Comedian John Bishop has sold his Cheshire home for nearly £7m to make way for the new HS2 high speed rail link - which he had previously criticised.
Mr Bishop, from 'The best thing in our life has been taken away': murdered teen's mum on the heartbreak of losing her son , has sold Whatcroft Hall for £6.8m, just six years after he bought the Grade II listed mansion for £2.25m.
Mirror Online has reported that Land Registry documents show that Mr Bishop has sold the Georgian property to the The Secretary of State for Transport.
The mansion was up for sale back in 2016, only for the announcement of the nearby planned route to affect its value.
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The eventual sale then took place under the HS2 Need To Sell scheme, with Mr Bishop's representatives saying the sale price was below the market value and original estate agent valuation.
In a statement to Mirror Online, Mr Bishop's representative added: "John Bishop maintains his opposition to HS2.
"He is unhappy, like many others affected by the proximity of the proposed line, that he was left with no choice but to sell his family home to HS2, as the proposed line had rendered it unsellable on the open market - thus destroying all he and his family had worked for."
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Mr Bishop has previously been vocal in his opposition to the controversial transport scheme, labelling HS2 the 'Great Train Robbery.' He had voiced a cartoon with a train mocking the big money project and the impact on the area.
“I’m hiding….from the facts.” he said on the video campaign. "After spending tens of billions of pounds, I will only save 20 minutes. It will devastate communities – and destroy unique wildlife habitats.”
He also said: “I’m opposed to spending what appears to be a bottomless amount of money on a service which is to serve people like me - who don’t need it.
"I’ve got to clarify that it isn’t going in my garden, this thing is at least a mile from my house, it’s not going to really affect us, if it happens on that route.”
In 2016 Mr Bishop criticised former Labour leader Ed Miliband over his comments regarding HS2. Mr Bishop said that Miliband had the 'opportunity as leader of the Labour Party to stop this."
Transport bosses have said that HS2 is set to bridge the north south divide by reducing journey times, and is expected to boost trade and tourism. The government has said the scheme will cost £55.7billion but there are concerns that figure might grow.
