Disused HS2 land costs taxpayers £50 million a year

P

roperties and land that were bought by the government around the subsequently axed northern leg of the HS2 high-speed train line are costing taxpayers about £50 million per year to maintain, official figures show.

Rishi Sunak confirmed he was scrapping the section of the route between Birmingham and Manchester at the Conservative Party conference in October, citing years of spiralling costs that could better be used for projects elsewhere. The link was originally meant to cut journey times and create jobs outside London.

As part of years of preparation for the high-speed line, which will still run from London to Birmingham, the government spent £600 million buying land from farmers, businesses and homeowners on the since abandoned northern stretch, according to HS2’s figures.

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