The Rotherham Bugle

Property owners in the Eastwood area of Rotherham have reacted with a mixture of anger and disappointment this week, as the latest amendments to the HS2 rail link route were confirmed. Despite a vigorous lobbying campaign, an impassioned personal plea by several local MP’s, and a 10,000 signature petition being delivered by hand to the planning committee, it emerged that there are still no plans to divert the track through the area.

Mahmood Khan, who has been trying unsuccessfully  to sell his house in Eastwood for 3 years, but would now listen to offers to trade it for a reasonable quality tent, spoke for many local property owners, “HS2 is what people in this area need” he told us while trying to break up a fight between two groups of Eastern European pensioners. “Either that or an outlying third runway for Heathrow. We’d get a few quid back and it would slash the cost of the project because they could buy up the whole caboodle for next to nowt. Everyone’s a winner.”

When we approached HS2 for comment, a spokesperson said it was unlikely that Eastwood would form part of the final route. “It’s several miles off the current proposed route, “ he told us “and anyway, we have to take account of the conditions our workforce will have to encounter while laying the track, and of course, the safety of passengers once it’s completed.”

The Bugle asked why, given this criteria, the route is still going through Mexborough but have yet to receive a reply. “It’s disgusting…” said Eastwood landlord Ted Rogers, whose three bed roomed terrace on Selwyn Street is currently occupied by a small Rumanian village who have paid no rent, “Mexborough are getting all the benefits, and we’re getting nothing. We’ve got a right to be compulsorily purchased and I’m going to fight for it.”

Meanwhile, in other related local news, Rotherham council have announced a groundbreaking scheme to distribute clear plastic bags in the Eastwood area to encourage parents to pick up their children’s mess in the street.