On the 23 February 2017 HS2 received Royal Assent for Phase 1 from London to Birmingham. The new Bill will grant the powers to build Phase 1 of the HS2 network.
Construction is due to begin this Spring and as a result of the recently received Royal Assent, Phase 2A and Phase 2B, West Midlands to Manchester are also affected. The Bill now grants planning and provides compulsory purchase powers for the construction of Phase 1, but also provides HS2 the right to now undertake environmental and ecological surveys along the safeguarded route of Phase 2A and 2B and not pay any licence fees for allowing access.
The majority of Phase 2A has now been surveyed, however, on Phase 2B Mouchel Consultants have recently sent out early access agreements to those priority areas along the route. However, towards the end of March they will now be sending licence surveys to property owners 500m either side of the centre line to request for environmental surveys.
As previously mentioned, HS2 now have compulsory purchase powers and have the right to access land and not pay any licence fees. Rostons advise anyone contacted by Mouchel Consultants to seek professional advice, prior to agreeing to any licence that you may receive.
If you receive an early access agreement, or would like to discuss this in more detail, then please do not hesitate to contact any of the Rostons Team, we would be delighted to assist.