§ 46. Mr. MackinlayTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the measures Her Majesty's Government plan to take to alleviate the problems facing small and medium businesses facing blight on the channel tunnel rail link route. [30668]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonLondon and Continental Railways, under the Development Agreement which remains in force, are obliged to follow compulsory purchase rules and honour the undertakings given to businesses during the passage of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link Act 1996. The provisions include: purchase on request of business premises with a rateable value of less than £18,000; all businesses to receive regular information and the offer of estimates of compensation; and early negotiations where previously promised.
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§ Mr. MackinlayTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if all agreements reached between London and Continental and landowners on the line of the Channel Tunnel Link route between Kent and London will be honoured, separately identifying those relating to timescales and funding for parallel operations. [32673]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonFor agreements reached in the near future the Secretary of State is willing to provide on request written assurances that if the Channel Tunnel Rail Link Development Agreement were to be terminated he would take on the purchases on those terms that would apply had compulsory purchase powers been used. Claims would be settled by agreement or, failing this, by reference to the Lands Tribunal.