High Speed 2 Line: Compulsory Purchase

(asked on 12th June 2025) - View Source

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many houses have been compulsorily purchased along the route of HS2, and how many have been demolished.


Answered by
Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill Portrait
Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill
Minister of State (Department for Transport)
This question was answered on 20th June 2025

HS2 Ltd does not categorise properties by type - i.e. ‘houses’ - as a property can have mixed usage. For example, a farm can be (or have within it properties which are) residential, commercial, and/or agricultural, and similarly, a pub can be (and often is) both residential and commercial.

HS2 Ltd does record the number of property compensation claims made, however, the quantity of claims does not indicate how many houses (or other properties) have been acquired because property arrangements are highly varied.

HS2 Ltd does record the amount of land that has been acquired. To date, approximately 56km2 of land has been acquired for Phases One and 2a through compulsory purchase. No land or properties have been compulsory purchased along the route of Phase 2b as HS2 Ltd has never had the legal powers to do so.

In respect to demolitions, HS2 records show that 332 structures have been or were scheduled to be demolished along the route of HS2. It should be noted that this figure is not limited to properties but includes other structures such as substations and bridges.

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