Ron Ryall renovated a house that has been in his family for decades but has now been told he must be out by July

Seventy-year-old Ron Ryall is heartbroken. “I’m happy here and I’ve worked all my life for this,” he says, gesturing to his magnificent home, Dews Farm, and the wonderful gardens that surround it. “But now we’re about to lose it all.”

The contractors behind the High Speed 2 railway, which will link London, Birmingham, the east Midlands, Leeds and Manchester, have informed Ryall that part of the rail link they’re building is going to run right through the centre of his living room.

HS2: the human cost of Britain’s most expensive ever rail project | Patrick Barkham Read more

“Members of my family have lived round here since 1924 but we’ve got to be out by the summer,” says Ryall. “I have no idea where we’re going to go.” His wife, children and grandchildren are devastated – and so too is his 92-year-old mother.

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His house on Dews Lane, a private lane in Harefield, near West Ruislip, was built between 1575 and 1600. Queen Elizabeth I visited it for a few weeks in 1602 towards the end of her life, though according to a local history book it rained throughout her stay. More recently the house was the birthplace of Cecil John Kinross in 1896; he was honoured with a Victoria Cross when he was just 19 for his bravery during the first world war.

Ryall runs a garage just yards from his home, a business he set up at the age of 15 the day after he left school. He’s still working there. His son and family live in a cottage in the same lane and his mum, who he says is “bright as a button”, lives in a self-contained annex in what was formerly the servants’ quarters. His grandparents moved into a cottage in the lane in 1924 and his uncle moved into Ryall’s current abode in 1962, when it was council-owned. Ryall bought the house from the council in 2004 at a time when the property was semi-derelict and spent 10 years painstakingly restoring it to its former glory. HS2 have said he needs to be out by July.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Ron Ryall in the workshop near his home. Photograph: Felix Clay/The Guardian

On his mini commute up the lane to work he sometimes glimpses Muntjac deer or badgers and never tires of the morning birdsong. His home is in the heart of the Colne Valley, part of which has been designated as a natural nature reserve and a site of special scientific interest. One of the main wildlife attractions here are the birds. They gather on and around the many lakes particularly in the winter months when significant numbers of tufted duck, pochard and shoveler can be seen. During cold spells rarer species including red-necked grebe and great northern diver may visit the area.

Ryall’s whole life is in Dews Lane. He said that although HS2 has made a compensation offer the price on the table does not reflect what will be lost – the life and work of his entire family in the lane.

Critics of the high-speed rail scheme have expressed concern about high costs and the loss of precious flora and fauna. Advocates say that, when it is completed, it will be the fastest rail network in Europe with trains able to carry 1,100 passengers travelling at 250mph. HS2 puts the cost of the first phase of the project at £24bn. It estimates the whole scheme will cost £56bn.

A HS2 spokesperson said:“HS2 is committed to being a good neighbour and we recognise that construction will have an impact on communities along the route. Our residential property schemes have ensured that owner-occupiers have had the chance to sell their homes at their full, unblighted market value, well ahead of the start of construction.

“A crucial part of these schemes is our responsibility to establish a price that accurately reflects market value and is fair, both for homeowners and the taxpayer.” Hs2 first wrote to Ryall in 2013 to tell him the rail link would affect his home.

“We have been in ongoing negotiations with the owners of Dews Farm and following an assessment by a team of independent chartered surveyors, have made an initial offer,” the spokesperson added. “We know that every home is unique and appreciate that there will be different opinions about the true value of a property, however, we believe that this offer is accurate and that our proposal to pay for the costs incurred during moving, adheres to the Compensation Code.”

“This will be the end of everything I’ve worked for my whole life,” says Ryall. “If I didn’t care about this place I would take HS2’s money and run. But I do care about it. All I want is to be able to keep my house and pass it on to my grandchildren. I think HS2 is a waste of money. Let’s use it to cure cancer instead.”