Farmers' leader urges: ‘Don’t leave us in limbo again over rail projects’
A West Yorkshire-based farmers’ leader has stressed the need for lessons to be learned from the chaotic HS2 project around how farming families were and continue to be treated, after the government announced plans for new railway developments over the coming years.
Ripponden dairy farmer and NFU Vice-president Rachel Hallos said farming families along the routes would have lots of questions and plenty of concerns about how the projects would be delivered.
Her concerns follow critics of HS2, the cancellation of the northern branch of which sparked a programme of northern rail connection improvements, underlining how impact on farmers had been particularly strong, with many left waiting for compensation for land acquired following compulsory purchase orders.
Farmers on the route have had their land temporarily acquired by HS2 for archaeological excavations and to relocate pipelines, and others have been left waiting compensation for lost income from unfarmed land.
In October 2023, farmers complained they had been “left in limbo” as HS2 land issues rolled on as they awaited a decision on land buy-back rules following the cancellation of Northern HS2 route. Two months later, the House of Commons' Transport Select Committee heard landowners and farmers had been left feeling suicidal owing to the lack of action by the Government following the cancellation of the HS2 trainline.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the Government was “rolling up its sleeves” to deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail.
The first phase of the programme would improve connections on existing lines in the 2030s on the following routes: between Sheffield and Leeds; between Leeds and York; and between Leeds and Bradford. It was chosen as the opening stage of the scheme as it does not require major new land acquisitions. A second phase of NPR would involve a new route between Liverpool and Manchester via Manchester airport and Warrington, using a combination of new and existing lines. The third and final phase involved better connections eastwards from Manchester to Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield and York.
Mrs Hallos said farmers on the route had already endured years of disruption because of HS2 flip-flopping, delays and insufficient communication, uprooting both their businesses and everyday lives.
She said: “Now they will be held in limbo for least another decade, possibly even two, before work on the new line even starts. These are not developments that take a few months, they are years in the making. This means another generation of families will be hit, many of whose homes, land and livelihoods already bear the scars from HS2. Lessons need to be learned from that experience - farming families need to be treated better. The NFU will seek to engage with the delivery companies and urge them to work with farming families on these projects. It’s vital farm businesses are able to be productive and profitable throughout this process and remain focused on what they do best – producing food and caring for the great British countryside.”