HS2 FLATTENS NEW HOUSES
Fury as residents told their dreams will be bulldozed
RESIDENTS at a newly built estate have been left feeling “angry and distressed” after finding out their homes will be demolished for the final phase of HS2.
Sixteen two and three-bedroom houses at the Shimmer estate, in Mexborough, South Yorks, will be bulldozed to make way for the line.
Some owners found out about the HS2 plans just weeks after moving into the new development.
Nigel and Amanda Hogue, who bought their home in 2015, were yesterday handed a letter which said it would be “safe-guarded”. However warehouse worker, Nigel, 48, said: “All that means is you can sell it to the Government, but the Government are not giving you a decent price for it. We paid £162,950 for ours and to get the equivalent home is £240,000. In the letter, they said a ‘comparable’ home. I don’t know what that means. It’s all been very stressful. We’ve had our home taken away from us.” Amanda, 47, a cafe worker, said: “It makes me feel distressed. If this carries on, it might make me feel ill, but at the moment, I feel strong and angry. It’s ridiculous and an insult. I love my home and I don’t want to leave it. It’s convenient walking down the canal to the shops.
“I feel like we’ve been treated like dirt and they don’t give a damn about the little people.”
Announcing routes for the Leeds and Manchester arms yesterday, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said HS2 would “bring huge economic benefits” with 16,000 jobs in the first wave of £6.6billion contracts. The £56billion line will connect London and the North.
But Labour’s Rotherham MP Sarah Champion reacted angrily, saying South Yorks “wouldn’t get a proper stop”. She posted on Twitter: “Furious!! Just got email from Grayling confirming HS2 will follow the M18 route which means S Yorkshire won’t get a proper stop.”