HS2 compensation blow for couple
A couple left heartbroken after learning their Staffordshire home will be knocked down for the HS2 rail line were today digesting the devastating news they may not receive a penny in compensation.
Dr Christopher and Sylvia Arnold believe their picturesque, canalside property falls just outside the boundary set by the Government for payouts. They will still be forced to sell Grade-II listed Woodend Lock Cottage, at Curborough, near Lichfield, but will only receive its market value.
Homeowners living within 60 metres of the track will be paid the value of their property plus 10 per cent in a deal described as "generous" by Government ministers.
Dr and Mrs Arnold's home, which they have owned for 26 years, is just beyond that distance but within 120 metres, triggering demolition to make way for the £32billion link. They received notification of the terms of the compensation package through the post and have been analysing its implications for a week.
Retired mother-of-three Mrs Arnold said today: "We are finding it heartbreaking – for us and hundreds like us these documents give a clearer indication of where the line will run and if they go ahead this cottage will be uninhabitable.
"The vibrations and the noise would just be intolerable. It seems if you live within 60 metres you will get compensation but beyond that, even within 120 metres as we are, you will not.
"I think a lot of people like us will find they have to sell their house but will not get anything in the way of compensation for moving away."
The line will cut through Whittington while there could also be a major junction between Lichfield and Fradley.
A London-to-Birmingham link will be followed by a second phase of the Y-shaped route reaching Manchester and Leeds by about 2033. Journey times between the capital and Second City will be slashed to around 45 minutes.
