Yahoo Finance ‘I had to beg for a final Christmas in my pub before it was demolished for HS2’
A landlord whose family pub was reduced to rubble for HS2 has said he would be devastated if the project was axed and the land sold to developers.
Speculation is rife that the HS2 leg between Birmingham and Manchester will be scrapped and building work on a new station at Euston has been paused since earlier this year.
The Prime Minister is expected to announce the cancellation of the northern leg at his party conference speech on Wednesday.
Craig Douglas, 63, and his family were forced to relocate from their home, the 112-year-old Bree Louise pub in Euston, London, after being issued a compulsory purchase order in 2016.
The former landlord moved to north London with his wife, Karen, 55 and children, but said they could no longer afford it and moved to Dorset three years later.
He estimates that he has spent more than £300,000 on rent since the family were evicted.
HS2 Ltd initially valued their award-winning pub at £300,000. They were promised compensation within 90 days but disputed the valuation. HS2 have since sent interim payments totalling approximately £858,000.
In September 2022, HS2 Ltd made a final offer of close to £1.15m, which the family declined.
Mr Douglas believes he is due £4m, calculated on projected earnings. He is still fighting for compensation nearly six years later.
The former landlord said during his last meeting with HS2 Ltd in June he sat looking out of the window “at the hole in the ground that was my property”.
He told The Telegraph he feels “quite bitter” about the possibility that the land could be sold to developers and turned into luxury flats if the HS2 leg into central London is scrapped.
Recalling the year they were evicted, Mr Douglas said he had to beg to be allowed to spend a final Christmas in their family pub, which was renamed after his baby daughter, who died at just 12 weeks old, and which they had run for more than 15 years.
He said: “At the time they wanted us gone in November of 2017, so they would have actually taken away what would have been our last Christmas there. So we argued that and they extended it to January 31, which is when we surrendered the keys.”
The pub was not only the family’s livelihood, but the remaining 11 years on the lease was Mr Douglas’ retirement plan.
The family gave HS2 Ltd until the end of September to make a better offer but now plan to take them to the Upper Tribunal.
“We were lucky that we had savings and pensions and things in place but mentally, the anxiety, depression and everything else that has hit us has been very hard,” Mr Douglas said.
“I’ve always maintained that there are a lot of people far worse off than we are, and some will have died, but we’ve been through the mill. It’s difficult to put into words how you feel about it all really.”
A spokesman for HS2 Ltd said Mr Douglas had been paid a “fair and equitable compensation offer” as recommended by their advisers.
“Every claimant’s situation is unique. In all cases we seek a fair deal for claimants and taxpayers,” the spokesman continued.
“Mr Douglas suggested he would refer his claim to the Upper Tribunal for determination of his claim. We are yet to receive any information from him about taking that forward.”
A Department for Transport spokesman said: “The HS2 project is already well underway with spades in the ground, and our focus remains on delivering it.”
It is thought that the cancellation could free up as much as £10bn for other infrastructure projects.
Penny Gaines, chair of campaign group Stop HS2, said on Monday that the project should be torpedoed completely, including the line to Euston.
She said: “The remaining section between the London suburbs and Birmingham clearly has no economic case and is causing huge environmental damage.
“There was never a good case for HS2 to start off with, and commuting patterns have massively changed over the last decade, especially with the pandemic.”
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Has your home been affected by HS2? Get in touch: money@telegraph.co.uk
