In January 2013, Transport Scotland compulsorily acquired all the lands and buildings it required in order to deliver the AWPR road infrastructure project, and such acquisition triggered financial claims for compensation in respect of those directly affected by the compulsory purchase process. Whilst the majority of these claims have now been settled and the compensation monies paid out, there still remain a few outstanding claims. FG Burnett has acted on behalf of some 50 affected property owners regarding their claims.
However, in addition to property owners being compensated where either the whole or part of their property is compulsorily acquired, the Land Compensation (Scotland) Act 1973 provides a compensation regime for those property owners (primarily residential) whose properties lie adjacent or close to a public work (such as the AWPR) but where no land was compulsorily acquired from the property.
In such circumstances, property owners are entitled to claim compensation for any depreciation in the value of their property caused by the operation of the public work due to one or more of the seven stated physical factors in the legislation i.e. noise, vibration, smoke, fumes, smell, artificial light and the discharge onto the land in respect of which the claim is made of any solid or liquid substance. As far as the AWPR is concerned, then the traffic noise generated is the main, but not the only, factor in assessing such claims which are known as Part 1 claims as the compensation provisions are contained within that section of the 1973 Act.
The earliest any such claim can be lodged is one year after the public work becomes operational. The main section of the AWPR (Stonehaven to the Airport interchange) became operational on 12 December 2018 and, accordingly, Part 1 claims could be lodged any time after 12 December 2019 which is the date on which any compensation due is assessed relative to property values pertaining then. However, the legislation provides that such claims have to be lodged within a 5-year period i.e., taking us to 11 December 2024 and after that date whilst a property owner may have a legitimate Part 1 compensation claim, it will be rejected as it will be time-barred.
FG Burnett has so far acted on behalf of 60 property owners who have been affected in this way with their compensation settlements ranging from £5,000 to as much as £100,000 and in addition to these sums, Transport Scotland is also obliged to pay all reasonable professional fees incurred in the assessment and negotiation of these claims. Once a claim has been formally lodged with Transport Scotland, it then appoints the Valuation Office Agency to act on its behalf regarding the negotiation of the claim with the property owner’s agent.
Lastly, whilst Transport Scotland was statutorily obliged to inform all the affected property owners who had either all or part of their property compulsorily acquired in 2013 that they had a right to claim compensation, there is no such statutory obligation with regard to Part 1 claims. Accordingly, it is up to the individual affected property owners to instigate their Part 1 compensation claim. Thus, it can be appreciated that there is now only a couple of months left for the lodging of such claims before they become time-barred.
For further information or assistance regarding a Part 1 compensation claim, contact Keith Petrie. Keith has in excess of 48 years of dealing with Compulsory Purchase Orders and the associated negotiation of compensation claim assessments.