Minister sells house near HS2 before approval

Welsh Secretary Cheryl Gillan has defended selling her home, located near to the HS2 route, two months before the Government approved the project.

Her house in Amersham was sold in November, after being on the market since about June 2010. The house is about 500 yards from where the proposed line from London to Birmingham will run, but she has said the sale was nothing to do with the line.

A spokesperson said that the house was sold due to mobility problems of Gillan and her husband, meaning that they could not use the stairs.

“It had nothing whatsoever to do with HS2,” he told reporters.

Gillan had previously threatened to resign over HS2 and the majority of her constituents still oppose the project. However, last week Gillan suggested that the mitigating measures, such as the use of tunnels, constituted “good progress”.

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