Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether properties acquired as part of the cancelled Northern Phase of HS2 will be offered back to their original owners at the cost of acquisition, or placed for sale on the open market; and in the case of the former, whether the costs of such transactions for both parties will be borne by the HS2 budget.

We are currently developing the programme for selling land and property acquired for the HS2 project that is no longer needed and will set out more details in due course. We will take time to develop this programme carefully to ensure that it delivers value for money to the taxpayer and does not disrupt local property markets.

Under what is known as Crichel Down rules, land and property which was acquired through compulsory purchase, or the threat of compulsion, and which is no longer required and not materially changed, should in certain circumstances be offered back first to its former owner at its current market value before being offered on the open market. Any future purchaser will be responsible for their own costs.