Longest road tunnels in UK close to completion
Engineers are close to completing the longest under-land road tunnels in the country, linking London to Portsmouth.
March 25, 2010
The tunnel is hoped to be opened in July 2010 Photo: PA
The pair of tunnels 1.9km (1.2 miles) long, under the Devil's Punch Bowl, in Surrey, will form part of a new stretch of the A3.
The £371 million project is due to open in August next year and the Highways Agency said drivers can expect a quicker and more reliable journey through Surrey.
The Highways Agency has been building the new road since 2007 and aims to get rid of a traffic bottleneck in Hindhead by replacing the only section of single carriageway along the A3 with a two-lane road.
It will also benefit the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Site of Special Scientific Interest by returning part of the old A3 to nature.
The Devil's Punch Bowl is a large hollow of dry sandy heath which, according to legend, was created when the devil tormented the god Thor by throwing handfuls of earth at him.
The natural amphitheatre hollow, now a National Trust site, was actually formed by springs which cut into the soft rock and is the largest spring-formed feature in Britain.
Highways Agency project manager Paul Arnold said: ''Since we broke through the tunnel in 2009, the plans are becoming a reality, and while there is more work to be done before the end of the project, drivers won't have to wait long before they can fully use the new road.
''2010 is an important year for the Hindhead tunnel, and we are very pleased with what progress we've made.
''By the end of July this year, we plan to fully open the section of new road south of the Hazel Grove junction to traffic.
''We will continue to work hard to keep the project on target and to keep traffic delays to an absolute minimum.''
Supports for the new Miss James footbridge, just to the south of the tunnel, will be lifted in this week.
Government gives green light to 'green belt destruction'
Thousands of homes could be built on green belt land as the Government approves plans to rip up protected countryside to reach housing quotas.
May 6, 2009
The Government's new South East Plan includes a recommendation to review green belt land in Oxfordshire and Surrey in order to build 6,000 more homes there Photo: IAN JONES
The move is contained in the Government's new South East Plan which will see 32,000 houses built every year between now and 2026.
The controversial document includes a recommendation to review green belt land in Oxfordshire and Surrey in order to build 6,000 more homes there.
Countryside campaigners fear the move will "open the floodgates" to more building on the green belt and the Tories accused the Government of "concreting over" the South East.
However, the Government insisted green belt boundaries should not be "set in stone" when there is so much demand for affordable housing.
Sadiq Khan, the Communities Minister, said an increase in single person households, immigration and the ageing population made it essential to increase housing stock in the area.
"The number of households in the South East is growing rapidly with housing supply lagging behind and housing affordability worsening," he said. "Despite the current difficulties in the market we need to keep up with the rise in demand and provide more homes."
Edward Dawson, of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, said the Government was in danger of "opening the flood gates" to development in the countryside by allowing councils to build on green belt land.
"We have some breathing space now because of the recession but in the long run – with housing pressure coming back – that will open the flood gates to green belt releases and we are very concerned about that."
Caroline Spelman, the Tory communities spokeswoman, accused Government of concreting over the region.
"Labour Ministers are today giving the green light to Green Belt destruction across the South East," she said. "This is a shocking betrayal by Gordon Brown who pledged when he became Prime Minister to protect the Green Belt 'robustly'.
"These top-down Whitehall building targets will lead to unsustainable urban sprawl, extra congestion, higher carbon emissions and more flooding, ruining many communities' quality of life. This will only deliver the sink estates of the 21st Century, lacking proper infrastructure or environmental sustainability."
Mrs Spelman also said the plan was a waste of money.
"Given a general election will be held within the next 12 months, councils would be wise to go slow on adopting the controversial provisions in this South East Plan, " she said. "It is not in taxpayers' interests for town halls to spend time and money on implementing Labour policies that could be scrapped within a year."
However the Department for Communities and Local Government insisted only a small area of green belt will be built over in south of Oxford, north east of Guildford and in Chertsey.
By Louise Gray, Environment Correspondent. Telegraph.co.uk
And the Gold Medal for Land Acquisition Goes To...
Posted by Francesca Heintz
As
the London head of real estate development and regeneration at
Eversheds, Neil Logan Green landed a plum assignment: leading the
100-lawyer team responsible for acquiring the land and necessary zoning
approvals for the 2012 Summer Games. In August the London lawyer joined
K&L Gates's sizeable real estate group. The Am Law Daily caught up
with Logan Green to talk about his practice.
What kind of practice do you have?
My practice is a heavyweight, U.K. land-related practice so, for
example, major infrastructure, large mixed-use schemes and
public-private partnership, a joint venture between a public body and a
major developer.
What goes into finding the land for the Olympics?
Well, there's a thing called the master plan produced, and the
positioning of the various sports venues was decided by the Olympic
Delivery Authority and London 2012. My clients were responsible for the
land acquisition, so that's about 300-350 hectares [about 750-850
acres]. The land was acquired by a mixture of private treaty and
compulsory acquisition.
Who were your clients?
They're a governmental body called the London Developmental Agency, and
they report to the mayor of London. They're responsible for delivering
the land upon which the venues are to be constructed. In England, this
is very complex because, unlike the Beijing games, the land was already
built on. It's effectively in central London, in Stratford, and some of
it has been there for 100 years.
Do you have to buy the land or houses from their owners?
There are very few houses, it's mostly industrial or brownfield land,
and some other public land belonging to other boroughs. It is probably
the largest and most complex land acquisition ever undertaken in the
U.K., and certainly in London.
Is this the first Olympics you have worked on?
Yes, but I have just finished a [temporary assignment] before joining
K&L Gates at London 2012, which is the body who's responsible for
delivering the Olympics. I've been working there this summer pro bono.
What kind of work were you doing with London 2012?
I was undertaking a project called Live Sites, which is the delivery of
public broadcasting television screens, which are 25- to 30-meter
screens, in cities across the U.K.
You
also advised the Polish and Ukrainian governments on their bid to host
the 2012 UEFA football championships. Do you seek out these sporting
events?
It just seems to have just gone that way. But
don't forget, you can't have a sporting event without the land. In
terms of value these are all projects in excess of £500 million.
After working at Eversheds since 2001, why did you decide to make the move to K&L Gates?
The increasing internationalization of real estate. It's no longer a
domestic asset, it's now a pan-European asset. The size of the
transactions is now so great and they are so complex that they're now
suitable for non-domestic investors, and K&L Gates has an
extraordinary international platform to help me deliver to those types
of clients.
Back to the Olympics, what was your favorite event?
It has to be the track.
When 2012 comes around, do you plan on attending the games in your hometown?
I haven't gotten the tickets yet, but I'm hopeful
Why green fields could be buried by tide of tarmac. July 08.
Green
fields edging the South Downs could be buried under concrete and tarmac
if recommendations from a Government report are accepted.
Economist
Kate Barker is calling for protected areas of the countryside, such as
areas of outstanding natural beauty and Green Belt land, to be replaced
by "green wedges" or "green corridors" with gaps for homes and other
developments to be built.
The report argues
that this radical shift is needed to tackle ballooning house prices and
a lack of choice for businesses and homeowners.
By opening up previously protected areas, thousands of extra homes and shops could be built.
The
South Downs Society is calling for assurances that the proposals will
not lead to the destruction of special wildlife sites or areas of open
space.
Much
of the South Downs is unlikely to be affected by any change in planning
policy if, as expected, it is granted National Park status next year.
But
areas of outstanding natural beauty which are not included in the
National Park and agricultural land bordering the protected area could
be snapped up by developers.
The Argus has
identified a number of sites which fall outside of the new National
Park and could, if the recommendations are accepted, be used for
housing or new businesses.
This includes the
area around Sheepcote Valley, Brighton, a section of land designated of
outstanding natural beauty in Hangleton, sandwiched between King George
VI Avenue and the A27, and vast areas to the north of the Downs,
including land near Hurstpierpoint.
The
leader of West Sussex County Council, Henry Smith, has also warned that
even National Park status may not save parts of the South Downs.
Jon
Martin, chairman of the society, said: "We are pleased the report
recognises that national parks remain in need of particular protection.
"However, it is very disturbing that the report opens the way for more development on precious Green Belt land.
"This
will have a particularly damaging effect on natural beauty, wildlife
and public enjoyment in these areas, and could also impact on the area
likely to be included within the South Downs National Park in the Low
Weald of Hampshire."
Jacquetta Fewster,
director of the South Downs Society, warned that the recommendations
could bring bulldozers to this beautiful part of the countryside.
She said: "It is vital that land around the proposed National Park is not buried under concrete and tarmac.
"Many
of these sites provide important foraging areas for wild creatures, and
wildlife populations on the Downs could be severely harmed.
"Unsightly development so close to the National Park would spoil the enjoyment of people exploring the South Downs.
"There
are areas of outstanding natural beauty which might not make it into
the National Park and could be under threat, but the bigger risk is the
other areas which have no protection."
Brighton
and Hove City Council leader Simon Burgess said that even if the rules
were relaxed he would not look for more development on the fringes of
the city.
He said: "We need to be looking more east and west, not north, in terms of where people are going to live.
"I
am not saying that Worthing should be part of Brighton and Hove but it
is about finding locations in the east-west coastal conurbation.
"What makes this city special is the fact we have the Downs and the sea and we really need to protect that."
The
proposals are being looked at by Sir Michael Lyons, as part of his
investigation into the future of council tax and local funding which
will be published next spring.
theargus.co.uk, 19.12.200
Monday 26th May 08
Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al Thani, chairman of the
Qatar Islamic Bank, says: "It is our belief that the United Kingdom
continues to be an attractive investment place in Europe. Sound
economic management, market orientated policies and an effective
regulatory framework together with political stability have enabled the
UK to be a world leading investment-friendly destination."
While
many UK-based investors may not agree with all of his assessment, he is
right up to a point. Long leases, a shortage of land and a tortuous
planning process make the UK a very good long-term prospect.
The Knight Frank Article
June 7, 2007
Reform of planning rules ‘vital’ to meet growth in demand
Gabriel Rozenberg, Economics Reporter
Most
thirtysomethings will be priced out of the market by 2026 if planning
rules are not urgently reformed, the Government’s new advisory body has
found. Its report today shows that only 40 per cent of 30 to
34-year-olds in England will be able to enter the housing market in
2026, compared with 57 per cent today.
That
figure has deteriorated from well over 60 per cent in the late 1990s,
the National Housing and Planning Advice Unit (NHPAU) says. Its report
illustrates the dramatic decline in affordability since 1998, which has
seen the cost of properties in most of the South East and large areas
of the North West going from four to eight times average earnings.
The
Government’s aim of building 190,000 homes a year is not enough to deal
with the problem, it says, because an estimated 223,000 new households
are being created every year as the population expands and people
choose to stay single for longer.
Analysis
by The Times shows that the Government is falling behind in its aim of
increasing the supply of new homes. Just 174,060 houses and flats were
started in the year to March, figures from the Department of
Communities and Local Government show, the lowest figure for two and a
half years.
First-time buyers priced out
Houses will become completely unaffordable for first-time buyers unless many more are built, a national advisory unit says
Reform of planning rules ‘vital’ to meet growth in demand
How the mortgage market has changed
The future of house prices: 10 times pay
Background
Property prices grow at slowest rate in five months
Buying a house 'will cost 10 times your income'
How the mortgage market has changed
First proof of decline in housing market
Buy-to-let brigade could be the joker in pack
Buy-to-let investors are suffering - should we be worried?
Market view - falling buy-to-let yields
Background
First proof of decline in housing market
Fresh signs of cooling housing market
House prices slow despite London surge
Background
Mortgage slowdown triggers house price fears
Buy-to-let tax shock
Fall in mortgages raises fears of slowdown
Signs emerge that UK housing is off the boil
Interest rates put brake on house prices
End of house price boom is in sight
Societies saw an 8% drop in mortgage approvals last month compared with a year ago, the first such fall since 2005
Background
Nationwide says slowdown may limit price rise
House prices keep on rising
Your guide to surviving the rate hike
The return of negative equity?
Housing costs taking their toll
The question that always accompanies fresh data showing a fast-growing housing market is: are we headed for a crash?
Related Links
Buying a house 'will cost 10 times your income'
First-time buyers priced out
How the mortgage market has changed
Adam
Sampson, chief executive of Shelter, the housing and homelessness
charity, said: “Housing of all types, but particularly home ownership,
is going to escalate beyond the means of all but the wealthiest or
those with family money.
“That will
inevitably exclude from a share in housing wealth all but the most
qualified and it will stop social mobility in its tracks.”
Homebuyers
risked overstretching their finances to take out evermore precarious
loans, he said. The impact of higher prices would also be felt on those
who rent and would have a knock-on effect on the whole economy, with
many more people forced into social housing.
The
NHPAU said that the proportion of first-time buyers’ incomes taken up
by mortgage payments had increased considerably in the past three years
to reach nearly a quarter of income. Its report emphasised that reform
of the land planning system was urgently needed to free the supply of
new homes.
It said: “There may be difficult
choices and issues to confront in the future. These potentially include
brownfield versus greenfield development, and building on some
greenbelt land.”
But its proposals were
attacked by the Campaign to Protect Rural England. Neil Sinden, its
policy director, said: “It’s critical that we don’t pursue simplistic
and ultimately futile solutions to the problems of affordability.
There’s very little hard evidence to say that you can make much of a
dent in the short term on house price inflation simply through supply
side measures.”
Yvette Cooper, the Housing
Minister, said: “This powerful analysis shows how vital it is to build
more homes. Sticking to regional assemblies’ current proposals for
190,000 homes a year simply won’t do enough to help the next generation
of first-time buyers.”
Michael Gove, the
Tory housing spokesman, said: “This report underlines the fact that the
next generation won’t get on the housing ladder unless we build more
homes. . . Only a genuinely liberal approach can solve this problem.”
Have your say
The simplistic approach of building more homes to solve the shortage in affordable housing is not working.
Here in Derby, as in other areas of the country, flats and town houses
are being built where developers have acquired houses with large
gardens at grossly inflated prices. Perfectly good properties are being
demolished and high density dwellings are replacing them. However,
these dwellings are neither affordable nor desirable and are therefore
standing empty, in some cases, for over two years. Neighbourhoods are
being damaged and some of the most attractive areas of England are
being destroyed.
The present law allows developers to have it all their own way.
Last night there was a packed meeting in Allestree, a suburb of Derby,
to express concern at the latest 'garden grabbing' there.
Local people are appalled at the vandalism to their neighbourhood and it is causing huge distress.
MPs think again and support the bill on 15 June to exclude gardens as brownfield sites.
Carol Smith, Derby,
It
is so darn obvious it is pathetic. The planning rules need relaxation.
Only 2 percent of the land is built upon. The population are treated
like Red Indians forced to live on urban reservations.
Land
should be more freely available to build upon and people must get more
used to living in apartments than today. our fixation with single
family homes needs revision.
Outside London
there are virtually no luxury high rise condominiums of the sort one
finds everywhere else in the world. out NIMBYism and selfish BANANAism
is storing up trouble for the economy's competitiveness and more and
more of our competent young are and will emigrate and the IQ of the
economy will decline.
Government, get real!
ditto the Tories, take a stand and a leaf out of Harold MacMillan's
book when he was housing mininster in the early 1950s. We can do it,
but first we have to have the will and fire the thousands of useless
bureaucrats and jobsworth who are gumming the system up.
oldasiahand, Guildford, UK
I think it is catch-22 now, and the bubble will burst soon:
-
You build more and the market becomes very vulnerable to economic
slowdown (economic migrants leave the UK the moment there is no jobs
for them)
- You stop the immigration and the inflation goes up pushing interest rates up
- You introduce any new tax or regulation and the property market will
freeze with en masse exit of BTLers
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