A COUPLE have hit out at bosses behind the planned HS2 high-speed rail line after the botched sale of their home and business left them ‘unable to move on’ after an almost three-year negotiation period.

Neil Elisha, 56, and Fran Glendinning, 67, owned Brierley Boarding Kennels, on Holmsley Lane, but closed the business last month after they reached an agreement for sale of their land before Christmas.

The couple were served with a notice in 2016 when developers altered the route of the proposed railway - which would run through their living room.

The notice stipulated that the government would purchase the couple’s house and business, which would then be used for construction of HS2.

“My partner and I have seen six properties we could move us and the business to,” said Neil. “However, we cannot legally buy another property until the government has bought our house.

“It’s frustrating because we can’t move on and do anything, we are just waiting for them to do their job correctly and purchase our property.

“We’ve been turning away business for some time, and we made the decision to close in preparation for the move.

“Our livelihood is gone. We’ve been running kennels for 17 years and have been self-employed all our lives.

“Once my partner and I move on from here I’ll have to get a job - which will be difficult as I don’t know what skills I have for ‘traditional’ employment. It will definitely be a struggle to find a job that has the same wage as I earned with the kennels.”

Neil has been left ‘in limbo’ and wants to move on from the ordeal.

“We don’t really want HS2 to go through our living room but if that’s what needs to be done then we will accept that,” he added.

“I am annoyed with the fact we can’t move on and get on with our lives. The stalling and the fact the sale hasn’t gone through has caused us to lose our business as well as our home and has left everything up in the air.”

Phase one of HS2 between London and Birmingham is due to open at the end of 2026, with the second phase to Leeds and Manchester scheduled for completion by 2033, but this could be put on hold pending a further review.

MP Jon Trickett, whose Hemsworth constituency borders Barnsley East - both of which are affected by HS2 - said: “This scheme has been badly managed from the beginning - information and communication has been poor, with many local people left uncertain about the future of the community.

“Bosses have ignored the views of local groups and indeed myself as an MP. The chosen route drives right through the part of Yorkshire, it has virtually no support and is based on what we believe to be false engineering assumptions.”