By Ahmed Abdelsalam
A UK tribunal has awarded £10.6m in compensation to a landowner after a relief road built for the HS2 high-speed rail project bisected a meadow earmarked for a retirement village in Buckinghamshire.
Tribunal awards £10.6m compensation
The Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) ruled that the Department for Transport (DfT) must pay Landlink (Stoke Mandeville) Ltd for the 2.7-acre strip taken in 2021 and the resulting loss of value on the remaining 5.3 acres. The landowner had planned a 162-unit retirement complex with leisure facilities.
Development prospects 'fatally undermined'
The tribunal found the road construction "fatally undermined" the development prospects, reducing the land's value from £10.15m to £190,000. Experts testified the remaining parcel was too small for a viable retirement village, with schemes under 100 units deemed non-viable.
HS2 costs continue to rise
The award adds to escalating HS2 costs, which Transport Minister Heidi Alexander recently said could reach £103bn, nearly triple the 2013 estimate. The National Audit Office reported £3.1bn spent on land and property by 2024, plus £592m on cancelled northern legs.
Critics call for project cancellation
The Taxpayers' Alliance called the payout "another eye-watering bill" and urged scrapping the project. The DfT said the case relates to acquisitions under the previous government and pledged to reset HS2 to deliver rail capacity and economic growth.
