Wakefield bypass compensation payouts top £5m

The road was built to ease congestion in the city centre and serve about 2,500 new homes being built at City Fields

Compensation payouts to residents whose house values fell after a bypass was built in Wakefield have passed £5m.

A total of 1,074 claims have been settled since the Wakefield Eastern Relief Road, also called Neil Fox Way, opened in 2017, a council report says.

The three-mile (5km) road connects Aberford Road in the north of the city to Doncaster Road in the south.

Wakefield Council cabinet members have been asked to allocate £3.4m towards the payouts when they meet next week.

The council plans to make a request to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority to recover the sum, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Claims can be made under the Land Compensation Act for a six-year period.

The council report, to be considered at a meeting on 19 March, says settlements totalling £5.1m have been made, with a further £200,000 of payments likely before the claim period ends next month.

It says an "insufficient budget was made available" to cover the cost of the claims which was higher than expected when the scheme was launched.

The report says: "The extent of claims that could arise as a result of the new road opening was uncertain at the time of the project and funding allocation."

A consortium of developers involved in the road construction will contribute £300,000 towards the costs under a legal agreement.

Compensation claims have been made by residents living in areas including Eastmoor, Stanley, Stanley Ferry and Pinders Heath.

Claims can be made if a property value depreciates by more than £50 from the building of a new highway.

Under legislation, factors that can affect values include noise, vibration, smell, fumes, smoke and artificial lighting.

The overall cost of the bypass, which was designed to ease congestion in the city centre and serve new homes at City Fields, now stands at £35.9m.