It was reported last week that the Conservatives have withdrawn their support for the proposed route of HST2. This is due to anxiety about of losing votes from NIMBYs in the Tory heartland, who are fearful of property blight. It is the worst of reasons since it does not go to the root of the problem and question the whole project. Nevertheless a valid point is being made, if not directly. There...

Great Portland Estates is taking on Transport for London in a £25m row over the development of a Crossrail station. Toby Courtauld, chief executive of the West End property specialist, said yesterday that TfL has compulsorily purchased a London property from the company at a price that is “nowhere near our valuation”. Great Portland’s 18/19 Hanover Square in London was acquired...

The land values issue can crop up at almost any time in almost any context. An example that is coming to public attention concerns proposals for the construction of high speed railway lines in Britain. A government announcement is expected shortly. Does this herald a bright new future?

Great investment opportunities exist even in the present gloomy economic climate. Railway electrification leads to land value growth and a new programme was announced during the summer. We have been looking at the proposals and identified the likely property hotspots.

Network Rail has now published its Strategic Business Case for New Lines. The product of a study by transport consultants Steer Davies Gleave, it concludes that a new core line from London to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Edinburgh and Glasgow would cost £34 billion to build and, over a 60 year period, generate £23 billion of additional revenue and a further £34 billion in additional benefits....

Construction of Crossrail has now started. This new deep level underground railway will run beneath central London between Paddington and Stratford, with links to Heathrow Airport and Maidenhead in the west, Shenfield in the east and Abbey Wood in the south-east. The cost will be £15.9 billion and the line is due to open in 2017. It will create all sorts of new commuting opportunities, as a recent...