Ongoing uncertainty about the future of high-speed rail services means many residents living along the originally planned HS2 route are still living in limbo, it has been claimed.
While the Conservative government cancelled the northern leg of the HS2 rail project in October 2023, alternative plans are still being considered.
People in Cheshire said they were unable to sell their homes because potential buyers were unwilling to commit.
Dairy farmer John Edge, from Middlewich, said his retirement with his wife was being spoiled as a result.
Mr Edge said he had not had any offers for either his farmhouse or an adjacent building, despite the latter having planning permission to be converted into residential properties.
“We’ve had them up for sale since early summer and yes we have had plenty of viewings, but everyone has quoted HS2 and the safeguarding (which means land potentially needed for railways is not built upon without consultation) as a potential problem.
“So we are in limbo like we have been for the last 10 or 12 years.”
The safeguarding policy has left other homes empty with security cameras and large padlocks on their gates.
Campaigners Graham Delow and Sarah Flannery, from Mid Cheshire Against HS2, said one house, left empty for 15 months, was among several properties “going to rack and ruin”.
Ms Flannery added: “Unfortunately that’s a real drain on any community. There are some, like Lostock Green, where about 20 houses are still empty.
“That’s a big proportion out of a small village.”
Mid Cheshire Against HS2 did not disband despite the HS2 cancellation in October 2023.
Residents who celebrated then prime minister Rishi Sunak’s announcement of an end to “this long running saga” found their joy to be short lived.
Furious metro mayors for Greater Manchester and West Midlands announced plans to look at a cheaper version – dubbed HS2 Lite – using the same route.
They argued a new railway line was essential for “levelling up” the economy.
Mr Delow and Ms Flannery said this had come as a “bolt from the blue”.
“We all agreed we will not risk disbanding until ‘safeguarding’ is lifted, said Ms Flannery. “We must have had a sixth sense about it.”
In areas where land and properties are safeguarded by the government, there is a scheme known as Statutory Blight.
Under this, landowners can ask the transport secretary to purchase properties needed for the construction of new railway lines.
Mr Edge said he was grateful for this policy, saying it “gives everyone the chance to get on with their lives.”
He said this was “probably what we shall have to do”.
As things stand, land previously safeguarded for HS2 still has not been released.
