IT'S gone from consultation to confrontaCavenagh-Mainwaring, tion,' says Edward landowner and farmer of the Whitmore Hall estate in Staffordshire, 260 acres of which was acquired by HS2 Ltd only days before the intended route of the phase 2a section was axed. 'I feel the compulsory purchase process is blunted,' he explains, and it's bruising. It's never going to be easy, but if I'm going to fall on the sword of national interest, I expect to be paid fairly, and not have to fight for compensation. And it is a constant fight with HS2 for what has been lost.' He is not alone in his concerns, not only about why HS2 went ahead, but what happens now.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's shelving of the second leg of what was billed as Europe's largest infrastructure project, originally intended to connect Birmingham with Manchester via a high-speed railway route, is a big relief for many, but little consolation for others. The aftermath has revealed a patchwork of compound effects-from run-down buildings and redundant land to severed farms and faltering optimism for economic renaissance and the Northern Powerhouse, all at the cost of multi-millions from the public purse. "There isn't compensation for the emotional loss of land you have looked after, adds Mr CavenaghMainwaring, 'or for your future plans for it.' Some are thoroughly dismayed, including Cheshire East Council with its plans for Crewe, intended as a focal point of $750 million worth of regeneration as part of the development. 'The full consequences facing Crewe and the borough following the decision to scrap Phases 2a and 2b of HS2 are unknown and they may not be understood for several years, but the economic opportunity cost alone is unprecedented', says a council spokesperson.
Denne historien er fra December 06, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra December 06, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Tales as old as time
By appointing writers-in-residence to landscape locations, the National Trust is hoping to spark in us a new engagement with our ancient surroundings, finds Richard Smyth
Do the active farmer test
Farming is a profession, not a lifestyle choice’ and, therefore, the Budget is unfair
Night Thoughts by Howard Hodgkin
Charlotte Mullins comments on Moght Thoughts
SOS: save our wild salmon
Jane Wheatley examines the dire situation facing the king of fish
Into the deep
Beneath the crystal-clear, alien world of water lie the great piscean survivors of the Ice Age. The Lake District is a fish-spotter's paradise, reports John Lewis-Stempel
It's alive!
Living, burping and bubbling fermented masses of flour, yeast and water that spawn countless loaves—Emma Hughes charts the rise and rise) of sourdough starters
There's orange gold in them thar fields
A kitchen staple that is easily taken for granted, the carrot is actually an incredibly tricky customer to cultivate that could reduce a grown man to tears, says Sarah Todd
True blues
I HAVE been planting English bluebells. They grow in their millions in the beechwoods that surround us—but not in our own garden. They are, however, a protected species. The law is clear and uncompromising: ‘It is illegal to dig up bluebells or their bulbs from the wild, or to trade or sell wild bluebell bulbs and seeds.’ I have, therefore, had to buy them from a respectable bulb-merchant.
Oh so hip
Stay the hand that itches to deadhead spent roses and you can enjoy their glittering fruits instead, writes John Hoyland
A best kept secret
Oft-forgotten Rutland, England's smallest county, is a 'Notswold' haven deserving of more attention, finds Nicola Venning
