A “jewel” village has been ripped apart by scrapped plans for an HS2 line, locals claim, as it emerged that taxpayers were footing a seven-figure annual bill to guard properties left empty by the overall project.
Some 35 of the 50 homes in Whitmore Heath were bought on behalf of the government from residents wanting to sell amid plans for a huge tunnel beneath the hillside hamlet for the high-speed rail link from London to Manchester.
But as the properties – many of them lavish mansions with large gardens – were sold off, delays and spiralling costs placed the section of line through Staffordshire in doubt, until, in October 2023, it was axed.
“It destroyed the community,” said Graham Hutton, who lives two miles away and fought against the line, which would have gone from Handsacre in Staffordshire to Manchester, being built.
“The village was an affluent place where people who made their money went to live. But the plans for HS2 made them want to leave, and then their homes were rented out or left empty.”
Residents say one home was turned into a cannabis factory, while others judged to be unsuitable to rent remain gated up with 24/7 security teams hired to guard them.
The story in Whitmore Heath is a snapshot of the situation along the initial route, which, as well as reaching Manchester on a western leg, was also planned to connect London and Birmingham with Leeds.
Only the line from London to Handsacre in Staffordshire, including Birmingham, will now be built.
In total, HS2 spent £3.7bn on buying up 1,727 properties on behalf of the Department for Transport (DfT), including £633m on 1,021 properties along the axed routes.
They were bought under a range of schemes, including a voluntary purchase and a “need to sell”, where the seller had to provide a compelling reason to move after being unable to sell on the open market. Some were purchased under compulsory purchase orders (CPO).
But around a quarter of the purchased properties – around 430 – are empty, with security teams required to protect some of them.
Data obtained by The Independent revealed £1.9m was spent on guarding the properties in 2023-2024, the equivalent of £37,000 a week.
In Staffordshire, £481,000 was spent.
“What a waste, an absolute waste of money,” said county councillor Paul Northcott. “We need a resolution now so we can sell those properties to people they bought from, or back on the market – let’s get the community back together again.”
“Whitmore Heath was the jewel of the area, but the community has been fragmented, it’s been ripped apart by people coming in and going, people renting short-term.
“Villagers are downbeat, they feel like they are in limbo.”
Parish councillor Ian Webb said the situation was “far from ideal”. He added: “I know several homes that have been left empty for a very long time.”
Uncertainty is not helped by the maintenance of safeguards to stop the land from being developed in a way that would conflict with future schemes, with a cheaper high-speed alternative proposed last year.
Among those waiting is Edward Cavenagh-Mainwaring, who lost around 250 acres of his family farm in Staffordshire through a CPO for HS2.
But like others in the area, he now fears the amount offered was below the market rate, and if the opportunity comes, he will not be able to afford to buy back the land.
“A lot of people have been left mentally hurt,” he previously told The Independent.
Last month, the restriction on selling land was lifted for the eastern leg between Birmingham and Leeds, which was cancelled in November 2021.
The DfT said an update on safeguarding of the western leg line area will be given in due course alongside proposals for rail routes in the North of England.
A spokesperson for HS2 Ltd said: “HS2 Ltd has a responsibility for the safety and security of all land and property acquired to build the railway.
“More than 1,700 properties are currently managed by the company across the route – including those on the former Phase 2 leg – and it is in the best interests of local communities, project delivery and the taxpayer that they are kept safe and well maintained.”
Last month, transport secretary Heidi Alexander said her department was working with HS2 Ltd to “reset” the project after “years of mismanagement, flawed reporting and ineffective oversight”.
She said there was “no route” to meet the target date of having HS2 services running by 2033.
