Government could lose £100m in HS2 land sale

A “fire sale” of land bought for HS2 north of Birmingham is set to cost the taxpayer more than £100m. HS2 Ltd, the government-owned company set up to build the high-speed rail link, had bought 2,900 acres of land between Birmingham and Crewe at a cost of £205m. Most is agricultural and was bought at a premium under compulsory purchase orders. It would be sold at market rate or even discounted, netting around £26m. In addition, HS2 has also bought 184 buildings between Birmingham and Crewe. Analysis by the High-Speed Rail Group trade body found that, optimistically, this would realise only a further £75m. The Times (£)