Compensation in line for residents who may lose county homes to new rail link
People whose homes may be on the route of a proposed high speed railway line which could run through Northamptonshire will be able to apply to the Government for compensation from next month.
The Government announced this week that people will be able to apply for "exceptional hardship payments" from Friday, August 20.
The payments are designed to compensate people whose homes would be on the route of the line and who urgently need to sell them before a final decision on the route is made.
The announcement has been welcomed by the MP for South Northamptonshire, Andrea Leadsom, who has been campaigning on behalf of residents who could be affected by the proposed railway.
She said: "I think it is pretty good news on the hardship fund. It should really help people who have been trying to sell their homes for a while."
The Government scheme defines people in "exceptional hardship" as those on the route of the line who need to sell their homes because of issues such as changes in the area where they work or "extreme financial pressure".
Applicants would have to demonstrate they have already made reasonable attempts to sell their homes over at least three months and that no offer above 85 per cent of the asking price had been received.
If the Government agreed to buy the property, it would pay the amount the house was worth before the rail plans were revealed.
But Mrs Leadsom said even those people who did not meet the current requirements should not give up hope of compensation because further announcements are likely to be made by the Government in the future.
She said: "People need to keep writing to the Government and making their views known.
"People really need to get their views known and take part in every consultation going."
Plans to build the proposed high speed railway line between London and Birmingham were first revealed by the former Government in 2009.
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