MP Ed Miliband's pledge to form committee to get answers on HS2

The controversial rail link has caused no end of headaches since it emerged the re-routed rail link would plough through the east end of Rotherham and the west side of Doncaster, including bulldozing part of the under-construction Shimmer estate in Mexborough.

Following a series of heated consultation events and complaints about uncertainty over the number of demolitions earmarked and the compensation to be paid, the Doncaster North MP has backed the idea of a “a proper examination and inquiry”.

A public inquiry is considered unlikely as such hearings are rare in relation to ongoing projects, but a parliamentary select committee could be formed over the issue.

Mr Miliband (pictured) said: “I support calls for a proper examination and inquiry into how HS2 can have got things so wrong when it comes to the M18 route —wrong about the number of demolitions, wrong about the costs, wrong in the whole process of how we got to this point.

“I will be talking to my colleagues in the House of Commons about how this can be looked at, including by a select committee of MPs.

“My constituents deserve answers about how they have been so badly let down.”

Mr Miliband said HS2 Ltd has “consistently failed to be straight or come clean with us about the impacts of the route”, adding: “Only now are we slowly getting to the reality and truth. 

“We have been misled in particular on the number of demolitions among many other things. 

“It is wrong, disrespectful and has deeply undermined any trust in the organisation.”

Mexborough councillor Sean Gibbons said: “This is not quite a public inquiry but it is a step forward.”

The number of homes in line for HS2’s bulldozers in Mexborough has risen from an initial figure of 19 to 63, including more than 50 on the Shimmer Estate.

HS2 Ltd said its multi-billion-pound high-speed link will cut travel times, increase rail capacity and boost the economy in the north.