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Elspeth Rae (Elspeth.Rae@brucerae.co.uk)

The existing road bridge is set to become a “public transport corridor” once a new crossing is opened to traffic in 2016.

Critics today said the low levels of predicted traffic meant the bridge was set to become the “world’s most expensive bus lane”, costing the equivalent of £114 per vehicle.

According to figures produced by Transport Scotland for a series of public exhibitions, the new bridge will carry 92,000 cars every day in 2017, with more motorists crossing the Forth due to improved journey times.

Since the abolition of tolls in 2008 all funding for the existing bridge has come from the Scottish Government, with a £112m capital plan for improvements including cable dehumidification and tower strengthening work committed to over the next 15 years.

Lawrence Marshall, chairman of the ForthRight Alliance, which is campaigning against the new bridge, said: “Given the amount of money being spent on retaining the original crossing, it would be the most expensive bus lane in the world by a long, long way.”

He added that growing numbers of cars on the new crossing would lead to pressure for the older bridge to be opened up to all forms of traffic.

“It’s inconceivable that you could have a position where people are sitting in traffic jams on the new bridge looking across at the old bridge going largely unused.”

Transport chiefs managed to shave around £2 billion off the original £4bn price tag for the new crossing by dropping plans for a bus or tram lane and reducing approach roads from three lanes to two in 2008.

Margaret Smith, Liberal Democrat MSP for Edinburgh West, said the scheme as it stands had been “cobbled together” as a “cost-cutting exercise”.

She added: “The level of traffic on the old bridge means there’s going to be an absolute clamour for both these bridges to be opened to general traffic.

“That would lead to an increase in the road traffic coming over the bridge and into Edinburgh.”

A spokeswoman for Transport Scotland said: “Ministers took the decision to retain the existing Forth Road Bridge for public transport and this has allowed the development of an operationally flexible, narrower, replacement crossing of high quality at a lower cost.”

Source: Edinburgh Evening News 25 January 2010

However, affordability of property is at a low. In the region of six times the annual pay of a single full-time worker. Demand for local authority City of Edinburgh housing is high, around 139 bids for every property available is received. 2 bedroom local authority City of Edinburgh properties are particularly in demand.

Unemployment has almost doubled between the start of 2008 and the end of 2009 and there is historically low level of vacancies advertised.

It is unlikely that there will be an improvement in affordability of residential property in the city. There is a fundamental lack of supply of housing stock. What will affect the housing market in the coming year is the level of income growth, the unemployment rate and the levels of bank lending. Demand for property in Edinburgh is there, as demonstrated by the pressures on social housing, it is the purchasing power of that demand that will affect the housing market.

To read the Report in full www.edinburgh.gov.uk/housing marketmonitoringreport

Source: www.edinburgh.gov.uk

Extract from ESPC House Price Report – Q4 2009

Overall trend of incremental improvement in the housing market continues.

An increase in the proportion of larger properties selling helps fuel a 12.8% annual rise in the average house price in Edinburgh. Rate of increase also higher as comparison is against market lows recorded during Q4 2008

Average house price in Edinburgh increased annually during each of the last five months of 2009.

Over 1,300 property sales were recorded in Edinburgh during the last three months of 2009 – an increase of 57% on the same period in 2008.

45% of properties sold at Fixed Price achieved the asking price during Q4 2009 compared with 26% in Q4 2008.

Prices during 2009 were supported by low interest rates and a shortage of supply of homes to the market 2010 expected to see home values remain flat, whilst the number of homes selling will increase compared to 2009.

David Marshall business analyst with ESPC concluded: “On one hand, we are likely to see a continuation of increasing demand from buyers as lending restrictions are eased somewhat and confidence continues to return to the market. Offsetting this however is the prospect of a rise in unemployment during 2010 coupled with the likelihood of an increase in interest rates over the medium term. There will be some fluctuation from month-to-month, but broadly speaking the outlook is that homes values will be broadly unchanged over the next 12 months as compared to 2009 levels.” To read full report visit www.espc.com

Source: www.espc.com

The rise in prices was fuelled by a continued excess of demand from buyers over supply of properties to the market. Although new instructions from sellers rose for the sixth consecutive month, the rate of increase continued to trail behind the increase in new enquiries from buyers. Expectations for future price growth also remained positive. A net balance of 28% of surveyors expected prices to rise rather than fall over the next three months.

David Marshall, business analyst with ESPC, commented: “The results of the most recent survey from RICS are in line with recent trends. Although activity is picking up across the board there continues to be an excess of demand over supply and this has resulted in house prices inching upwards in recent months. As we move into the new year we are likely to see a further increase in activity while prices remain broadly unchanged on recent levels.”

Source: www.espc.com

Source: www.scottishrugby.org

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Throughout the process the knowledge and current understanding of the Edinburgh property market by BruceRae was invaluable and allowed me at the other end of the world to feel comfortable that the transactions were carried out efficiently and economically to achieve the intended result.

In addition, they have rented what was my primary residence in Edinburgh for the entire period and during that time have undertaken two major refurbishments including an entire kitchen fit-out with associated services and structural alterations on my behalf whilst I remained resident in Sydney all with the minimum of inconvenience and interruption to tenancy letting.

I look forward to many more years of BruceRae looking after my Edinburgh property interests.