HS2 is spending at least £40m filling in holes and closing down sites on the former route to Manchester – despite Andy Burnham’s pledge to bring it back, The i Paper can reveal.
Around £1bn had already been spent buying properties and land and carrying out preliminary work on Phase 2 of the project north of Birmingham when it was cancelled by former Tory Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in October 2023.
The Government initially said it would lift the safeguarding of land and start selling homes back, but this was paused due to pressure from political leaders including Burnham who hoped to see the project resurrected.
But The i Paper can reveal remediation work has now quietly resumed which will undo much of the work that was carried out between 2021 and 2023.
This includes capping around 500 boreholes drilled into the ground between Birmingham and Manchester, as well as returning land and paying out compensation to landowners and property owners.
The Department for Transport said the work is expected to cost around £40m.
However, the return of HS2 contractors to several sites north of Birmingham has left local residents “confused” and suspicious that contractors are carrying out work that will only have to be repeated if a rail line is revived.
Labour’s rail strategy ‘forced Whitehall to act’
A Whitehall source told The i Paper the Government felt it had to give the green light to a ‘targeted decommissioning programme’ of work following the unveiling of Labour’s rail strategy in January, which suggested a new line between Birmingham and Manchester would not be revived until the 2040s at the earliest.
The report made clear Labour wants to prioritise getting a grip of Phase 1 of HS2 between London and Birmingham, and other projects to improve services east-to-west under the banner of Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR).
Work has resumed at an HS2 site in Chorlton, near Crewe (Photo: Steve Robson/The i Paper)On that basis the Government could no longer keep hold of land it had obtained temporarily, the source said, especially as HS2 has faced criticism for its poor communication and lack of progress on compensation claims on the former Phase 2 route.
Land obtained temporarily for construction and engineering sites on the line will now be returned to landowners. However, it is understood there are no plans to sell hundreds of properties HS2 still owns on the route while Labour considers if it will revive the line north of Birmingham.
Burnham – both as Mayor of Greater Manchester and Prime Minister – has argued that a new rail line is needed urgently because the West Coast Main Line is reaching capacity and that it could be partly funded by local contributions.
The i Paper revealed a feasibility study to examine how a new rail line could be funded has already been approved by Number 10.
HS2 was cancelled north of Birmingham in 2023‘It’s a complete and utter waste of time’
In Chorlton, on the outskirts of Crewe, workers for construction firm Balfour Beatty have recently returned to a site and set up a major compound nearly three years after they downed tools.
A local resident, who asked not to be named, said HS2 got in touch in June to say they would be back but did not explain what workers would be doing at the site.
From observing the workers, he understands they are filling in bore holes – deep shafts that were drilled into the ground for geological investigation ahead of the railway line being constructed. The work would likely have to be repeated if a new line was given the go-ahead.
“It’s a complete and utter waste of time,” the resident said.
“It would take me less than a minute to take a bore hole out – they are doing about four a day.
“It’s a waste of money. No wonder HS2 is running over budget.”
A sign dated 1 September 2026 says HS2 is set to carry out surveys and land investigationsA short distance away in Madeley, Staffordshire, HS2 has recently erected a sign which says it will require access to a field to “carry out surveys or investigations” from 1 October 2026 until 30 September 2027.
Deborah Mallender founded the group ‘Madeley and Whitmore Villages Stop HS2’ to oppose the railway and had hoped Sunak’s decision in 2023 was an end to the matter.
But she now fears she will have to revive the campaign.
“None of it makes any sense to me whatsoever,” she said.
“Why do they need to do any investigations? They have already been done extensively between 2021 and 2023. It needs clarifying.”
Campaigner Deborah Mallender said HS2 is repeating work already carried out several years ago (Photo: iNews)Local councillor Jamie Stephenson described the latest HS2 work as “short term instead of long-term thinking.”
He also said people do not have confidence that the Government and HS2 knows what it is doing when it comes to handling former Phase 2 sites and a potential railway line which may yet be revived.
“Uncertainty is the worst thing that can happen,” he added.
“I don’t think it’s unreasonable to say trust in the Government is very low. We would be against any restoration of the railway line because it would trash the area.”
A spokesperson for HS2 Ltd said: “Our focus is on building the railway between London and the West Midlands at the lowest reasonable cost so it can be opened as soon as possible.
“We remain responsible for land previously bought for Phase 2a on behalf of the government and have an ongoing programme of site maintenance. Targeted remediation and decommissioning works are ongoing, including decommissioning of boreholes.”
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “We have set out our ambition for a new Birmingham to Manchester railway line to boost growth and connectivity in the North, and a feasibility study for this is now underway.
“We continue to retain permanent land along the former HS2 Phase 2a route in case it’s needed to progress a new scheme. In the meantime, HS2 Ltd will return temporarily possessed land to the community.”
Hence then, the article about new hs2 farce as millions spent filling in holes but they ll have to be dug again was published today ( ) and is available on inews ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( New HS2 farce as millions spent filling in holes… but they’ll have to be dug again )
Also on site :
- Fall Enthusiasts Are Racing to Buy The Pioneer Woman’s New Pumpkin Kettle That Doubles as Rustic Decor
- Jimmy Kimmel’s James Talarico Interview Posted To YouTube As Host Calls Out Trump And FCC: “They Want To Make Our Editorial Decisions For Us”
- Iran-US war latest: Trump says he has no regrets about starting war after Houthis capture key Red Sea port