West Midlands hears HS2 axe calls and pleas to continue

A farmer who could lose land as part of the HS2 link between Birmingham and Manchester is urging the plans be axed amid others' calls to continue.

Rising costs have led to conjecture the high speed rail line may not extend to the north west as originally intended.

Bernard Kettle, 82, who owns Bower End farm in Madeley, said 40 acres of his 100-acre site were compulsory purchased for the planned Phase 2a up to Crewe.

He said the government must now reject requests for further HS2 funding.

The government has said it is looking at how costs can be controlled.

A budget of £55.7bn for the whole project was set in 2015, with the last official estimate on costs, excluding the cancelled eastern section, reaching £71bn.

The first part of the scheme, between west London and Birmingham, is already under construction. Work on Phase 2a, a 50km stretch from the West Midlands to Crewe, has been delayed by about two years.

Mr Kettle, who said his livelihood had been devastated since he realised his land would be affected, maintained the government should axe the northern leg immediately and spend no more.

"It's a matter of common sense and common sense has gone through the door," he told BBC Midlands Today, adding those delivering the project could not indefinitely go to "the government, with a cap in hand, saying 'we want a billion for this or a billion for that'."

Homeowner Philip Hine, from Nantwich, Cheshire, said he was notified 18 months ago of plans to build the Crewe rolling stock depot "at the end of my drive" - a plan that had "wrecked my life".

He said he needed to sell his listed 230-year-old home to relocate to Kent to look after his elderly parents-in-law and would be "pleased" if the northern leg was cancelled.

A total of "168 acres of rolling stock depot at the end of my drive is not where I want to live", he explained.

He said he was informed of plans to compulsory purchase parts of his land almost two years ago, but added HS2 did not accept the depot was the reason he could not sell his home and he was turned down under the "need to sell" scheme.

He said while he supported scrapping the northern leg, estate agents held the view that any such government announcement would not boost the marketability of his property.

That, he explained, was because Labour had already suggested that should it form government at the next general election, it would proceed with HS2, albeit with some caveats.

In response to Mr Hine's concerns, a spokesperson for HS2 Ltd said it understood how "difficult it is for communities impacted by the railway", and it was committed to ensuring people receive the right level of compensation.

"All applications under the Need to Sell scheme are assessed by an independent panel - and we provide feedback on decisions so that, if necessary, people can reapply with more supporting information," they said.

The new co-owner of Birmingham City Football Club, meanwhile, has called on the government to keep going with the project.

In open letters to the prime minister, Tom Wagner said part of his reason for investing in the Championship club was because of "the exciting plans to improve connectivity with the rest of the UK through projects including HS2".

There was an expectation that the government would honour its commitment to deliver on publicly-stated, long-term plans, he wrote, adding: "Any deviation could result in a loss of investor trust and this would have a considerable negative impact on the UK".

"The ambitious HS2 project falls into this category," he said.

Birmingham Airport boss Nick Barton said while he understood the financial constraints the government faced, axing Phase 2 was "a mistake" which would "short change every generation to follow".

The airport would directly benefit from the southern leg by speeding up journey times between the site and London, but he said only a route up to Manchester would "achieve maximum returns for Britain's economy" while delivering on the government's Levelling Up promises.

"I believe cancelling such a high profile project at such a late stage will deter precisely the type of investors that are crucial to the future economic success of our region and country," Mr Barton added.

But Conservative MP for Stoke-on-Trent South, Jack Brereton, said it was far better to reinvest Phase 2 money - which he said was "likely double the £28bn now specified" - in other projects which would help to "truly level up the Midlands and the north".

"The argument I have been making is it is far better to invest some of the £28bn in upgrades to the existing rail network to facilitate HS2 service north of Handsacre [in Staffordshire].

"Through this you could get HS2 services to Manchester sooner, at a much lower cost and with a similar journey-time saving, as well as delivering better services to a whole range of West Coast Main Line destinations as well."

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