Network Rail given permission to buy Builders Depot plot next to Horn Lane Rail Goods Yard.
https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/hs2-station-works-saved-from-year-long-delay-after-ministers-back-compulsory-purchase-89933/HS2 station works saved from year-long delay after ministers back compulsory purchasePublished on 26th May 2026 by Ian Mansfield in Transport NewsNetwork Rail has been given permission to buy a plot of land to support the construction of the Old Oak Common station, despite a planning inspector’s report recommending that they shouldn’t.The plot, next to Acton Main Line station, is currently occupied by a Jewson builder’s merchants’ warehouse, and had been earmarked by the landlord, Bellaview Properties, for redevelopment into a block of flats with a replacement warehouse at the ground floor.However, Network Rail was also eyeing up the plot of land as it sits right next to the Great Western Mainline, as a railway access site for use during the construction of nearby Old Oak Common station. Had they not been able to provide a works compound and access to the railway, Network Rail estimated that it could add a year to the construction of the Old Oak Common station.As a compulsory purchase was being sought and objected to, it resulted in a public hearing, where much of the debate was about whether Network Rail could use the closer North Pole depot instead of using compulsory purchase powers to force the sale of land next to Acton Main Line station.Initially, Network Rail wanted compulsory purchase powers for the whole site, but at the start of a public hearing, they had changed their position to requesting 70 per cent of the site, along with a permanent road-rail link for future maintenance work.Network Rail was criticised by the planning inspector for waiting until the first day of the hearings to change its position, but Bellaview Properties was still objecting to the request for a permanent access road to the railway.The Department for Transport (DfT) also came in for criticism for how it had tried to argue that the nearby North Pole depot couldn’t be used to provide a road-rail link. There were also claims that the DfT had tried to influence Network Rail’s decisions to avoid using North Pole, and when asked for documentation between Network Rail and the DfT, the planning inspector said that “it is simply not credible that the correspondence was not more extensive”.The inspector was also unimpressed that other documents they were told didn’t exist were also apparently being inspected for release in an FOI request. The inspector was also not convinced by the arguments put forward that a road-rail link couldn’t be provided at the North Pole depot.In their arguments, the landlord argued that although the revised plans would allow the warehouse to resume on site once Network Rail leaves, the request for a permanent route to the railway would eat into the builders’ merchant’s external storage and display space, harming the business.They also disputed the need for permanent access, as the land would be used maybe one evening per fortnight. There was also concern about how this would affect the viability of the housing development, which they said was already on thin margins, and a reduction in the value of the homes built could make it unviable.The inspector concluded that “Network Rail has not made out its case to be given the powers it seeks. There is no compelling case in the public interest to acquire powers, neither temporary nor permanent, over BPL’s land at Horn Lane.”The planning inspector recommended that Network Rail be refused permission to buy the land at Acton Main Line, but the decision itself lies with the Secretary of State.Following further changes and consultations, the government finally approved the purchase order, so the Acton Main Line works compound will be built after all.However, after reading the planning inspector’s report (83 pages), it’s clear that Network Rail and the DfT did not come out of this matter particularly well.
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