CrossRail bid to play property card
LONDON'S long-awaited east-west CrossRail project has received a boost after the joint venture between the Strategic Rail Authority and Transport for London appointed surveyors Drivers Jonas to discover how commercial property will benefit.
The study is expected to take two months and will focus on the impact CrossRail will make on commercial property in the City, its fringes and the Isle of Dogs.
The report will add to research being carried out by KPMG on the economic case for CrossRail.
The Drivers Jonas report will concentrate on the influence it will have on London's dominant financial services industry, according to Property Week magazine. Both reports are expected to form the basis of Mayor Ken Livingstone's argument to persuade Chancellor Gordon Brown to stump up cash for the scheme.
The proposed £3 billion Cross-Rail link will carry trains in twin tunnels between Paddington and Liverpool Street via the West End and provide direct links between central London and Heathrow. It would run out to Stratford in east London.
Eventually the line could run out to either Dartford in north Kent or Shenfield in Essex. Westwards, it could link to Aylesbury or Watford.
The Drivers Jonas report will concentrate on how much extra office space the first stage of CrossRail would help to deliver.
Rob Colley, an associate of Drivers Jonas who will head the agency's research team, said: 'We will be looking at the net additional floorspace that could be supported by having more transport infrastructure.'
Today property experts were confident that the report would provide a boost for property. The head of one of the City's biggest office developers said: 'I can see property values in the City improving by at least 25% if CrossRail comes.'
Some City property experts are predicting that the office population of the area to be surveyed could increase by as much as one quarter.
CrossRail chairman Sir Christopher Benson said: 'The impact of CrossRail on commercial property along its eventual route is likely to be enormous. An infrastructure scheme of this magnitude will significantly enhance development potential and provide a much-needed catalyst for regeneration, as well as making a major contribution to the UK economy as a whole.'
One fear for developers, however, is that CrossRail could be financed by a new property tax to help pay for the line, which is designed to boost journey times across the capital. The Drivers Jonas report could form the basis for such a property tax.
