A SOUTH Bucks MP opposed to a planned high speed rail route through her constituency has welcomed news residents can apply for compensation.

Amersham and Chesham MP Cheryl Gillan has said she will oppose her party's policy over the proposed High Speed 2 project, which would see a new high speed railway line between London and Birmingham cut through the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty if given the scheme is given the go-ahead.

This week the Department of Transport confirmed a compensation scheme, called the Exceptional Hardship Scheme, would be made available to residents who may be affected by any future building work.

Details of the scheme were changed following a public consultation earlier this year (see links to previous stories, below).

Mrs Gillan told the Bucks Free Press: “I am pleased that the Government has acted quickly to put in place the Exceptional Hardship Scheme from August 20, which will give a certain amount of peace of mind to the significant number of constituents who have found themselves in difficult financial circumstances due to the blight on their properties since the previous Government announced this preferred route.

“I am also particularly glad that the Secretary of State for Transport has recognised the importance of including in the scheme those whose properties are close to the entrances and exits of tunnels – and that this blight will be judged not by an arbitrary distance but by a panel, largely independent of Government.”

Meanwhile, a delegation from Buckinghamshire will be visiting Kent today to look at the impacts another high speed rail scheme has had on the countryside.

Members of Chiltern District, Aylesbury Vale District and Bucks County Councils are amongst those who will be paying a visit to, among other places, Ebbsfleet International railway station, a maintenance depot and a tunnel portal.