Labour calls on Government Ministers to finally end borough’s HS2 worries

The Labour Leader of Rotherham Council has called on the government to finally end the saga of the HS2 route through the borough by lifting the “safeguarded land” restrictions that still blight properties – nearly two years after it was announced that the route would not come here.

Homes and businesses in parts of Bramley, Wales Bar and Aston which fell along the proposed “M18 route” for the Eastern Leg of HS2 were placed under restrictions to assist with the development of the scheme. Many became eligible for payment from the government as part of national compulsory purchase process. The “safeguarded” status of the land is highlighted in property searches, meaning that anyone looking to buy property in the area can’t be sure that the government won’t ultimately seek to take it from them. Residents are therefore subject to planning blight of lower house values, as well as uncertainty about the government’s own intentions.

Despite the government’s announcement that the M18 route will not go ahead eighteen months ago, the safeguarded land restrictions have never been lifted.

It was widely expected that when the government finally announced it’s long awaited “Leeds Study” into routes north of Sheffield to Leeds that the restrictions would come to an end. But when plans for the Study were finally published over the summer, the government reiterated that none of the safeguarded land restrictions would change – leaving hundreds of Rotherham residents with a seemingly never ending headache.

Labour Leader Cllr Chris Read says;
“Residents along the ill-fated M18 route have lived with the threat of HS2 hanging over them for quite long enough. It has been nearly two years since the government said they didn’t need to worry about it any longer and it’s time ministers finally came good on their word and lifted this blight on Rotherham properties. Imagine trying to explain to potential buyers of your home that the government isn’t going to buy it – but they’ve kept the right to do so anyway. It just doesn’t make any sense.

“Even though the potential routes north from Sheffield to Leeds in this latest study cannot possibly cross the path of these homes and businesses, their owners are still being left in purgatory. It’s a nonsense. Unless the government is going to change its mind yet again, residents need to finally have the official confirmation that safeguarded land restrictions are over and they are able to move on.”