The background
Safeguarding for HS2 (the protection of land that has been earmarked for major infrastructure development) was confirmed on 12 January 2016 and updated on 23 June 2020, and since then owner-occupiers of property within the affected area have been able to serve blight notices, requiring the UK Government to consider purchasing their property on compulsory purchase terms.
On 11 Feb 2021, the High Speed Rail (West Midlands – Crewe) Act 2021 received Royal Assent, allowing authorities to start acquiring the land specified in the plans for the route.
Property owners may have been eligible for one of a number of schemes, in most cases depending on the distance of the land or property from the route. These schemes included property purchase schemes and cash payment schemes. Property owners may have more than one option available to them.
Businesses displaced by the scheme were able to gain compensation under the provisions of the relevant compulsory purchase legislation - generally known as the Compensation Code, which normally provides for the cost of relocation.
What could happen now?
Transport Secretary Mark Harper MP has told the BBC that people who lost their homes and firms along the scrapped northern route of the HS2 rail link will not get any new compensation as they will have already been paid the market rate for their property.
In the HS2 Phase 2a Register of Undertakings and Assurances, it is stated that where land has been acquired compulsorily but is no longer required, it will be sold subject to the Crichel Down Rules – this means that the former owners (or their successors) should be allowed to buy back their property at the current market value before it’s offered to the general market.
The UK Government should now act quickly to communicate with the individuals and businesses affected to make their options clear.
Whilst a diversion of resources into other rail networks and transport infrastructure will support new and existing housing across the country, HS2 and the Department for Transport must provide urgent clarity on these matters to limit the impact on the housing market and get many of the properties currently sitting empty back available for people to live in.
