East West Rail: What are the options for Bedford home owners impacted by route plans

The statutory blight provisions allow homeowners in the safeguarded area – land officially marked for the project – to ask EWR to buy their property if they can’t sell it at its normal value.

The Need to Sell Scheme, however, offers “broader” help. It includes people outside the safeguarded zone, as long as they have a “compelling” reason to sell and their property value is “significantly” affected.

Pressed by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) for answers, EWR outlined what support there is available for those affected.

Clarification on Eligibility

Can EWR clarify the specific criteria for eligibility under both the statutory blight provisions and the discretionary NTS Property Scheme? How do the requirements differ between the two schemes?

An EWR spokesperson said both the discretionary NTS Property Scheme and the statutory blight provisions have eligibility criteria relating to the type of property and ownership and require evidence that reasonable efforts have been made to sell the property.

“Additionally, the NTS Property Scheme requires applicants to show that they had no prior knowledge of the East West Rail proposals prior to the route update announcement in May 2023; and that they have a compelling reason to sell.

“People living within or outside of the Project boundary can apply to the NTS Property Scheme, and they can apply before the application for a Development Consent Order (DCO) is submitted.

“Statutory blight provisions are only available to eligible property owners within the safeguarded area.

“We have written to everyone with land or property within the safeguarded area, which is shown on the maps on our website (www.eastwestrail.co.uk/safeguarding).

“Property owners considering serving us with a Statutory Blight notice do not need to demonstrate a compelling need to sell, but they must want to sell the property to us before it is needed for the construction of the railway,” the spokesperson said.

Application and Decision-Making Process

What is the process for applying for a statutory blight notice or the NTS Property Scheme, and what are the typical timelines for decisions? Are there any common reasons applications are rejected?

EWR’s spokesperson said: “If the Blight Notice is accepted, the applicants will have three years and two months from submitting their Blight Notice to submit a Blight Claim and sell their property to us.

“If it is not accepted, we will set out our reasons for the decision and the applicant’s advisor should guide them on next steps, which may include referring the matter to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) for them to decide on it.”

A Blight Notice could be rejected on one or more of the Seven Grounds (A-G) set out in section 151(4) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1990/8/section/151).

If landowners have any questions about Statutory Blight, EWR said its specialist Land and Property team is available to talk through how land or property may be affected, and what options are available.

“We can also explain to landowners what information we would require if they are thinking about asking us to buy their land or property by issuing us with a Statutory Blight Notice,” the spokesperson added.

“This will help them gather information to consider their next steps and the help they might need to do this.

“In exceptional circumstances, if an application does not meet all the criteria but a strong overall case can be made to buy the property, the Panel may recommend the Decision Maker uses their discretion to decide that the property should be acquired.

“If you are unsuccessful, you can reapply if there is a significant change in your circumstances or you have new evidence that may be relevant to the reason (or reasons) your application was turned down,” they said.

Support for Property Value Depreciation

For homeowners experiencing property value depreciation but who are not in the safeguarded area, what specific support does the NTS Property Scheme provide? How is ‘fair market value’ determined in these cases?

EWR said: “We’ve launched the NTS Property Scheme to support eligible property owners who have a compelling reason to sell their property but are unable to do so, other than at a substantially reduced value due to the East West Rail project.

“This is open to eligible property owners outside of the safeguarded area who are able to provide evidence that their property is likely to be seriously affected by either the construction or the operation of East West Rail.

“Where a successful application is made under the NTS Property Scheme, we will buy the property at its unblighted market value.

“That is the property value as if there were no plans for the EWR Project,” they said.

“Under the NTS Property Scheme valuation process, initially two valuations will be completed, both paid for by us.

“The applicant will choose one of the values. The valuations are conducted by RICS Registered Valuers, who follow recognised valuation standards.

“If the two valuations are within 10 per cent of each other our offer will be based on the average of these valuations.

“If the two valuations are not within 10% of each other, we will pay for a third valuation and our offer will be based on the average calculated from the two closest valuations,” they said.

EWR said that during construction or operation of the railway it may be possible to claim compensation if the value of a property is affected due to temporary or permanent works.

“A claim cannot be brought for general inconvenience or disruption that may arise from construction, although all works will be undertaken responsibly and in accordance with the Code of Construction Practice submitted with the DCO application,” the spokesperson said.

“This type of compensation is called a ‘Part 1’ claim, at this stage, we don’t have details of these potential impacts of our proposals on individual properties outside the project boundary, as we are still developing the designs for the railway.

“Following the non-statutory consultation, we’ll consider all the feedback received and, along with the results of further technical assessments and environmental impact assessments, we’ll continue to refine and optimise our design proposals,” they said.

EWR will present updated proposals, as well as more information on the potential impacts and proposed mitigation measures during the statutory consultation which it plans to hold next year.

“At statutory consultation, we will write to property owners/occupiers if the proximity of their property means they might be entitled to submit a future claim for compensation, either during construction of the railway, or once it is in operation,” the spokesperson said.

Future Changes and Communication

Will the criteria or availability of these schemes change as the East West Rail project progresses? How will affected homeowners be informed of any updates to the statutory blight provisions or NTS Property Scheme?

EWR said it introduced its discretionary Need to Sell (NTS) Property Scheme at the route update announcement in 2023.

The EWR spokesperson said: “This provides early and ongoing support for those property owners who have a compelling need to sell their property but are unable to do so, other than at a substantially reduced value, because of our proposals.

“The NTS Property Scheme will apply up to 12 months after the railway comes into use and in that time, the eligibility criteria will not change.

“Statutory blight provisions became available at the launch of the non-statutory consultation on November 14, 2024, to those within the safeguarded area.

“This means that eligible property owners within the Project boundary may be able to serve a Blight Notice on EWR Co asking us to purchase the property before it is needed for the construction of the railway.

“The eligibility criteria for Statutory Blight provisions will not change as the project progresses,” they said.

EWR said compensation for those whose properties are close to the Project boundary but outside the safeguarded area and may be indirectly affected by our proposals (such as noise during the construction or operation of the railway) would become available either during construction of the railway, or once it is in operation.

“We will write to those who may be eligible for this compensation, called Part 1 compensation, at statutory consultation which we plan to hold next year,” the spokesperson added.

“Those eligible can claim for Part 1 compensation a year and a day after the new or altered railway first comes into public use.”

More Information

EWR’s consultation ends on January 24, 2025, and there are hundreds of pages of information which EWR said supports the project. For detailed information and guides, visit the following resources on the East West Rail website:

• Safeguarded Area and Blight Notices: www.eastwestrail.co.uk/safeguarding
• Need to Sell (NTS) Property Scheme: www.eastwestrail.co.uk/needtosell
• Compensation Guides: www.eastwestrail.co.uk/planning/land-and-property#compensation-guides
• 2024 Consultation Information: www.eastwestrail.co.uk/consultation2024

For questions or support regarding statutory blight provisions or the Need to Sell (NTS) Property Scheme, East West Rail’s Land and Property team can be contacted as follows:

General Land and Property Enquiries:
• Email: [email protected]
• Phone: 0330 838 7583
• Freepost: EAST WEST RAIL LAND