HS2 destroyed our village, says former owner of £1.2m home turned into cannabis farm

Homes worth millions have been turned into cannabis plantations

- Sentinel Reporter

A HOUSEHOLDER was dismayed to discover his former £1.2 million home had been turned into a cannabis factory - after he had to sell it to HS2.

Alan Wilkinson bought the four-bedroom house in Whitmore Heath with his wife Gillian in the 1970s, adding a swimming pool and kitchen. After about three decades of ownership, however, the couple sold the property to HS2 for £1.2 million under a ‘special circumstances’ scheme after developers announced proposals for the northern route, which would have included twin tunnels built under the hillside hamlet. But the high-speed rail line between Birmingham and Manchester was cancelled, leaving the property to rot.

Gillian did not live to see the handover, as she died of pancreatic cancer just weeks before the couple planned to downsize and move elsewhere in 2019. Six years later, Mr Wilkinson discovered his home, which had been put up for rent, being used to grow large quantities of cannabis.