Legal fight to save cottages from rail line
Trent cottages Long Eaton.
Homeowners, set to see their cottages demolished to make way for the high-speed HS2 railway line, have launched a legal fight for compensation.
Residents of Trent Cottages in Long Eaton, who started legal proceedings on Monday, fear their ‘unique’ homes could be pulled down for the line between the proposed new station at Toton and the extensions to Birmingham and Leeds.
Ex-railwayman Roger Lynn and his wife Margaret have lived there for 43 years.
“These cottages are unique.,” he said. “Wherever we go from here we will not be able to find a place like it.
“It all came as a big shock to us.
“This is life-changing, something that we never gambled on happening and extremely stressful.”
Ironically, the 11 cottages were built by the Midland Railway in 1863 to house workers at the Trent station, which closed in the 1960s.
Ralph Garrard and his wife Janet have lived in their cottage for 30 years and agree it is a beautiful place to live.
They have spent thousands of pounds putting in a new bathroom, kitchen, staircase, flooring and windows.
“I’m 75 and I don’t want to be moving when I’m 80 or 90,” he said.
Residents met commercial property lawyer Jonathan Ho of Ellis-Fermor and Negus at the company’s office in Beeston on Monday.
“These people are alert as to what may happen to the homes that they have lived in, and looked after, for decades in some cases,” he said.
“It’s a case of looking after people’s interests and making them more aware of their rights as property owners.”
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Weather for Ilkeston
Wednesday 19 June 2013
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 12 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: North west
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