Staffordshire hamlet urges HS2 to move all residents together Demolition is essential if they are to get permission to build on the green belt. But to the frustration of residents HS2, which keeps changing its detailed plans for the line, has yet to agree to do so. "We have been left in limbo," said Jonathan Loescher, a farm accountant who has lived in his cottage since 1996. Jonathan Loescher with his son Luke (John Robertson) Married with two children, Mr Loescher, 49, keeps hens, ducks, sheep, turkeys and a dog on his land as well as growing his own vegetables. Nobody wants to move, if HS2 didn't come here we would have stayed put. It's very picturesque and we want to replicate what we have got. We live in open countryside, we don't want to live in town. We get on very well, though we don't live in each other's pockets. When I go on holiday, my neighbours look after my animals, when they go on holiday I look after theirs. You also have the security of having a dozen houses quite close together. If you just lived in an open field, you would get burgled every month. The frustration of trying to get sense out of HS2 has drawn the community closer together, said Steve Speight, 52, who has lived in the hamlet for 13 years and works as a church minister in Lichfield, about four miles away. At one point they were going to demolish all the houses then they are not. One of the real challenges is to replicate what we have here, which is not only the houses but the sense of community. We are spread over only a few houses. At first you just nod to each other in the street, they you get to know each other. To separate us when we don't want to be is a real pain. For Catherine Moore, 49, the last three years have been mental torture as HS2 keeps reviving its plans. "We thought we would be here until we popped our clogs," she said as she reflected on the uncertainty she and husband Barry, 65. a farm worker have faced. At one point we are on the edge of the line, then we are losing our house and then you pick up a paper and we are on the edge of it again. We are a hamlet, not a village, we are a little community here. There is nowhere like this. What we are saying is that if they can transplant us, then we can carry on with our lives again. Barry Moore, left, in his tractor with Jonathan Loescher (John Robertson) A spokesman for HS2 was unable to clarify the position of the families and whether it will grant their wish to make it possible to move as a block. "As part of our ongoing engagement with local communities we have held regular meetings with the Flats Lane and Knox Grave Lane Residents Group to discuss their concerns regarding HS2," the spokesman said. We recognise the uncertainty surrounding the impacts of the scheme in this area causes concern and we will continue to work hard to resolve these issues.