Would you expect a bypass that improves area access to increase house value?

Mrs_SSP

Around these parts there's a section of the city that's a P.I.T.A to get to at certain times of the day (namely tea time).
There's been a proposed bypass which has been approved & should be completed by end of 2015.

I would (in my vast knowledge!) expect this to increase the value of the houses in this area (the problem area from the 'decent' area is separated by a bridge & you can get the same for about £30k less in the problem area).
But rather than just buy on this side of the bridge assuming prices will rocket & it'd be a shrewd investment, there could be more to it. It cuts right thorough fields for e.g. & i don't know how that would impact. I suspect a lot of people wont be too impressed.

h t t p : / / w w w .lancashire.g o v . u k/corporate/web/?siteid=6092&pageid=35076&e=e

Would something like this increase value, but perhaps only shifting a £130k to a £135k?

What would you expect?

EDIT> I'm not allowed to post the link as a new user. Someone feel free to edit it & post it for me.

trailingspouse

You'd think it would, but it has to be built first. I lived in a village cut in two by the A697 (one of the main roads into Scotland), it was noisy, dangerous, and ruined the village (you literally couldn't cross the road for the number of cars and lorries going through). A bypass was planned and much needed - we moved there in 2000, and left in 2004. It still hasn't been built.

G_M

Depends if said bypass runs along your back hedge...

The village/town in question may become more sought-after, but the house may become an eyesore.

GDB2222

Sounds like it's a dead cert to get built.

http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/corporate/web/?siteid=6092&pageid=35076&e=e

One of Lancashire's top priority transport projects has received the go-ahead, heralding a new era for economic growth and better transport on the Morecambe and Heysham peninsula.

Construction of the Heysham to M6 Link road is set to begin this summer after the Secretary of State for Transport granted approval for the project following a lengthy planning and public inquiry process.

GDB2222

Can you give a bit more info about this, please? I can see that the South side of the River Lune has easy access to the M6, whereas people on the North side (the Morecambe side) have to cross the Lune on a couple of bridges or drive for miles on the A6.

Do you know why the bridges get congested at tea time, rather than other times?

Is the cheaper side simply less fashionable, without the shops and restaurants of Lancaster-proper?

Mrs_SSP

trailingspouse wrote: »

I lived in a village cut in two by the A697 (one of the main roads into Scotland), it was noisy, dangerous, and ruined the village.

And this is the reason why i'm asking. You'd think something that makes access easier would increase prices, but there's always going to be more to it than just an access aspect.

G_M wrote: »

Depends if said bypass runs along your back hedge...

The village/town in question may become more sought-after, but the house may become an eyesore.

IF we were to buy in that area, we wouldn't be buying where the bypass would be near. The bypass wouldn't make getting to the area we'd potentially be buying in any shorter, but i'd dare bet it would almost certainly make it quicker to get there.

GDB2222 wrote: »

Sounds like it's a dead cert to get built.

Thanks for posting the link proper.

GDB2222 wrote: »

Can you give a bit more info about this, please? I can see that the South side of the River Lune has easy access to the M6, whereas people on the North side (the Morecambe side) have to cross the Lune on a couple of bridges or drive for miles on the A6.

Correct.

Do you know why the bridges get congested at tea time, rather than other times?

Yes - works traffic. During the day people are at work. At tea time (5:00-6:00/6:30pm), people are leaving work. They're heading home to the north side, so they need to cross the bridge. Lorries are still working so they're crossing the bridge also. Bus services too.
It's the only explination i can think of. During the day people are at work so are not crossing the bridge.

Add to this that the access into north lancaster & then on to morecambe is pretty much via 2 lanes on the bridge which then merges into one & at the very end of this merger is a set of traffic lights. It's then 1 lane in for quite a bit. It's just basic bottlenecking.

There are other routes in, but for one you need to cross the bridge still & then going a long way for a shortcut - which also gets rammed.
If you've the option to get on at M6 J33 & then off at J34 you can do this, but then that road can be busy & ultimately leads on to the bridge (just from another direction).
There is also another route, which is a 1 lane bridge-cross. If you're with flow then you're lucky. If you're against flow then you can be there for a long, long, long time (45 minutes wait is my 'record'), as who's going to give up the flow to let you come - as they'd then be waiting 45 minutes.

Is the cheaper side simply less fashionable, without the shops and restaurants of Lancaster-proper?

The cheaper side heads out to morecambe. In my opinion it looks more run down than Lancaster, but that's my opinion.
According to the police website stats, the crime rate is a bit higher on the north side of the bridge, but when i say a bit, we're not talking double the amount, just a bit higher.

The known local 'rough' areas are generally on the cheaper side of the bridge too. If not that side, then close to it.

With all that said, if you pick your spot on the other side of the bridge, you can get on a decent road for £120-£130k/£135k.

We saw one recently: h t t p : / / w w w . rightmove. c o . u k/property-for-sale/property-38402155.html for £135k.
If that was on the Lancaster side of the bridge then i'd dare bet that that house would be £160k quite easily.



I'd rather live on the south side, but i'm not close-minded. Moving to the north side could be quite an investment. All depends on the effect of the bypass.

martindow

Are people with houses that will have better links in the future already inflating their asking prices? Anyone selling will know about the new scheme and may have unrealistic ideas of how valuable their houses are.