The compensation scheme for people affected by the proposed High Speed Rail link between London and Birmingham is due to be launched.

Anyone who urgently needs to sell their property but cannot because of the proposed line will be able to apply for the government to buy their home.

An independent panel is to be set up which will look at individual applications but there are fears the criteria may be too strict, and that some may miss out.

The proposed route for a high speed rail link between London and Birmingham was announced in March  and people found out if their homes would be bulldozed or whether there'd be 200+ mph trains running at the bottom of their gardens.

Trains will be up to 400 metres long, and carry up to 1100 people. Initially there would be up to 14 trains an hour.

The route would go from London's Euston Station, run just south of Aylesbury, between Coventry and Kenilworth, and then into a new station in the Eastside area of Birmingham and would be designed to carry trains at up to 250mph. This would cut journey time to London to Birmingham  by 30 mins to just 49 minutes, a reduction of about half an hour.

But to do that, some people will have to lose their homes and businesses.

The current route is only a proposal and was announced by the previous government but after consultation the new government might decide it wants to use a different route.

So those homes which look at the moment as if they're blighted by the project, might end up being completely unaffected.

So this scheme will only compensate those home-owners who need to sell now, not everyone who might be affected eventually.

To be eligible for compensation, people need to demonstrate that need - for example if they're getting divorced or have to move somewhere else for a new job.

They also have to have made "reasonable efforts" to sell their property already - this means having it up for sale for at least three months, with no offers over 85% of the pre-high speed rail market price.

The independent panel will then consider their application and recommend whether the government should buy the property for the full market value.

The government though says it has not set any distance parameters, and that it's for the independent panel to decide who gets compensation.

It also refutes claims that there is not enough money in the pot to pay for everyone, arguing that the £50m earmarked for the scheme is an estimate - not a budget or cap and says anyone who qualifies for compensation will get it.

But there are no easy answers here. Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said "Government is all about taking difficult decisions," 

"It's about balancing the benefits to the nation as a whole, to the economy, with the burdens that individuals and communities will suffer.

"And the challenge is to get the route which causes the least possible damage for the maximum possible benefit.

"Now that can never mean that nobody suffers. Our job is to make sure that we fairly compensate those who are disadvantaged by the decisions taken."

 "Least possible damage for the maximum possible benefit"