Forced relocation in one year: – Too short a time

– It is an incredibly awkward way to proceed, says Mirjam Berg Abrahamsen to Dagbladet.

She currently lives in one of the old wooden houses on “Hylla” in Oslo, which Bane Nor has been approved by the city council to demolish. Here, new train tracks will be built out of the capital, to increase the capacity of the train service.

By May next year, Abrahamsen and his family must find a new place to live. She and the other residents in the area received the message in a letter from Bane Nor last week. Negotiations on the purchase of the properties will be initiated in May this year, the letter states.

Residents do not yet know what to expect in compensation for their properties. Abrahamsen fears it will be difficult to find a similar place to live within the deadline.

– We have far too little time, and we are around 20 families who will compete against each other in a galloping housing market. We also have no idea what price we are offered, she says.

Inflamed conflict

The development of the Brynsbakken project has been a dispute between Bane Nor and the local population since the plans were presented in 2017. According to Bane Nor the area is a «bottleneck that restricts train traffic through Oslo».

Stine Strachan, communications consultant for the project, stated Aftenposten last year that they have tried to find another place for the new train tracks.

“Unfortunately, this area is the only place possible,” Strachan wrote in an email.

Just before Easter, the company received the green light for the development of the city council, after pushing for a quick decision.

According to Bane Nor, the rails must be in place by Easter 2025 to avoid major delays. Then a planned replacement of the signal system at Oslo S starts, and the two projects cannot be carried out at the same time. To achieve this, Bane Nor estimates that they will have to start development in 2022.

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Vålerenga Vel shall appeal the city council’s decision to the State Administrator. This is confirmed by charity leader Hege Stensrud Høsøien to Dagbladet.

– The main problem in this case is that Bane Nor has not succeeded in bringing about a proper participation process. As a consequence, the case is not well enough informed. The local community has had a lot to contribute, but the proposals have either not been followed up, or rejected on what we believe is the wrong basis, says Høsøien.

She refers to the city council’s criticism of Bane Nor in the decision itself:

«The City Council is very dissatisfied with the time pressure the municipality has been put under in this case, and with Bane NOR’s unwillingness to find solutions to take care of local needs. The City Council expects more from the state in terms of transport development in densely populated residential areas.

– Got a lot of good input

Bane Nor believes that alternatives for Brynsbakken have been studied well enough, and disagrees that the participation has been too poor.

– Our opinion is that Oslo municipality’s politicians have worked thoroughly before they adopted the zoning plan, to be sure that they made the right decision, writes communications consultant Stine Strachan in an e-mail to Dagbladet.

She points out, among other things, that “many, detailed questions” have been asked, in addition to participation in inspections and a full day of hearing about the project.

Bane Nor is said to have considered 13 different alternatives before they, together with the Planning and Building Agency, presented what they consider to be the best solution.

– During the planning process, we received many good inputs that have not only been considered, but which have also led to major changes in the plan, Strachan writes.

“Super-immunity” amazes

– Fear and despair

According to Abrahamsen, the residents have all the way been informed about the need for preparatory work from the autumn of 2022.

– We have assumed that this is the time when we have to move. That it will suddenly happen in a year is completely new to us, and has never been expressed. They should have told us about this before.

She points out, among other things, that assistant project manager in Bane Nor, Torun Hellen, has stated Avisa Oslo that they need the rest of 2021 and 2022 to buy and expropriate the properties if they are to have the opportunity to treat people properly.

– If the negotiations are delayed in time, I am afraid more people will accept a lower offer than they are entitled to, because they do not dare to wait for the case to go to court, and thus become anxious that they will not have time to find themselves a new place to live, says Abrahamsen.

Hege Stensrud Høsøien has spoken to several of the families on Hylla, after they received the deadline from Bane Nor. She says that the whole neighborhood finds the situation demanding.

– I perceive it in such a way that it has come as a surprise. Many are scared and despairing. It was a short time horizon in the beginning, now it looks like it will be even shorter.

Stine Strachan in Bane Nor understands that such processes are difficult for those affected.

– For the inhabitants of Hylla, it is perhaps extra difficult because the case was postponed in Oslo municipality. Now it will be shorter time than we all would like between the start of negotiations and relocation.

She assures that the residents will receive an offer as soon as possible, so that they will have the best possible time to find new homes.

– We would have liked to have reached agreements earlier, but we could not do so until the city council had adopted the zoning plan.

– Within “normal” time frame

There are no legal guidelines for how long such a process should take, says law professor Geir Stenseth at the University of Oslo. One year is to be regarded as in the lower border country, but within the normal range.

Such a process, in which private individuals involuntarily have to give up their own property to the state for compensation, is called expropriation. After a valid political decision, one will first try to enter into a so-called amicable arrangement between the developer and residents.

If this does not succeed, an expropriation process is initiated, followed by a legal process in which the amount of compensation is determined.

In situations where the takeover of the properties is time-critical, such as here, Bane Nor may request to take over the properties before this sum has been determined. They have legal authority for that, Stenseth explains.

– The normal thing will then be to pay the main part of the compensation before the property is taken over, so that people will have the opportunity to acquire a new home, Stenseth says.

Must have «full compensation»

According to the Constitution, people are entitled to “full compensation” for their properties.

– Here, the market value of the home should be the starting point. If this is not high enough for you to obtain a similar home in a similar area for the compensation amount, you should not be eaten with a market price. You must be compensated with what you have to pay for a similar home in an area with which it is natural to compare the original place of residence, says Stenseth.

According to the professor, expropriation processes are perceived as difficult for many of those who are exposed to it.

– The main problem in such processes is the real conflict between society at large and the individual affected. The subjective emotional value is not replaced in Norway either, Stenseth explains.

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