dead set against selling. This is a nice quiet street, a cul-de-sac so it’s not a thoroughfare and it is close to the shops.’
Thomas was unimpressed by the way HS2 dealt with those who did take up their offer.
‘They would find every reason to knock you down,’ he said. ‘They knocked you down for being close to a railway line. They were counting every cracked tile and taking money off.
‘When you think of the millions they pay for some fancy properties it just seemed all wrong.’
The project, which was launched by the Labour Government in 2009, has ballooned over budget, paying £6.7 million to comedian John Bishop for his Cheshire mansion and replacing an entire golf clubhouse and five holes in Whittington, near Lichfield.
Mexborough homeowner Ben Tingle (pictured) pictured outside his former home in South Yorkshire that he was forced to sell for less money than he paid by the government as his new home was on the route of HS2
Helen Bagnall, 65, an online shopper, said she loved her home and had no intention of moving.
‘Nothing is certain,’ she said, ‘apart from the fact I will hang on to the bitter end.’
Delivery driver Michael Smith, 65, said: ‘I heard it years back that this wasn’t going ahead from my deliveries. It was always a load of codswallop.
‘But even though we were right, we are still in a bind because we can’t sell the houses or rent them because the plans are still on the books and would show up in any search.
‘Now most of the road is empty up this end. It’s a proper shame because this was a very popular street.’
Long Eaton was not the only community affected by HS2.
The Shimmer estate in Mexborough, near Doncaster, was supposed to bring new life and hope to an area that hadn’t seen any housebuilding in 40 years.
There was jubilation in 2011 when the first new owners moved into the stylish set of 212 homes, built in all sizes and many in a townhouse style.
The joy did not last. Just 160 families had moved in and the remainder were still being built by developers Strata when a letter dropped from HS2, revealing the line was coming straight through the estate on its way to Leeds.
Few can have felt the shock of HS2’s plan more than the Nicholson family (pictured) of Nickerwood Farm near Sheffield
Howard, Louise and two of their four daughters had just spent four years living in a caravan while builder Howard painstakingly re-built the 16th Century Grade II listed farmhouse
‘We had not long got in,’ said Howard, 54, ‘and we were going on a family holiday to Tenerife. Because the post won’t deliver to us, we had collected it all from the post office and Louise was looking through it when she suddenly says, “They are going to pull our house down”‘
All their plans to build their forever home for their four daughters, five dogs, six horses, two goats, a rabbit and a cat, were put on hold
Richard Sampson, whose parents had built up the popular Parklands Equestrian Centre (pictured) in Aston, which was under threat from HS2, said: ‘We were told it was coming through our Centre and had letters from HS2 pushing us to make a decision’
Shockingly, the company had been looking at old plans and their engineers were shocked to find the houses when they were expecting some ponds.
Local councillor Andy Pickering of the Mexborough First party, said: ‘It has been a shocking episode. We’ve had no additions to the housing stock around Doncaster in 40 years so this was estate promised so much.
‘HS2 are not a bunch of people you can trust. They have told a catalogue of lies about their costs and when it comes to dealing with ordinary people they were ruthless.
‘They made everyone sign Non-Disclosure Agreements so there could be no collective bargaining and picked off the house owners one by one.
‘Virtually nobody got market value. They got less than they had paid in the first place and weren’t able to find anything to match.
‘At one stage the minister promised to match properties but it was just something to say. HS2 quickly corrected him and it was back to the value plus 10 per cent.
‘Most people could not find anything comparable without paying a lot more money.’
The seeming inevitability of HS2 saw all but two of the original occupants move out of the Shimmer Estate and HS2 become the biggest landlord in the area.
The stress of seeing their dreams shattered proved fatal to several marriages.
Robert Hulme, 38, said HS2 was a factor in the break-up with his then-partner, who had lived with him on the estate for three years.
‘It was heartbreaking,’ he said. ‘When we moved in we were delighted. It had a balcony, the neighbours were very nice and it was a nice estate.’
What is the state of controversial HS2?
HS2 was supposed to whisk passengers from Birmingham to London in 52 minutes, but will now not even reach central London, with passengers being turfed out at Old Oak Common, where they will have to make their own way into the capital.
Anybody wishing to travel to London from Birmingham, who plans to arrive by train into New Street, faces a luggage laden journey on the Midland Metro tram to Curzon Street before they can join their HS2 service.
To add insult to injury, ministers refuse to be drawn on ticket prices – leaving many sceptics to wonder if the trains will be the preserve of business travellers.
Although the Government has publicly committed to reaching Euston – eventually – a best case scenario will see HS2 trains terminate at Old Oak Common for almost a decade.
One rail manager said it was like ‘Eurostar services terminating at Croydon!’
What can passengers expect in time savings once HS2 opens?
For the first decade at least, time savings will be negligible.
Currently an Avanti train from Birmingham New Street to Euston takes approximately 90 minutes.
Once the line opens to Old Oak Common this will be reduced to a around 70 minutes, comprising of 50 minutes to Old Oak Common, then 20 minutes on the Elizabeth Line, including walking between platforms and changing trains.
HS2 passengers from Manchester will do even better – saving a massive 40 minutes on current timings.
However, should there be a delay in extending the Elizabeth Line to Old Oak, travel times will be little better, or even worse than they are now, due to there being no Tube link at Old Oak Common.
He was one of the few to make a slight profit on the house but admitted: ”It caused a lot of arguments between us and we ended up splitting up. It caused a lot of stress.’
And Ben Tingle, 33, split from his partner after selling to HS2 for £92,500, less than the £94,950 he had paid in 2014.
Now, despite the line being cancelled, the estate remains frozen in time, unable to escape from HS2.
After announcing the curtailment, Secretary of State Grant Schapps placed the line ‘under protection’ which means the plans could be revived which in turn ruin the chances of any mortgage offer.
Few can have felt the shock of HS2’s plan more than the Nicholson family of Nickerwood Farm near Sheffield.
Howard, Louise and two of their four daughters had just spent four years living in a caravan while builder Howard painstakingly re-built the 16th Century Grade II listed farmhouse.
‘We had not long got in,’ said Howard, 54, ‘and we were going on a family holiday to Tenerife. Because the post won’t deliver to us, we had collected it all from the post office and Louise was looking through it when she suddenly says, “They are going to pull our house down”.’
Louise added: ‘It was like a leaflet, like a piece of junk mail and I was about to ignore it when I saw the words, ‘We know this might cause you distress’…
‘We rang up a neighbour who said he’d been sent the same thing and from then on it has just been stress.’
All their plans to build their forever home for their four daughters, five dogs, six horses, two goats, a rabbit and a cat, were put on hold.
‘I thought it would be protected being a listed building,’ said Howard, ‘but HS2 said they could just level it and leave it like that.
‘Our daughter wrote a letter to then transport minister Chris Grayling and ended up on LBC. We met Grayling who said we could rebuild in a nearby field.’
Now the plans have been shelved, Louise said: ‘I am delighted. When you have kids you want to know you are settled and this has been so stressful.
‘I don’t think it’ll come back in our lifetimes. The cost was just extraordinary. We would see them come out to do deer surveys and newt surveys on our land and produce so many glossy books but it all came to nothing.’
Richard Sampson, whose parents had built up the popular Parklands Equestrian Centre in nearby Aston, said: ‘We were told it was coming through our Centre and had letters from HS2 pushing us to make a decision.
‘But they weren’t being fair. They would only compensate for the buildings and the land but offered nothing for the destruction of a family business.
‘It has been a very sad time. Lots of people felt forced out of their homes. They had young families and decisions to make and couldn’t take the uncertainty.
‘I always felt it was a big ask laying a high-speed trainline on land with mine shafts everywhere. I hope it’s the last we hear of it.’
HS2 told MailOnline: ‘HS2 takes it responsibilities to local communities very seriously, and we understand that people may have concerns about future plans for the eastern section of the railway.
‘While decisions on the design and future development of HS2 East are a matter for Government, eligible land and property owners can continue to access HS2’s discretionary support schemes, should they choose to do so.
‘HS2’s Helpdesk is open all day, every day, to support people with their enquiries and we encourage people to get in touch if they have any questions or concerns.’
MailOnline has contacted the Department for Transport for comment.
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