Homeowners ‘trying not to panic’ as HS2 tunnelling causes homes to ‘sink and crack’

The damage, residents say, has escalated dramatically since a tunnel boring machine passed roughly 18 metres underground between August 30 and September 13, carving out part of the route linking Euston to Old Oak Common.

Properties along Claremont Road and Kilburn Lane in London have been worst affected, with around a dozen local people claiming that cracks either appeared for the first time or worsened markedly after the tunnelling fortnight concluded.

Brent Council has taken emergency action at one end-of-terrace property on Claremont Road, erecting scaffolding to shore up the structure after cracking reached dangerous levels. Ground-floor tenants were relocated to alternative accommodation.

One homeowner on the same street said he noticed a crack spanning the entire height of his building at the end of September.

He told MyLondon: “As a homeowner, when you’ve invested your entire life savings into your home, it’s disheartening to see that we are left to now deal with this damage and without necessarily any clarity from HS2 on a speedy resolution.”

He had been invited by HS2 Ltd in September 2025 to sign a settlement deed enabling him to claim compensation should tunnelling harm his property. A subsequent assessment, sent to him on June 23 this year, included a photograph of his building’s exterior showing no visible damage at that time.

Another resident Sonia, 57, who has occupied her Claremont Road flat for two decades, said she has been “trying not to panic” since scaffolding appeared outside her home a fortnight ago.

Although her downstairs neighbours were rehomed, her housing association has not yet arranged a move for her.

She said: “We weren’t able to get the building’s front door open, so someone was sent out to shave it down, but now it’s crooked, and you can see where it has sunk.”

Liberal Democrat councillor Barbara Want, who represents a Brent ward, has dismissed HS2’s suggestion that weather is to blame.

She maintains that vibrations from the boring machine are clearly responsible for the subsidence and cracking near Queen’s Park station.

Ms Want told MyLondon: “I simply don’t believe that houses that have sat there for 150 years, suddenly, as a result of one very hot summer, could crack to the extent I’ve seen.

“The cracks appeared within days of the tunnelling happening; it’s so obvious this is what’s happening.”

Ms Want, working alongside local community groups, has been pressing HS2 to accept responsibility.

She described the situation as deeply distressing for those affected, saying residents “absolutely do not deserve to be living in genuine fear about what’s going to happen” and calling on the company to contact homeowners immediately and commit to repairing any damage.

A spokesman for HS2 Ltd said in a statement: “We take our responsibility to communities very seriously and try to respond quickly to concerns when raised.

“Claims from inside the area that could be affected by our work are dealt with thoroughly and where tunnelling is shown to have a had a material impact on a property we will compensate.

“Analysis of the monitoring data indicates that tunnelling-related ground settlement in this area has been small in magnitude and in line with expectations.”