Millions of pounds have yet to be claimed out of the fund set aside to compensate homeowners living within 120-300 metres of the controversial HS2 rail line. 

Sixty kilometres runs through Buckinghamshire on the first phase of the route between London and Birmingham.

The company responsible for the high speed train has written to all the homeowners eligible for compensation. So far only £7m has been paid out.

“There is still £13m left in unclaimed compensation,” says property litigation solicitor Elliott Brookes at Gerrards Cross-based law firm BP Collins.

He points out: “Through the Homeowner Payment Scheme, owner occupiers living within 120 and 180 metres either side of the centre line of the planned railway are eligible to receive £22,500, those living between 180-240 metres are eligible for £15,000 and residents living in properties between 240-300 metres are entitled to claim £7,500.

“Although the scheme will be open for applications until 2027 – a year after Phase One of the railway opens – it’s best to avoid a last minute rush. The process can take up to two months for eligibility to be confirmed.”

Under the terms of the scheme, he says, payment can only be made through a law firm. It can’t be paid directly to the homeowner. 

Owners will receive up to £500 plus VAT to cover legal costs.

“After an owner receives a letter from HS2 Ltd confirming eligibility they need to instruct a solicitor to advise them on the terms of the payment and check and certify their identity in order to recover the compensation.”

*Earlier this year a layer of black clay was discovered 33 metres below the ground in Ruislip when an investigation team was testing conditions for a tunnel to be built on a 14 kilometre stretch running from West Ruislip to Hammersmith.

Geologists had never seen anything like it. 

After the sludge had been tested in a lab, the scientists decided it was formed from densely wooded marshes on the edge of a sub tropical sea that was part of the coastline 56 million years ago.

Dr Jacqueline Skipper from Geotechnical Consulting Group described the discovery of what’s now called the Ruislip Bed as “a window into our geological history.” 

She said: “Although ground investigations regularly take place across the country, it’s really exciting and very unusual to come across material that no-one has ever seen before. It would have been formed during the Paleocene period which was a time of intense change with new animals evolving following the extinction of dinosaurs. 

“Most of Southern England was covered by a warm sea and this clay helps us to pinpoint where the coastline is.”

Ruislip was one of 8,000 locations tested along the route of the future high speed rail service between London and the West Midlands.

Steve Reynolds, the rail company’s ground investigation progamme manager, says it is the largest underground exploratory project ever undertaken in the UK.

He reports: “We have been exploring the soil and rocks beneath the surface through various methods, ranging from drill tests into the ground and taking samples to using radar technology.

“Our main investigations are almost complete with over a million laboratory tests on the samples we have taken. 

“It is an unparalleled opportunity to learn about the ground beneath our feet.”