As many as 12,000 homeowners blighted by the expansion of Stansted airport will NOT get any compensation from its owner.
According to The Times, more than 12,000 homes have dropped at least £100,000 in value since plans were announced to build a new runway at the Essex airport.
And now, things have got even worse, with BAA reportedly publishing details of a compensation scheme that will mean payouts only for the residents of the nearest 500 homes to the airport.
The newspaper reports that in several nearby villages, householders on one side of the road will be able to claim back the full loss in value, while their fellow villagers on the other side of the road will be entitled to nothing.
BAA, which owns the airport, has reportedly set the limit at houses that would experience sound levels of 66 decibels from at least 700 aircraft a day. The World Health Organisation has estimated that noise begins to become an annoyance at around 51 decibels.
Terry Morgan, managing director at Stansted, is quoted as saying: “I am deeply sympathetic to these people and we know there are going to be anomalies, but the advice we have been given is that when you set a boundary, you stick with it.”
The Times reports that people living outside the boundary may be able to make claims under the Land Compensation Act – but not until the runway is completed, in 2012.
Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad Ltd
