A new online video by the NFU highlights how the high speed train line will rip straight through Buckinghamshire-based Winwood Almshouse Trust’s land, which supports residents in eight homes, cutting off its source of income.
The charity and tenant farmer Andrew Lloyd, who rents the land to run a beef enterprise, say they want to be treated fairly by HS2 bosses to secure their future and so the charity can continue to help the community. This means swift work by HS2 and fair compensation so the charity can continue to function during construction.
Mr Lloyd said: “My main concern at the moment is the construction phase; they are actually taking off 130 acres here – they are taking a good three quarters of it (the farm), which will, to all intents and purposes, be practically unfarmable.”
Mr Lloyd adds in the video that he fears HS2 could impact on the farm for up to 15 to 20 years.
This is the third video in the NFU’s three-part HS2 Impacts series, which is part of the organisation’s efforts to ensure farmers’ needs, outlined at the end of each video, are met at every stage of the HS2 development.
The release of the video coincides with the last day of petitions to government on the scheme (today). The NFU petition has now been deposited on behalf of its farmer members who will be impacted by HS2, highlighting key overarching issues that affect rural businesses.
Our concerns
- The NFU believes that the compulsory purchase code is too complex and has limited ability in practice to put the claimants back into the position they would have been in if it were not for the scheme. Any farmer or land owner affected must be compensated promptly and fairly for any land they will lose to the HS2 Hybrid Bill;
- Temporary possession of land is a concern for the NFU, as it is to be acquired permanently for a temporary purpose. Land that is needed only temporarily during the construction phase should only be taken on a construction lease by HS2;
- There are concerns of compulsory acquisition of land for regeneration and relocation by the Secretary of State. The NFU will be objecting to this clause as it is important that individuals can benefit from any opportunity for regeneration or development that may arise from the scheme;
- The NFU is concerned with the amount of productive land that is to be taken out of primary agricultural production. Landowners and farmers may understand the loss of land for the construction of the line itself but not for environmental mitigation which is sited away from the proposed line. The NFU believes that environmental mitigation should be ‘like for like’ and the Hybrid Bill should not be a mechanism to create bigger and better mitigation measures. The NFU also believes that there should be direct negotiations with land owners regarding the location of such mitigation;
- Furthermore, where land severance is prolific, HS2 Ltd must ensure that landowners and farmers have good access to all their land through accommodation works including bridges and underpasses across the proposed line. To remain viable, farm businesses will need access to all severed land. These areas should not automatically be planted with trees;
- The construction of the line will cause the demolition of many farmhouses and agricultural buildings. Farmers need certainty in the ability that planning consent for replacement buildings will be granted;
- Tax issues that will arise due to the compulsory purchase of land for HS2 should be exempt. HS2 and the Treasury must acknowledge the exceptional circumstances in which members affected by HS2 will be affected;
- We object to the clause which would allow anyone connected to HS2 to have rights to enter land 500m from the line for surveying which includes the proposed line for Phase 2.