Pub landlord said it is ‘soud detroying’ HS2 may never get to Euston
Landlord of pub demolished by HS2 says speculation the railway may never actually reach the area of former boozer is ‘soul-destroying’
A landlord who lost his pub to HS2 building plans said the speculation of it never reaching his area after all is ‘soul destroying’.
Craig Douglas ran the Bree Louise pub on Euston street for 15 years until he was made to move to make way for the new high-speed railway.
The 62-year-old moved out in January 2018 under the impression his beloved pub was going to be demolished as part of the project.
While upset over the realisation that the tracks may never be built in his area after giving up his building, he recognises other people have also suffered and some have had it ‘a lot worse’ than him.
Craig Douglas, pictured left with his wife Karen on the right, ran the Bree Louise pub on Euston street
Before and after the Bree Louise pub was demolished to make way for the new HS2 track
Mr Douglas said: ‘It hurts me but it’s soul-destroying for all the other people there.
‘There’s a lot of people that have struggled a lot worse than us, and some people have probably died during the process in the last five or six years as well.’
Mr Douglas, who now lives in Dorset, explained he ‘never thought’ the high-speed railway would be built in Euston even though he was told to move.
He said: ‘They still haven’t laid the track. ‘Leeds has lost it altogether. Whether Manchester get it, who knows?
After finding out the HS2 may never reach his area Mr Douglas said ‘It hurts me but it’s soul-destroying for all the other people there
Bosses of the estimated £106billion high-speed line are considering delaying the building of a Euston terminus until 2038 or even scrapping it completely
‘And who knows whether or not the transport link will be necessary? ‘People have got so used to working from home because of the pandemic.’
Bosses of the estimated £106 billion high-speed line are considering delaying the building of a Euston terminus until 2038 or even scrapping it completely due to soaring inflation, according to The Sun.
Trains would instead stop at a new hub at Old Oak Common in west London’s suburbs rather than continuing all the way to the city centre. Commuters would then have to finish their journeys into central London by using the Elizabeth Line.
The Government has not denied the report. The paper also reported that a two-to-five-year delay to the entire project is being considered.
The HS2 rail project – which is set to link London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds in a bid to rebalance the UK’s economy – has been called ‘expensive, wasteful and destructive’ by environmentalists.