HS2 money could have purchased 280,000 new homes

Research suggests that the money “wasted” on HS2 could have covered the purchase of over 280,000 new homes across the locations due to benefit from the project.

The research, from Stripe Property Group, looked at how the £92bn wasted on HS2 could have helped boost the housing market, and said each location could have received £2.8 billion each.

Managing director of Stripe Property Group, James Forrester, commented: “While the aim of HS2 was to boost a lot more than the local housing market in areas due to benefit, the unfortunate reality is that £92 billion pounds has been spent with no benefit coming at all.

“To put that sum into perspective, no less than 280,000 brand new homes could have been purchased across key HS2 locations with the money wasted.

“This will be a hard reality for many to swallow who remain priced out of the current market due to the Government’s continued failures to deliver enough homes to market.”

It showed that Durham could have the biggest beneficiary, where the average new-build house price means 13,200 homes could have been purchased with their share of the £92 billion cash pot.

In Motherwell, as many as 12,212 new homes could have been purchased, while a fair split of the £92bn would also have paid for over 10,000 new homes across with Stoke (11,305), Lockerbie (11,047), Sheffield (10,720), Darlington (10,670), Carlisle (10,514), Glasgow (10,277), Nottingham (10,227) and Liverpool (10,181).

Even in London, the data suggests, 3,000 new homes around London Euston and almost 3,500 around Old Oak Common.