High Speed Rail 2 buys £600m worth of properties , FoI reveals

The developers behind High Speed Rail 2 (HS2) have bought more than 900 properties at a total cost of almost £600m, according to the latest figures. 

The details were released by HS2 after campaign group Stop HS2 filed a freedom of information request, which revealed that 902 residential properties, farms or other pieces of land had been acquired by the company for a nearly £600m between 2011 and 2018. 

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The £56bn high-speed rail will reduce journey times between London and the midlands and north of England, travelling through Birmingham on its way to Leeds and Manchester among other stops. 

It is expected to boost the UK's economy with the first passenger services expected to be delivered by 2026, although its entire completion could take until 2034. 

However, there have been a number of concerns regarding the develops treatment of homeowners, with campaigners alleging that homes have been routinely undervalued. 

Comedian John Bishop had previously been a staunch critic of the project but earlier this month sold his mansion for £6.8m. 

The Sun reported he had made a £4.5m profit on the deal, but his publicist claimed he had "no choice" but to sell. 

Others have claimed that although they are entitled to compensation of the market value of the house, they had been given less than it was worth or less than similar houses had been given. 

A local surveyor who has worked with HS2, Richard Farr, told the BBC that any valuation considers "the amount of money spent on the home" and was "not just a value of the bricks and mortar".

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A spokeswoman for HS2 said: "We are committed to supporting homeowners on the Shimmer Estate, and have reached agreement on values for over 75% of cases where the homeowner has applied to sell their property through our property support schemes.

"Every home is unique and there will often be different opinions about the value of a property. We have a responsibility to establish a price that is fair both for homeowners and the taxpayer."