Latest news with #DfT
The Independent
9 hours ago
- Business
- The Independent
‘I sold my beautiful £4m home for HS2 eight years ago - and it's sat empty ever since'
A woman who sold her £4m home to the government eight years ago because of HS2 says the 10-bedroom property lies empty, despite a national housing crisis. Rachel Halvorsen cut the multi-million pound deal with the Department for Transport to sell the home, in Brackley in Northamptonshire, that her family converted from a barn in 1915. The agreement was struck for the farmhouse, along with a bungalow and cottage, because the HS2 line from London to Birmingham will cut through 25 per cent of the estate's 40 acres. Yet despite the residential properties located 300 metres from the line, and the sale completed eight years ago, only the cottage has been rented back out by HS2. The farmhouse and cottage lie empty, said Mrs Halvorsen, the swimming pool has been filled in, and a ceiling in the main house is believed to have fallen through. The empty house and bungalow, which Ms Halvorsen used to rent out for £1,000 a month, are among 402 homes which sit unoccupied along the HS2 routes, including the northern axed phase 2a and 2b lines to Manchester and Leeds. The DfT bought 1,475 homes, then passed them on to HS2 which aimed to rent them out to deliver value for money, and avoid empty properties in communities - but 27 per cent lie empty, The Independent can reveal. It comes as Labour desperately attempts to tackle a housing crisis, with deputy prime minister Angela Rayner doubling down on a pledge to build 1.5m new homes this week. HS2 has told The Independent some properties were not rented due to the cost of bringing them up to a 'lettable standard', while some may need to be demolished in the near future. But Mrs Halvorsen said she couldn't understand why her home, which fitted with a new fireplace when she left, could not have been put up for lease, along with the bungalow she had rented out. She said: 'It's such a waste of money - the house is so nice, the gardens are beautiful, but after being bought eight years ago, I can't believe the place has just sat there doing nothing while falling into disrepair. 'It's money that could have been going to the taxpayer. The house is now doomed for the 20 years or so it'll take to build the railway.' Mrs Halvorson's mother converted the barn into the family home, which she later inherited. Once a year, the gardens would be opened to the public. But now she can't stand going back to the property, after moving a half-hour's drive away. The cost of looking after the empty property will also have been expensive, she said, with 24/7 security required at one stage after travellers attempted to access the land. She said: 'Now it's all closed up, I don't like going back there, especially with all the construction work nearby. It's all rather sad, especially when people need homes.' It's a similar picture for other large properties bought by DfT. In Camden, which sits near London Euston, where a tunnel 4.5 miles long is planned to take HS2 passengers to Old Oak Common station, homes were purchased, including a mansion house for £7.4m five years ago, which the Camden New Journal reported last year still lay empty. On the northern legs of the HS2 project, despite the announcement to cancel the routes two years ago, HS2-owned properties not only sit empty, but there is no immediate sign when they could be sold back into communities. Last year, a transport minister said the government had to first rule out an alternative rail plan for the northern legs before the disposal of land and properties begins. The Independent understands an announcement will be made by the DfT in the summer. In the villages of Whitmore, Whitmore Heath and Madeley, about 50 houses were sold to HS2 to make way for he axed northern leg. But at least 20 are empty, claims Deborah Mallender, who lives in Madeley. The resident blamed HS2 for renting out only on short-term contracts, and the 'over-the-top' standards for properties put on the market. 'You walk around the village and you see the empty homes with ridge tiles that are coming off,' she said. 'They are being left to fall into rack and ruin, and one day HS2 will say they'll need to be pulled down and replaced. 'It's devastating for the community. Why aren't these properties being sold?' Whitmore parish councillor Ian Webb said security had to be stepped up in villages after one house was turned into a cannabis factory. He said: 'When the houses were sold they all appeared well-equipped for new people to come in, but instead many have been left empty. The whole situation is not popular with people in the village, it's taken away part of the community.' Carter Jonas was appointed to manage the homes on behalf of HS2. In Whitmore Heath, it is currently marketing huge detached homes for up to £3,000 a month on six and 12-month contracts. HS2 said it would sell surplus properties in line with government policy. A spokesperson said: 'Properties will only be sold once confirmed as surplus, and sales will follow a structured process, including compliance with the Crichel Down Rules [allowing previous owners to buy back the homes] and market valuation requirements.' A DfT spokesperson said: 'We will set out detailed plans for the land and property no longer required for the project later this summer – ensuring any sales deliver value for money and do not disrupt local property markets.'
The Herald Scotland
a day ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Rail minister blasts ‘arrogant' HS2 over crisis-hit flagship project
With new leadership in place, he pointedly remarked there would now be bosses 'who are communicative, collaborative, straight and honest'. Lord Hendy also noted his own Department for Transport (DfT), which owns HS2 Ltd, bore 'some culpability' and noted the most senior civil servant at the ministry had retired. His scathing remarks came after Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said an interim report by Mark Wild, the chief executive of HS2 Ltd, who was appointed late last year, 'lays bare the shocking mismanagement of the project under previous governments'. The Cabinet minister said she was 'drawing a line in the sand, calling time on years of mismanagement, flawed reporting and ineffective oversight'. HS2 was originally due to run between London and Birmingham, then on to Manchester and Leeds, but the project was cutback by the Conservatives in power because of spiralling costs. The first phase was initially planned to open by the end of 2026, but this was pushed back to between 2029 and 2033 and will now be delayed even further. In 2013, HS2 was estimated to cost £37.5 billion (at 2009 prices) for the entire planned network, including the now-scrapped extensions from Birmingham. In June last year, HS2 Ltd assessed the cost for the line between London and Birmingham would be up to £66 billion. Ms Alexander said the Government has accepted all the recommendations of a review into the governance and accountability of HS2 Ltd, led by senior infrastructure delivery adviser, James Stewart. She also confirmed the appointment of Mike Brown as chairman of HS2 Ltd. Mr Brown is a former commissioner for Transport for London, who helped to oversee the delivery of Crossrail, the transport project which became London's Elizabeth line. HS2 chief executive Mark Wild, left, and rail minister Lord Hendy (PA/Jonathan Brady) Speaking in Parliament on the 'reset' of the high-speed rail development, Lord Hendy said: 'HS2 has gone badly wrong, and it falls to this Government to sort it out, because we cannot carry on like this. 'Currently, we can predict neither when it will open nor how much it will cost. That is a pretty terrible position to be in and it has to be said the consequences are as a result of actions taken by previous governments.' Responding to a question from his Tory counterpart Lord Moylan on criticism of the DfT in Mr Stewart's review, the minister said: 'My own department clearly shoulders some culpability. 'He asked what has happened in the department and, although I do not think it is not right to delve into senior personnel, he will, of course, note that a new permanent secretary is about to be appointed, the previous incumbent having retired.' Lord Hendy went on: 'One of the really important things in this is that, I think for the first time for a long time, we will have a chair and a chief executive of HS2 who are communicative, collaborative, straight and honest, and we can have a discussion with them about where this is going and what it is doing. 'One of the characteristics of this company so far, and of the Crossrail company for most of its life, is that they were both arrogant enough to believe that they knew what they were doing without any supervision and without telling anybody what was really going on. 'In both cases, it went badly wrong. 'Mark (Wild) knows that he has to change the culture of the company. There clearly are some good people there, but they need to be led and directed properly.'
Top Gear
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Top Gear
The government has promised 100,000 new EV chargers for England
Electric And they'll be aimed at people without any off-street parking Skip 1 photos in the image carousel and continue reading The Future of Roads minister Lilian Greenwood has keys to the nation's piggy bank, and claims the government has lined up £4 billion of investment 'to support the switch to electric cars'. Translation: more EV charge points are coming. How many more? Apparently the aim is to make more than 100,000 re-juicing devices available on England's streets, to help those living in properties without driveways on which to charge overnight. Advertisement - Page continues below You might like Why? Well the Department for Transport (DfT) says the government's chunk is coming from the already-existing Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) pot, sitting at a committed... £381 million. So how is the DfT promising more than three times the amount of chargers with only £81m more in cash than Believ? Not a BOGOF discount, no. The DfT tells us the kitty will be used to leverage 'significant private investment', expected to total £6 billion with 'tens of thousands' of points in place by 2030. Advertisement - Page continues below In plain English: taxpayers aren't footing all of the bill for these chargers, only some of it. Oh and for those wondering, the focus on England is because Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own separate funding pots for road transport. Greenwood said: 'A charge point [gets installed] every 29 minutes and our support to roll out over 100,000 local chargepoints in England shows we're committed to making even more progress.' Elsewhere, Ed Miliband and his team over at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero have obtained a set of the piggybank keys, confirming £500 million for hydrogen energy infrastructure – welcome news for BMW, Hyundai, Toyota and anyone else still trying to make hydrogen-fuelled passenger cars a reality. Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Look out for your regular round-up of news, reviews and offers in your inbox. Get all the latest news, reviews and exclusives, direct to your inbox.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Uber to launch self-driving taxis in London next year
Self-driving cars are about to face one of their biggest hurdles yet: A medieval network of winding roads, more complex than the grid layouts of Californian cities, already mastered by this technology. Uber has announced it will launch self-driving taxis in London from spring 2026. The ride-hailing app company will operate services in partnership with artificial intelligence (AI) start-up Wayve. This has been enabled by the UK government's decision to bring forward trials of self-driving commercial taxis and 'bus-like services' in England to next spring. They were previously expected to begin when the Automated Vehicles Act becomes law from the second half of 2027. Uber's services will initially have a human in the driver's seat who can take over control of the vehicle in an emergency, but the trials will transition to being fully driverless. The company's existing trials of self-driving taxis are generally in US locations which have much simpler road layouts than London. Uber chief operating officer Andrew Macdonald described the English capital's roads as 'one of the world's busiest and most complex urban environments'. He added: 'Our vision is to make autonomy a safe and reliable option for riders everywhere, and this trial in London brings that future closer to reality.' Wayve co-founder Alex Kendall said the trial is 'a defining moment for UK autonomy' and 'brings us closer to bringing safe and intelligent driving to everyday rides across the UK and beyond'. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: 'The future of transport is arriving. 'Self-driving cars could bring jobs, investment, and the opportunity for the UK to be among the world-leaders in new technology. 'With road safety at the heart of our pilots and legislation, we continue to take bold steps to create jobs, back British industry and drive innovation.' The sale and use of self-driving private cars will only be permitted when the Automated Vehicles Act becomes law. This legislation will require self-driving vehicles to achieve a level of safety at least as high as 'competent and careful human drivers', the DfT said. It is hoped the vehicles will reduce road deaths and injuries as their systems will be designed to have faster reaction times than humans, and will not become distracted or tired. The development of automated vehicle technology could create 38,000 jobs in the UK and add £42 billion to the economy by 2035, according to the DfT. The UK's first autonomous bus service was cancelled in February because of a lack of passengers. Stagecoach began operating self-driving buses on a 14-mile route between Fife and Edinburgh via the Forth Road Bridge in May 2023. The vehicles still required two members of staff on board, consisting of a safety driver who could take control of the vehicle and a 'captain' to sell tickets and provide customer service.
North Wales Chronicle
10-06-2025
- Automotive
- North Wales Chronicle
Trials of self-driving taxis to launch in England next year
The Department for Transport (DfT), which made the announcement, said this was a year earlier than previously planned. It will be the first time companies in the UK will be allowed to trial autonomous commercial services without a human sitting in the driver's seat to monitor journeys. A wider rollout of the technology is expected when the full Automated Vehicles Act becomes law from the second half of 2027. That will also permit the sale and use of self-driving, private cars. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: 'The future of transport is arriving. 'Self-driving cars could bring jobs, investment, and the opportunity for the UK to be among the world-leaders in new technology. 'With road safety at the heart of our pilots and legislation, we continue to take bold steps to create jobs, back British industry and drive innovation.' Development of automated vehicle technology could create 38,000 jobs in the UK and add £42 billion to the economy by 2035, according to the DfT.
