Homeowners may be bribed to let eyesores such as nuclear power stations or rail links be built nearby Planning Minister said pay-outs could 'help people overcome objections' Nick Boles said proposal is 'radical departure' from Britain's planning rules Plans likely to provoke accusations he is railroading people into accepting unpopular construction Homeowners could be bribed with compensation to accept unpopular new developments which devalue their properties. Planning Minister Nick Boles said pay-outs could "help people overcome their objections" to projects such as nuclear power stations, rail links or industrial plants. He told MPs yesterday the proposal was a "radical departure" from Britain's current planning rules, but would help speed up major infrastructure that will boost growth. Planning Minister Nick Boles has proposed compensating homeowners into accepting unpopular new developments which devalue their properties (file picture) Mr Boles, well-known for his clashes with countryside campaigners over homebuilding, is likely to provoke controversy and accusations he is railroading people into accepting unpopular construction. But he told MPs on the Commons communities and local government committee he was determined there should be "individual benefits" for local residents from new development. It would help speed up planning applications and cut down on legal bills, he said. There are already schemes to compensate homeowners for roads and rail links which affect the property by creating noise and traffic. However, Mr Boles is proposing direct compensation for lost property value, and to extend this to other types of development. He is looking for a place to carry out a pilot scheme in the coming months. He said: "I think that everybody recognises that countries have to do difficult things - build roads, build railway lines, build nuclear power stations and other kinds of power sources. Planning Minister Nick Boles is looking for a place to carry out a pilot scheme in the coming months It is better for everyone that the amount of money is banged up in the transaction process - making the decision, let alone building the thing, as little as possible and relatively speedy. With certain projects there has been a principle established of some kind of a benefit being paid to very local communities. He added: "One of the things we are keen to pilot is whether people who have properties very close to a substantial development might benefit from some form of compensation for the loss of property value, something that does happen in some other countries, the Netherlands have innovated with it. It's quite a radical departure for this country - it's not totally clear how you graft it on to our planning system so that's why we're going relatively carefully into it and looking to set up a pilot to see whether it can help people overcome their objections to developments that are of benefit to the local community but might have a negative impact on them personally. The schemes are aimed at "improving our energy security or improving our transport links or improving our national competitiveness." Under the Dutch system, a small number of people living close to proposed developments who can prove they have suffered "detriment" receive compensation payments with an average payout of around £8,000. A report last year from The Infrastructure Forum, recommending such a scheme in the UK, estimated it would cost £80million a year but the costs would be far outstripped by infrastructure benefits. It said: "In Britain, at present, residents miles away from a development think they have everything to gain and nothing to lose by objecting to new roads, rail lines, housing or business development." The Department for Transport is consulting on how to compensate people affected by the High Speed 2 rail line through buying their home or giving them a property bond. A source said of Mr Boles" idea: "It sounds like this proposal is going quite a bit further." His plan emerged as the Energy Department looks at schemes to give individual homeowners cash or money off their energy bills to accept nearby wind farms.