Farmers concerned stress of HS2 could have been 'for nothing'

Talks of scrapping the Birmingham to Manchester section of HS2 mean affected farmers' anxiety over the past decade could have been ‘for nothing'.

According to reports from ITV News, the Manchester leg of HS2 has been shelved meaning the project will no longer go beyond Birmingham.

An extension of the HS2 line between Birmingham and Leeds was removed altogether in 2021.

HS2 scrapped

Michael Swerling, a beef and sheep farmer from Chalfont St Giles in the Chalfonts, said the development of the route between London and Birmingham through his family farm has not only placed a toll on their business, but had led to the destruction of relationships and the landscape.

Having also held a protest blocking workers' access to the farm in 2020 over compensation claims, Mr Swerling said the local countryside had been ‘picturesque' with flourishing wildlife and natural habitats, but was now a construction site.

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"It has been very painful to see the destruction of our countryside for the sake of cutting journey times to London by a relatively small fraction," he said.

He added relationships with friends and family had also been affected with late compensation leaving ‘a sour taste'.

Family farm

"A farm which has been in our family for more than 70 years does not even feel like our own anymore and my dad Simon has been the one hurt by this most, because he has lived here all of his life and experienced the stress of planning and seeing his home destroyed," he said.

"If HS2 were to be scrapped, the nightmare we have had to face every single day since work began more than 10 years ago would have been for nothing.

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"We will be left to pick up the pieces."

Home Office Minister Chris Philp said costs for HS2 had ‘tripled' since the idea was first conceived under David Cameron's Government.

Mr Philp added ‘no decisions' had yet been made about the remaining stages of HS2.

HS2 has been approached for further comment.