Posts Tagged ‘High Speed 2’

Boris Is Wrong

Monday, July 28th, 2014

Heathrow: Davies Commission

As much as we like Boris Johnson, just one look at any road/rail map of the UK shows that he is clearly wrong about Heathrow. The massing of infrastructure and economic activity to the west of London in terms of rail links, both to Central London and the rest of the UK, as well as road links with the M4 and M3 corridors, positions Heathrow perfectly as the location for a UK hub airport. That is why it is there.  In 2018, Crossrail will link west with east – so surely it’s time for a Great British compromise? (more…)

HS2 is just not costing enough. That is the big problem

Thursday, May 8th, 2014

…And another thing: it is not taking enough Tory Voters’ housing.

The project as scoped is in fact incomplete. The end result is that arguments for the project itself are incomplete. Effectively, the project process itself has become the debate, as our short termist political system is not fit to manage long-term land use. (more…)

The Evolution of Value is the Evolution of Catchment

Friday, February 28th, 2014

The extent of any property occupiers’ use of infrastructure is determined by the catchment of that occupier.

The catchment of an internet business such as Amazon, is in theory infinite, although each building’s actual catchment and therefore infrastructure use will be defined by the business operation. The catchment can be usefully compared with that of an out of town shopping centre, or an Argos “click and collect” store. All three being greater than that of a ‘bricks only’ high street shop. Catchment is relevant to any customer, resident, or business and will determine the value to any occupier of their building occupation. (more…)

Jonathan Naughton response to Mark Prisk

Friday, January 31st, 2014

Mark,

Your opinion piece for Property Week (24 January) raises some interesting questions about how taxation of property could evolve from the current rating system.

You asked what is the difference in activity between a warehouse operated by Amazon and a “click and collect” store run by Argos? (more…)