The route of the HS2 railway line has been set. It was inevitable that this would affect Kiveton Park and the surrounding locale - homeowners living in the Wales parish are most at risk. Thankfully there are compensation and purchase mechanisms available for affected homeowners living near the route.
Homeowners living in a “rural support zone” may be happy to continue living at their properties notwithstanding the regular whizzing by of gleaming new high speed trains - if so, they can apply for a one-off compensation payment under the “Cash Offer Scheme” (COS). Alternatively homeowners can apply to sell their properties under the “Express Purchase Scheme” (EPS) or the “Need to Sell” (NTS) scheme:
Under the EPS the government will buy an applicant’s property at its unblighted market value i.e. the value of the property on the open market as if HS2 was not being built. The government will also pay any reasonable expenses such as stamp duty (on the purchase of a new property), surveyors’ and legal fees and removal costs.
Under the NTS an applicant can sell his or her property to the government at its unblighted market value where there is a compelling reason to sell e.g. in the cases of ill health, unemployment, job relocation or where an applicant would be placed under an unreasonable burden if he or she was unable to sell in the next 3 years. Applicants must be able to show that their property is close enough to the HS2 route to be substantially affected by its construction or operation and that they have tried to sell the property without success for the last 3 months. Eligible applicants must be also prove that they had no prior knowledge of the proposed development of the route at the time they bought their property.
Under the COS an applicant can apply for a compensation payment if he or she does not wish to sell his or her home. The cash offer is a lump-sum payment of 10% of the unblighted open market value of the property (from a minimum of £30,000 to a maximum of £100,000).
If you have received a letter from HS2 regarding compensation then please contact us immediately - we can advise the best option for you. HS2 will pay up to £500 plus vat towards your legal fees, so let us take some of the strain and help you to get the compensation that’s right for you.