The HS2 site next to the Regent’s Park Estate

THE households worst-affected by HS2 works are to be offered a £7,000 compensation package under a new deal agreed “in principle” this week.

In June 2020, the New Journal raised the alarm about a group of more than 150 tenants and leaseholders in Cartmel, Coniston and Langdale blocks in the Regent’s Park estate.

The New Journal witnessed tenants’ kitchen tables shake when the construction work was in full flow while the piercing noise and dust from heavy piling often went right through the night despite being just a few metres from homes.

Top Town Hall chiefs later described the blocks as “a living hell” and “unacceptable” before offering tenants a 650-housing points bonus boost so they could bid to leave.

At the time, HS2 and the Department for Transport rejected a £100million proposal to buy out the leaseholders in the blocks and compensate tenants.

But they have come back to the table with a significantly reduced offer, believed to be worth around £30m, one the council said was a “really good deal” for leaseholders who had found themselves unable to sell their homes.

Regeneration chief Councillor Danny Beales

Regeneration chief Cllr Danny Beales said: “We have agreed terms of a deal that fully funds the move for everyone, tenants and leaseholders.”

The £7,000 payment is being offered to all households even if they have already moved out of the three blocks. Some tenants refused to leave despite the points boost, mainly because they had spent money on doing up their own kitchens or could not afford to renovate the properties they were bidding for.

Leaseholders will be offered “10 per cent above the market level” but this is unlikely to be enough for them to afford to buy any of the “new-build” homes in the estate outright, and so they will be offered shared equity of those homes.

After dozens of tenants moved out of the three blocks, the New Journal reported concerns from remaining leaseholders who said crime was increasing and maintenance was being neglected. They felt unable to sell homes, bought through “right to buy”, because of the HS2 works. There were also questions about why empty new-build homes in the Regent’s Park estate were not being offered to tenants.

Cllr Beales said that part of the deal was that the council agreed not to raise any breaches of assurances to residents in the future and to “draw a line on this issue”, adding that the council now had to accept responsibility “for any claims they might bring under the disturbance scheme”.

“Whilst it is not everything we wanted, everyone can move.”

He insisted the change of heart by HS2 came from several organisations “shining a light on the issue”, including stories in the New Journal.

Cllr Beales added that the blocks would remain empty, as they were still uninhabitable, but in the medium term they could be retained and refurbished or redeveloped.

The council retains ownership of the land under the terms of the deal. Pockets of land around Euston Station and leading up the railway to towards the top of Parkway in Camden Town are earmarked for housing and commercial developments.

Explaining its change of heart, HS2 Ltd said this week that “the impact of the work on these affected residents has only been fully understood since HS2 construction work began and detailed construction plans developed”.

George Chilcott, senior delivery sponsor for Euston at HS2 Ltd, said: “Through close cooperation we were able to deliver a solution for the residents that meets the challenge of the unique nature and duration of the works in the area.”

Camden Council will be writing to affected residents setting out the terms of the deal and seeking views before agreeing to the plans.