East West Rail Compensation & CPO Advice

If your home, business, farm or land is affected by East West Rail, obtaining independent professional advice at an early stage can help protect your position and ensure you understand the compensation and property rights available to you.

Olden Property provides specialist East West Rail compensation and compulsory purchase advice to homeowners, businesses and landowners.

Whether your entire property may be required, only part of your land is affected, or you are experiencing difficulties selling because of the proposed railway, we can review your circumstances and advise you on the appropriate next steps.

Is Your Property Affected by East West Rail?

East West Rail is being developed to improve rail connections between Oxford, Milton Keynes, Bedford and Cambridge.

The proposals include significant new infrastructure and railway works, particularly between Bedford and Cambridge, and land along the proposed route has already been safeguarded.

Depending on the location of your property, the project could involve:

• acquisition of your entire property;

• acquisition of part of your land;

• temporary occupation during construction;

• changes to access;

• loss of parking or external areas;

• effects on a farm or commercial holding;

• disturbance to a business; or

• difficulties selling a property because of the proposed scheme.

The effect can be very different from one property to another. Independent advice should therefore consider your individual property, tenure and circumstances rather than simply its distance from the proposed railway.

East West Rail Compulsory Purchase Advice

East West Rail is expected to seek the powers it requires through a Development Consent Order (DCO).

A DCO for a major infrastructure project can include powers to compulsorily acquire land and property required for the scheme.

If your property is identified for acquisition, you are entitled to obtain your own independent valuation and compensation advice.

Olden Property can act on your behalf in dealings with East West Rail and its appointed surveyors, including reviewing acquisition proposals, valuing the property or land affected and negotiating the compensation payable.

East West Rail Compensation for Homeowners

For a homeowner faced with the possible acquisition of their property, the process can understandably be unfamiliar.

Our role is to provide independent advice on the property and compensation aspects of the acquisition.

This can include establishing the appropriate unblighted market value of your property, reviewing offers made for your home, advising on additional compensation that may be available and negotiating with the acquiring authority on your behalf.

Where only part of a residential property is required – for example, part of a garden or access – we can also consider the effect of that acquisition on the value of the property you retain.

East West Rail Blight Advice

You do not necessarily have to wait until compulsory acquisition takes place before seeking advice.

Safeguarding Directions are already in place for parts of the East West Rail route.

Eligible owners and occupiers of property within the safeguarded area may be able to use the statutory blight provisions to require their property to be purchased before it would otherwise be acquired for construction.

Eligibility depends on the particular circumstances of the property and owner.

If you believe your property falls within the East West Rail safeguarding area, Olden Property can review the property position and provide valuation and property advice in connection with a potential blight claim.

East West Rail Need to Sell Scheme

Some properties may be affected by East West Rail even though the owner is not currently pursuing statutory blight.

East West Rail operates a Need to Sell Property Scheme for eligible property owners who have a compelling reason to sell but are unable to do so, other than at a substantially reduced value, because of the project.

A successful application requires appropriate supporting evidence.

Where valuation evidence is required, we can provide an independent assessment of the property's market value and consider the property evidence relevant to the application.

East West Rail Compensation for Businesses

The acquisition of business premises can create significantly wider losses than the value of the property interest alone.

If your business is affected by East West Rail, your compensation claim may need to consider the consequences of relocating or, in some circumstances, the inability to relocate successfully.

Depending on the circumstances, relevant losses can include reasonable relocation expenditure, removal costs, fitting out replacement premises, business interruption and other disturbance losses directly attributable to the acquisition.

Early advice can be particularly important.

Decisions about relocation, replacement premises and expenditure can have implications for the eventual compensation claim, so it is preferable to understand the compensation position before making significant commitments.

East West Rail Compensation for Farmers and Landowners

East West Rail may require agricultural and rural land for the permanent railway as well as associated infrastructure and construction works.

For farmers and landowners, the effect of the scheme can extend well beyond the value of the acreage actually acquired.

Issues may include:

• permanent land acquisition;

• temporary possession;

• severance of fields or holdings;

• altered access;

• effects on drainage;

• accommodation works;

• disruption during construction; and

• the effect of the scheme on the value and operation of retained land.

Where only part of a holding is acquired, it is important to consider the overall impact on the remaining property, rather than valuing the acquired land in isolation.

Partial Acquisition – What Happens if East West Rail Only Takes Part of My Land?

Compulsory acquisition does not always involve purchasing an entire property.

A strip of land, garden, parking area, access, commercial yard or part of an agricultural holding may be required.

In these cases, compensation can involve more than the market value of the land actually taken.

It may also be necessary to assess whether the acquisition has reduced the value or usefulness of the property that remains.

This is a specialist area of compulsory purchase valuation and can be particularly significant where access, development potential or the operation of a business or agricultural holding is affected.

Independent Property Valuation

The acquiring authority and its surveyors act in connection with delivering the East West Rail scheme.

As an affected property owner, you should have your own professional advice.

Olden Property can provide an independent valuation of the property or land affected and analyse appropriate comparable evidence to establish the relevant market value.

Our advice can then be used as the basis for negotiations with the acquiring authority's surveyor.

We can also review an offer you have already received and advise whether further valuation evidence or negotiation is appropriate.

What Can an East West Rail Compensation Claim Include?

Every claim is different, but depending on the circumstances compensation may involve:

• the value of property or land acquired;

• the effect of partial acquisition on retained property;

• disturbance losses;

• reasonable relocation costs;

• business losses;

• statutory payments where applicable; and

• reasonable professional fees associated with preparing and negotiating the compensation claim.

The appropriate heads of claim depend upon the property, the interest being acquired and the particular circumstances.

We can identify the elements relevant to your case and prepare the property valuation evidence required to support negotiations.

Have You Received a Letter From East West Rail?

If you have received correspondence from East West Railway Company, its land agents or its surveyors, you can contact us before agreeing an acquisition price or compensation figure.

Please send us the correspondence you have received together with the property address and any relevant plans.

We can review the information and explain how we can assist.

Why Choose Olden Property?

Olden Property provides independent valuation and compulsory purchase advice to property owners affected by major infrastructure and regeneration schemes.

Tom Olden MRICS is a Chartered Surveyor, RICS Registered Valuer and member of the Compulsory Purchase Association.

We act for property owners rather than the acquiring authority and can provide advice throughout the valuation and compensation process, from an initial review of how a scheme affects a property through to valuation and compensation negotiations.

Our work includes:

• compulsory purchase valuations;

• compensation claims;

• blight valuations;

• residential and commercial property;

• business disturbance;

• land and partial acquisition; and

• negotiations with acquiring authorities and their surveyors.

Speak to an East West Rail CPO Surveyor

If you own a home, business, farm or land affected by East West Rail, contact Olden Property for an initial discussion.

You may already have received correspondence about your property, be within the safeguarding area, or simply want to understand what the proposed route means for you.

Send us your property address and any correspondence or plans you have received from East West Rail, and we can review the position and explain the next steps.

Contact Olden Property your situation.