HS2 route: land compensation questions and answers
The recent anouncement of safeguarding for part of the HS2 route raises questions for land and property owners. James Del Mar of Knight Frank provides some answers on this and other compensation issues.
What is safeguarding?
It is a process that effectively protects the route of HS2 from any planning applications or developments that could adversely affect its construction or use.
Has all of HS2 been safeguarded?
No, only Phase 1 (London to Birmingham) has been safeguarded so far except for some parts in London. The route for Phase 2 (Birmingham to Leeds and Manchester) is under consultation.
How can I find out if my property is in the safeguarding zone?
The zone covers 60m either side of the route. Detailed maps are on the HS2 website www.hs2.org.uk
Does safeguarding mean HS2 is definitely going to be built?
No. The hybrid bill that will create the legal framework for construction of HS2 still has to pass through parliament. HS2 has official cross-party support but the bill could still be blocked. This or the next government could also decide not to proceed with the scheme.
Does safeguarding mean the route for Phase 1 of HS2 has definitely been finalised?
Not completely. The route could be refined but major changes seem unlikely.
What does safeguarding mean for property owners along the route?
It is important because it means owners of property within or partly within the safeguarding zone can now serve the government with a statutory blight notice.
What is a statutory blight?
It allows affected owners to sell their property to the government for its un-blighted, open-market value – i.e. what it would be worth if HS2 hadn’t been proposed.
Who can serve a statutory blight notice?
• Owner-occupiers of residential property within, or partly within, the safeguarding zone
• Owner-occupiers of commercial property with an annual rateable value not exceeding £34,800 within or partly within, the zone
• Owner-occupiers of agricultural units including a house within, or partly within, the safeguarding zone.
I own a farm on the route. Can I claim for part of my land?
No. Statutory blight notices can only be served for a whole property. You can make a claim for your whole farm, but this could be refused. On a case-by-case basis the government may agree to acquire parts of a farm.
What if my property is above a tunnelled section of the route?
In this case only the subsoil may be safeguarded to prevent construction of buildings with deep foundations. The government says it does not plan to acquire above-ground property in these areas, marked separately on HS2’s safeguarding maps.
I qualify, is there anything else I need to do before serving a notice?
Currently, you must have made “reasonable endeavours” to sell your property before serving a notice. The government says it hopes to remove this requirement by early 2014 after consultation.
The government has two months from receipt of a notice to accept it or not.
You may also need to allow a period of time to market your property prior to issuing a notice to prove it cannot be sold for its un-blighted value. Once a notice has been accepted it would be prudent to allow three months to agree an acceptable purchase price with the government.
If my notice is accepted what compensation will I receive?
• The open-market, un-blighted value of your property
• A home-loss payment of 10% of the value of your home (up to £47,000)
• Reasonable moving costs and professional fees
• Compensation for business losses due to relocation or extinguishment (awarded case-by-case).
What happens if my notice is accepted but I change my mind and no longer wish to sell?
In law a statutory blight notice, once accepted, cannot be withdrawn. It remains to be seen whether HS2 Ltd would allow a successful notice to be withdrawn and renegotiated.
What can I do if my notice is rejected?
If you don’t agree, you have two months to make an appeal to an upper tribunal.
Are any other compensation schemes available if I don’t qualify for statutory blight?
Currently, the only other option for those outside the safeguarding zone is the exceptional hardship scheme (EHS).
This applies to homeowners who need to sell their properties due to exceptional circumstances and cannot achieve an acceptable price due to the HS2 scheme. This is a discretionary scheme and the government has refused a significant number of claims.
The government also proposed other discretionary compensations schemes but a judicial review brought by opponents of HS2 ruled that the consultation process for this had been inadequate. A new consultation is due to open shortly.
If you are in the safeguarded area and cannot serve a statutory blight notice you can still try to negotiate a sale and compensation package with the government on an individual basis.
If I don’t serve a statutory blight notice and the government needs to buy my property to build HS2 what will happen?
If the hybrid bill enabling the construction of HS2 goes through parliament (royal assent is scheduled for 2015) then the government can start issuing compulsory purchase orders to affected owners. This process is unlikely to happen until 2016.
James Del Mar is head of Knight Frank’s specialist HS2 property team.
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