Compensation Claims
High Speed 2 (HS2)
High Speed 2 (HS2) is a proposed high-speed railway between London and the Midlands, the North of England,and potentially at a later stage the central belt of Scotland. The project is being developed by High Speed Two Ltd, a company established by the British government. The route would take the form of a "Y", with a trunk from London to Birmingham, and then two spurs, one to Manchester, and the other to Leeds via the East Midlands. It would be built in stages, with the London to Birmingham section being the first stage. There would be no intermediate calling points between London and the West Midlands.
High-speed rail is supported in principle by the three main UK political parties; there is, however, debate about which cities should be served, and on the environmental performance and impact of high-speed rail. There are also deep disagreements among transport professionals and expert commentators as to whether this scheme should be given priority, whether it is affordable, whether its economics add up, and whether its contribution to reducing carbon emissions by the transport sector is as claimed.
If the HS2 plan is approved, construction would begin in 2017 with the first trains planned to be running by 2025. At present, the only high-speed route in Britain is the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.
Latest
On 20th December 2010 the Transport Secretary Philip Hammond gave his latest announcement to the Commons on the proposed High Speed Rail (HS2) between London and Birmingham. He confirmed the government broadly agreed with the chosen HS2 rail route but said 50% of the route published in March had been amended. He further said there would be compensation for those whose homes will be destroyed to create the line and also for those whose homes were set to lose value.The Department for Transport have published detailed maps of the preferred route and HS2 Ltd’s reports, these can be found at: http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/rail/pi/highspeedrail/
At present the Government operates the Exceptional Hardship Scheme (EHS) for property owners affected by the possible HS2 rail line between London and Birmingham. The scheme is designed to provide assistance for those property owners who are most severely and immediately affected by the preferred route option and who need to sell their property. It is essential for those who have a valid Exceptional Hardship Scheme (EHS) claim to finalise those claims and have them submitted as once the route is safeguarded, the EHS will close.
