‘I was forced to sell land for axed HS2 leg. Now I fear I’ll never buy it back

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Five days after farmer Edward Cavenagh-Mainwaring was forced to sell 250 acres, the northern leg of the HS2 line was axed - now he fears he’ll never be able to get the land back

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A father left feeling “bereaved” by the forced sale of a quarter of his dairy farm for the axed HS2 northern line fears he’ll never be able to afford to buy back the land.

Edward Cavenagh-Mainwaring lost around 250 acres of land his family had farmed for more than 900 years in Staffordshire when the Department for Transport (DFT) bought it through a compulsory purchase order (CPO) for the high-speed rail line in October 2023.