Ministers have announced help worth up to £100,000 for owner-occupiers and businesses along the HS2 route between the West Midlands and Crewe.
The new package of schemes for the Phase 2a route is based on help previously announced for the Phase One route between London and the West Midlands.
An image of what the HS2 line will look like
Compensation available includes payments of up to £100,000 to owner-occupiers and small business owners within a ‘rural support zone’ or the option to have a property purchased at the ‘full unblighted value’.
Ministers said the schemes go well beyond legal requirements.
Transport minister Robert Goodwill said: ‘HS2 will transform our country, generating jobs and growth and helping to rebalance our economy. However, where people are affected by the railway in a less positive way, we will do what we can to help.
‘This comprehensive package of compensation and assistance is looking after those people who live along the HS2 route while balancing our responsibilities to the taxpayer.’
The Government has made changes to proposed schemes covering Phase One and Phase 2a, including additional guidance to ensure health and mobility issues are considered in the 'need to sell' scheme and those who have previously struggled to sell their property.
The changes also mean that property owners will be able to use any local surveyor registered with the Royal Institutino of Chartered Surveyors when obtaining valuations for the ‘need to sell’ scheme and the rural support zone, thereby allowing them to appoint a valuer who has experience of the local market.
The HS2 Phase 2a route was confirmed last November, when it was announced that the high speed rail link would reach Crewe in 2027, six years earlier than originally planned.
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