Crossrail could help create £5.5 billion in added value to residential and commercial real estate along its route between 2012 and 2021 according to new research for Crossrail by GVA, the UK’s largest independent commercial property consultant. According to the Crossrail web site, “The report illustrates how Crossrail will have a marked impact on a number of central London and suburban...

The Government has announced its planned compensation package for properties affected by the proposed £17bn high speed rail link between London and Birmingham. It could result in a payout of up to £1.3bn, yet campaigners have argued it is still not enough.

London homebuyers pay a significant premium  to live close to a tube or train station. More land value created by the community and ending up in private pockets.New report by Nationwide.

An article in the Daily Telegraph explains that High Speed Rail (HS2) will create winners as well as losers among homeowners and homebuyers because, even though only 1.2 miles of the line will be above ground in the Chilterns, it will affect local house prices for good or ill. David Newnes, director of LSL Property Services, owners of estate agents Your Move and Reeds Rains said: “For many ...

The government has now given the go-ahead to HS2 – £16 billion the high speed railway between London and Birmingham that will shave 20 minutes off the journey in 2026. For a further £16 billion, it is intended that it will reach Manchester in the 2030s. This is a shocking demonstration of the inability of Britain’s decision makers to join up their thinking. Having decided to invest this...

Daily Telegraph article here. More taxpayers’ investment that will end up in private pockets.

The government has just announced its infrastructure programme as a means of getting the economy going. We have advocated this ever since the economy started to go bad a few years ago. But… a scheme like the London Underground’s Northern Line extension to Battersea ought to give rise to a land value uplift of several times what it will cost to build. This amounts to a gift to the landowners...

In recent months, some major (and very expensive) railway upgrades have just been completed. These include the Chiltern Line which runs from London to Birmingham, and the Cotswold Line between Oxford and Worcester. The Chiltern Line improvements have brought places like Thame, Bicester, Banbury and Leamington within commuting distance, whilst the Cotswold Line development has done the same for places...

In an interview following the publication of the report of the inquiry into high speed rail, including the Government’s proposal for HS2 – the chair of the Commons Transport Select Committee, Louise Ellman stated her determination that those adversely affected should receive good compensation. We agree that people should not lose out because of the scheme. However, if the the scheme...

A critique of the HS2 project by John Kay in the FT.  It is a good and concise analysis, but it is a pity that Kay did not mention that the external costs and benefits of infrastructure schemes eventually turn up in land values. We would suggest that there is a need to refine the technques to evaluate these and develop forecasting tools. In principle this should not be difficult using multi-factorial...