Mexborough First Cllrs are absolutely speechless and appalled at the latest round of contempt and arrogance displayed by HS2 and DfT towards significantly affected local residents.

For the press/media to be notified of this ‘£30K Cash Offer’ via press release from DfT over four hours before affected residents on Shimmer estate receiving written notification is unfair and unforgivable. Do they not learn from last year when the infamous 7th July letters landed announcing the new route proposals?

In terms of the ‘£30K Cash Offer’, this is completely untrue and offers more unwelcome confusion and concern for Shimmer residents. It is nothing more than an ‘equity release’ from their home and the monies would be deductible from the sale price (if sold to the Government) at a later stage…but based on what valuation?!

The letter from HS2 yesterday states “we are offering cash payments ‎to those owner-occupiers on the Shimmer estate who can and wish to remain in their homes as an alternative to selling their property to the Government”. An alternative??! How does this ‘cash offer’ help the 70+ Shimmer residents who have issued statutory blight notices to the Government and are still waiting for a fair and timely unblighted valuation to be agreed with HS2 so they can put this whole debacle behind them and move on to a new home. It doesn’t help them at all.

We are also hearing reports of‎ much reduced valuations on blighted/safeguarded properties by local estate agents and even one property deemed t to have a ‘nil valuation’! Furthermore, some residents who have been looking for new properties on new developments have been turned away as soon as they mention HS2 or that they live on the Shimmer estate.

We are also extremely frustrated and concerned for other significantly affected Mexboro‎ugh residents who don’t live on the Shimmer estate. They feel even more neglected and in the dark and we are doing everything we can to reassure them and to ensure that HS2/DfT prioritise their individual concerns and communicate far better with them.

The whole‎ thing is a complete debacle with the usual arrogance and incompetence offered by HS2 and DfT. We will continue to fight this on behalf of ALL Mexborough residents”.

ENDS