Cheeky bastards

Senior property executives expressed anger and frustration at the delay in the opening of Crossrail, as it emerged the postponement of the new line could result in a series of setbacks for London developers.

Emoov research carried out for City AM suggests property values could sink by as much as £10,000 in the short term, with hopes that falling house prices would rise after the Elizabeth Line’s opening now being put on hold.

Meanwhile, with the £15 bn project’s launch being pushed back from December this year to Autumn 2019, commercial developers within London’s West End are also worried that an eagerly-awaited bump in retail footfall will come nine months later than expected.

“We were massively disappointed when we found this out. For our retail side it is probably far more damaging, as a lot of their business models were based on new customers coming in. It’s tough enough for these guys at the moment being squeezed by business rates,” said Jace Tyrrell, whose firm New West End represents retail giants along Bond Street and Oxford Street.

He added: “We’ve known for some time there would be issues but never to this extent.”

Last week Ireland’s largest hotel group Dalata unveiled plans for a £91m new site in Aldgate, with deputy chief executive Dermot Crowley saying the transport links were a large factor in the decision to move to the area.