F+G reveals £1bn regeneration

Faithful + Gould has unveiled an ambitious regeneration strategy for Edinburgh's landmark Princes Street, which it says will cost around £1bn and take up to 10 years to complete.

Central to the scheme is extensive tunnelling under the shopping street to create a passage allowing delivery vehicles to bring goods to the shops. This will also create car parking for new residential units planned.

Speaking at property event MIPIM this week, F+G director Donal O'Leary said the tunnel could take between five and ten years to complete, as it would be built in stages to minimise disruption. Sponsors of the mixed use project include Scottish Enterprise. F+G is the cost consultant on the first phase of the scheme, which is at the feasibility stage. The Princes Street project involves the selective redevelopment of various retail blocks over the next decade.

The scheme aims to boost retail space on Princes Street and Rose Street and to enhance adjoining streets by improving access to upper floors and back lanes.

Another F+G project, the £60m Palestra building in Southwark, is due to be completed on time and to budget by July 2006. The LDA is taking two floors of the property.The client is a joint venture between Royal London Asset Management and Blackfriars Developments. The contractor is Skanska.

• F+G has teamed up with Bristol-based dispute resolution firm ADR Group to offer mediation services for the industry in the South-West. Alan Hendon, an associate director at F+G has qualified as an accredited mediator. He said: "Mediation is increasingly recognised in the UK as a valuable tool for the swift and cost-effective closure of a dispute."