Land lost will stay lost
THE CLA has called for a change in the rules surrounding compulsory purchase orders (CPOs), after it was revealed that land bought up for the cancelled northern leg of HS2 will be sold on the open market.
The CLA has highlighted the difference between CPOs undertaken by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and those made by HS2. If your home or land is purchased by the MoD, rules dictate it must be offered to you at the current market price, before being put on the open market, but land and properties bought by HS2 are not subject to the same rules.
‘Many farmers and landowners on the HS2 route have experienced poor treatment at the hands of HS2, including delayed payments and poor contractor practices,’ says CLA president Mark Tufnell. ‘Our members may not greet the news that another part of the project has now been cancelled with the relief that might be expected. There is currently no right for the original landowner to get their land back. HS2 may sell the land on the open market and it could be bought by anyone. Given the increased use of CPOs for infrastructure, the CLA is calling on Government to extend this “right of first refusal” to all land that has been subject to compulsory purchase by HS2.’
The total cost of land and property purchased by the Government for the Birmingham to Manchester leg of HS2 exceeds
