High Speed 2 compensation adviser James Del Mar, Knight Frank High Speed 2 is a planned rail link from London to Birmingham. It is probably the largest infrastructure project the UK has ever undertaken and will affect a large number of people. From our point of view, this means two things: properties will be subject to compulsory purchase; and the railway will cut through landowners" properties. Our job is to help people get the appropriate level of compensation. There's a property angle, a planning angle, a legal angle and valuation skills involved. The UK has complex laws to enable the state to build infrastructure and people need help to ensure they are dealt with fairly. The affected properties could be London flats and businesses or vast country estates. The impact could be anything from the house that's been in your family for generations being demolished to having your land cut in half to reduce noise from the line. Or you might be someone who wants to move and can't sell their house because of uncertainty about the railway. It can be very emotional. There are something like 28 different valuation methods for compensation and it is unrealistic to expect a layman to go through all the schemes. In some cases, property owners will only be able to claim a year after the railway has been running and - and this won't happen until 2026. It took 20 years for the last claim relating to the M25 motorway to be paid out.