London Riverside Homes Families Can Afford Live by the Lea: Page 4 ALAMY 2 WEDNESDAY 2 MAY 2018 EVENING STANDARD Homes Property | News

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London riverside homes families can afford Live by the Lea: Page 4 ALAMY 2 WEDNESDAY 2 MAY 2018 EVENING STANDARD Homes Property | News

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‘Our rivers are the bedrock on which London life is built’ Life changer of Janice the week Run a Morley thriving business down on the farm EDITOR

£2.5 million: cultivate a new way IF YOU told a Benedictine nun a new east of life at Kelsey’s Farm in Sidcup, London community was planned for Kent, with 25 acres, a farm shop, Trophy home of the week You’ll surely be hooked a 70-seat café-restaurant and a Bromley-by-Bow she might ask where the children’s indoor adventure play £4.95 million: quintessentially Georgian Elms House in Twyford village, near Winchester, is quite news was in that. A community of nuns barn. An ideal ready-made a catch. Walled gardens and grounds cover almost four acres. There’s a tennis court and swimming business, the thriving shop is pool, along with 130 yards of fishing rights along the River Itchen. Inside, the generous proportions established themselves on the marshy known for delicious fruit and veg. of more than 7,000sq ft across three floors — plus a wine cellar — include an impressive hall River Lea in the 12th century. Flour was There’s also a caravan/camping warmed by an open fireplace and a grand staircase up to a master suite with glorious views. There milled there to bake bread for the City of site with space for five caravans, are six further bedrooms and three bathrooms. An elegant drawing room with space for a piano, plus 20 acres of rolling plus a family room and a huge kitchen/breakfast room/orangery with stone floors complete the London. Our rivers are the bedrock on agricultural land laid to vegetable idyll. Through Hamptons International (01962 920265). which London life is built. They are our crops and pasture bordering the River Cray. The main house has soulmates. We sit above them, walk four bedrooms, ample family London buy of the week Stroll home beside them, draw peace from them. space and lovely walled gardens. Trains from nearby Sidcup station from the urban beach to a sleek SW6 flat Voracious for space, we have returned to reach London in 30 minutes. colonise the Lea’s banks in Bromley-by- Through BTF Partnership (01435 Bow with 8,000 new homes in a new 688016). £799,000: this fabulous apartment within a secure gated development is in community. Nine centuries later, ancient Munster Village, Fulham, half a mile rivers still give us food and shelter, flowing from lovely Bishops Park with its Thames footpath and urban beach. On steadily on from past to future. the ground floor, the flat has good ceiling heights, white walls, pale wood VISIT homesandproperty.co.uk/rules for details of our floors and floor-to-ceiling glass doors usual promotion rules. When you respond to promotions, that open out to a neat patio garden offers or competitions, the Evening Standard and its from a sleek, open-plan kitchen- sister companies may contact you with relevant offers reception-dining room. Two bright and services that may be of interest. Please give your double bedrooms have generous built- mobile number and/or email address if you would like to in storage, and one has a stylish en suite receive such offers by text or email. bathroom. There is a further bathroom and a utilities cupboard for washer and Editorial: 020 3615 2650 dryer. Through Savills (020 8012 3089). Advertisement manager: Ann Finan Advertising: 020 3615 0538 By Faye Greenslade Homes & Property, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, Kensington, London W8 5TT. News Price cuts at record lows as buyers hold off

WITH the property market firmly in It’s a buyers’ the hands of the buyer, 2018 is market: only one already a record year for price in 10 London cutting, writes Ruth Bloomfield. homes achieves NAEA Propertymark, the national the asking price, association of estate agents, says according to almost nine out of 10 homes, or 86 industry experts per cent, went for below asking price in March, the highest level since the body began the record in 2013 and 12 per cent up on February. There’s no shortage of house hunters, with the average agent having just over 300 on its books. But in London, Trevor Abrahmsohn

of Glentree International blames ALAMY overvaluing by agents and high moving costs and taxes that at asking price because buyers are residential at Colliers International, encourage vendors to aim too high ultra-cautious and price sensitive. says: “Homes that are selling are when setting an asking price. Many owners not desperate to below the £600,000 mark.” Brendan Roberts, a director at move simply withdraw from the Aylesford International, says only market if they fail to achieve their ⬤ Read the full story: visit about one in 10 London homes sells price. Ashley Osborne, head of UK homesandproperty.co.uk EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 2 MAY 2018 3 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by News | Homes Property GETTY

Dare you make Bob an offer he can’t refuse?? A supercool £17.5m A LITTLE Robert De Niro star quality landscaped roof garden via buys Cara and Kate’s rubbed off on the South Bank when the an electronically film giant, inset, reportedly snapped controlled skylight. converted party pub up a flat in 2001 at The Jam Factory, Measuring above, a converted Hartley’s plant, for approximately IF YOU’D care to make your home £750,000. 1,300sq ft the where a starry crowd of models and Hollywood coming to Southwark outdoor terrace has hipsters used to party the night away, caused quite a stir and gave the district 360-degree views you’ll need a cool £17.5 million. the trendy Tribeca touch — New York’s taking in St Paul’s Homes Behind its original classic façade in trendy Tribeca district is where the Cathedral, the Notting Hill, The Lonsdale DJ bar, a star of The Godfather: Part II bought London Eye, the former watering hole frequented by commercial and residential properties. Shard, Tower gossip the likes of Cara Delevingne and Kate The two-bedroom loft apartment in Bridge and Canary Moss, right, has been transformed SE1 certainly has celeb appeal. It’s all Wharf. This super- Amira Hashish into an amazing private home.

about open plan, with floor-to-ceiling smart home is listed By In what is surely London’s plushest GETTY windows and a contemporary-design with SellMyHome.co.uk pub makeover, 48 Lonsdale Road, staircase leading to the private for £1,595,000. Got some gossip? listed with Domus Nova, has one of Tweet @amiranews the largest private swimming pools in Kensington & Chelsea borough as well glass wall dividing sleeping and as its own health spa, cinema and a dressing areas, fills the second floor, 50ft-high atrium with a four-storey opening on to a private terrace. There chandelier. Developer Fenton Whelan is also a VIP master bathroom with is behind the new look, creating a walk-in double shower, a bath and turnkey home of über-luxe standards. double wash basins.Family homes The master bedroom suite, with a don’t come much more sumptuous.

Downsizer Bruce just can’t leave NYC

DAVE BENETT DAVE BRUCE WILLIS and his English model wife Emma Heming, inset, have found a buyer with £12.9 million for their New Form an orderly queue for the Forte sisters’ Naughty Corner York duplex. The action star, 62, set to reprise his GLAMOROUS sisters Lydia and Michelin-star chef Heinz Beck Adam Ellis, sits above the 1900s oak role as John McClane in Die Hard 6, Irene Forte, above from left, Hot has taken over the dining room panelling while bespoke chandeliers bought the six-bedroom, 6,000sq ft daughters of hotel empire boss spot to give the hushed reverence from Florentine designer Chelini apartment at Central Park West three Rocco Forte, are sprinkling their and daily roast a bit of a shake-up further enhance the Dolce Vita vibe. years ago for £12.3 million. On the third stardust on the iconic Brown’s — and the Rome-based culinary The adjoining Donovan Bar ramps up and fourth floors of a 12-storey block, Hotel in Mayfair, revamping it with a supremo’s first London venture the fab factor with bronze-based glass the skyline views along Fifth Avenue millennial luxury makeover. really looks the part. Designers Olga tables and a main bar that has doubled and Central Park South are hard to top. The stylish duo, who play a pivotal Polizzi and Inge Moore have in size and now takes centre stage. Set However, the A-list couple have role in their family’s business, have transformed the space into a bright, to be the most sought-after seat in opted to downsize. Staying in been toasting the launch of their new botanical utopia, with a colour palette Mayfair, the “Naughty Corner” is a Manhattan, they’ve bought a place at restaurant and bar with pals including of greens and turquoises with brass sumptuous booth decked out with the newly developed One West End fashion photographer Alistair Guy and accents. Wallpaper, specially iconic Terence Donovan photographs. complex, above left, near Lincoln roccofortehotels.com jewellery maker Lara Bohinc. Three commissioned by interiors connoisseur ⬤ GETTY Square for £5.7 million. 4 WEDNESDAY 2 MAY 2018 EVENING STANDARD Homes Property | New homes homesandproperty.co.uk powered by ALAMY

The other London river

House Island will also have a primary despite objections by Tower Hamlets takes 10 minutes, you can be at Stratford Living beside the Thames commands a school, a hotel, a small riverside park council, which found the offer of just in three minutes and Oxford Circus in and three new bridges improving 20 per cent affordable housing on the under 20 minutes. “It is by the water,” premium but 8,000 new family homes access to the site. Already built is a 120ft site unacceptable. However, Lee Fitz- he adds. “It has got great potential.” timber tower, which Cogden says was gerald, director at Lindhill, says he The development corporation also on the River Lea in Bromley-by-Bow will created as an early symbol of the firm’s believes it would be financially impos- recently granted planning permission intent to reinvent the site, and to do it sible to offer more. “We are in negotia- for Danescroft Land’s 491-unit “build to be affordable, says Ruth Bloomﬁeld fast. Construction will be completed by tions with the Greater London rent” scheme beside the Tube station, 2023, so early residents won’t suffer Authority about it,” he says. including a 27-storey tower. Residents long years of building around them. When the details of the scheme are will share roof gardens and a gym, there finalised Fitzgerald hopes to start work will be affordable workspace and shops NCIENT Bromley-by-Bow in “I think it is the most exciting place in this summer, with the first homes going around a new square. A start date has east London was, many London.” Vastint’s 26-acre site will even- RENTAL IS IN THE MIX on sale next year. The £200 million-plus yet to be confirmed but Danescroft is centuries ago, an isolated tually have 1,200 homes in buildings of Bromley-by-Bow’s development pipe- project will take four years to build, and hopeful work will begin later this year. outback surrounded by water up to 16 storeys, from studio flats to line includes homes for rent as well as as well as homes will include a park and These new projects join one which is and ideal for milling flour. four-bedroom townhouses. The site is sale. In January, Lindhill Properties was new waterside walks. well under way. Southern Housing ANow it is hugely desirable as a new surrounded by water: the River Lea to granted planning permission for a Fitzgerald says developers are invest- association’s Bow River Village (bow- residental quarter. A 10-year plan for the south, Three Mills Wall River to the canalside development at Imperial ing in the area partly for its good trans- rivervillage.co.uk) includes plenty of many acres here will bring more than east, and Bow Back River to the west. Street, which will feature 407 new port links. Bromley-by-Bow Tube station affordable homes. So far 219 shared- 8,000 waterfront homes to the banks of Commercial space includes homes on the site of a former scaffold- is in Zone 2, and its Hammersmith & ownership flats have been built on a site the capital’s other major river, the Lea. 624,000sq ft of offices, plus waterfront ing yard. London Legacy Development City and District line services mean a between the A12 and the River Lea. All Living by the Thames is hugely popular restaurants, cafés and shops. Sugar Corporation approved the scheme commute to Canary Wharf or the City of these properties are now sold or and can be prohibitively expensive, so here’s a chance for forward-thinking young Londoners to nab a river view Our local: bar without paying the premium. manager Richard Just south of the Olympic Park, Brom- Champkins, right, ley-by-Bow is becoming a regeneration at The Galvanisers hotspot as hundreds of millions of Union gastropub pounds pour in to transform old indus- in Devas Street, trial sites into a residential area. Bromley-by-Bow E3; left, James and Adele May, SOUNDS SWEET… seen with two- The biggest single new local housing year-old Martha development is Sugar House Island in and six-month-old Sugar House Lane, a mile south-east of Solomon, have the Olympic Stadium. Its first 161 water- lived across the front homes are being built now, and street from The Andrew Cogden, managing director of Galvanisers for developer Vastint UK, confirms they four years and love will go on sale at the end of this year or the community, early in 2019 in advance of completion family-friendly feel next spring (sugarhouseisland.com). of the area Cogden is excited not only by his own scheme but also by the many building projects going on all around it. He says up to 8,000 new homes could be created. “It is going to be a huge focus of

activity over the next 10 years,” he adds. LYNCH DANIEL LYNCH DANIEL EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 2 MAY 2018 5 New homes | Homes Property

Riverside gems: left, Old Ford Lock on the River Lea; far left, The House Mill is Grade I listed, also on the Lea, and dates from 1776. The world’s largest surviving tidal mill, it is open to visit and for venue hire

Change: Sugar House Island, 26 acres of historic London, will start to offer 1,200 waterfront homes from next year A BRIEF HISTORY OF BROMLEY-BY-BOW THE history of Bromley-by-Bow is one of postulants and peasants. Among the earliest known residents were wealthy Benedictine nuns who established a convent in the isolated marshlands east of the River Lea. A hamlet of smallholders and farmers quickly grew around the convent, selling produce to the nuns. Until the 19th century the area remained deeply rural, as farmers and market gardeners tilled its rich soil. But as the industrial age dawned a string of water mills were built alongside the River Lea, milling grain

ALAMY for flour and alcohol. Several were on Three Mills Island, hemmed in by the River Lea, Channelsea River, and Three Mills Wall River, right at the southern tip of under offer, while 10,000sq ft of office what is now the Lee Valley Regional Park and linked to space is under construction. Work on the “mainland” by road and foot bridges. phase two of the project began a year The island, east of Bromley-by-Bow, is now home to ago and will see another 112 new homes 3 Mills Studios, with films including Lock, Stock and — including 73 for private sale — built Two Smoking Barrels and Made in Dagenham to its close to the river. Watch out for these credit, as well as TV hits London’s Burning and going on sale off-plan this summer, with MasterChef. By the middle of the 19th century the phase due to complete next year. speculative developers built Bromley-by-Bow’s streets Meanwhile, Southern is working on of terrace houses, still there today, alongside factories its planning application for the final, and warehouses now being turned into new homes. largest phase of building: some 400 homes, a mix of affordable rent, shared ownership and private sale. It is hoped Launching this the entire site will be completed by summer: left and 2021, bringing the homes total to 740. below, Bow River Village flats beside the River Lea have CHALLENGES OVERCOME one to three Revamping Bromley-by-Bow has not bedrooms and a been without its hiccups. In 2010 Tesco balcony or terrace. won planning permission for a massive Call 0344 809 redevelopment of its store with hun- 9145 for details dreds of new homes included. However, it struggled to win the right to compul- sorily purchase land holdings just south of its site. Now British Land has bought the site and has drawn up plans for 700 new homes in buildings of up to 120 metres tall, plus a new school, shops, offices and a riverside park. For Wei Huang, sales manager of Chase Evans estate agents, the big pull of Bromley-by-Bow is partly its location between the City and Stratford. “And the price is still relatively cheap.” He says house prices in the area are about 20 per cent below Canary Wharf, and as well as realistically priced flats for first-time buyers it also has period Complete new houses to tempt families from north community: and west London. But right now the development at area does still have its drawbacks. Sugar House “Within half a mile’s walk it is limited Island will include in terms of fundamental infrastruc- 624,000sq ft of ture,” Huang admits. “It is like Canary offices, left, plus a Wharf used to be. The housebuilders hotel, waterfront are concentrating on building houses, restaurants, a but I think we will see the infrastructure park, shops and a follow once the people are there. It has new school got a lot of potential.” 6 WEDNESDAY 2 MAY 2018 EVENING STANDARD Homes Property | Renting Move a little way down the line for big savings Renting on the Central line In the latest of her series, Ruth Bloomﬁeld tracks the red line east and west ﬁnding hotspots and where to rent for hundreds of pounds less

Y THE end of the year a new regal purple line will be added to the Tube map. The Elizabeth line, slicing east to west across the capital, has been a tremendous B boost to house prices around its stations — an outperforming 39 per cent in the last three years, according to a recent Lloyds Bank study. While the Crossrail bounce has priced out many buyers coming late to the party, renters can still live in key locations along the line without breaking the bank and will be able to reap the benefits of new, fast journeys to the centre of London, the City, Canary Wharf, and Heathrow. A new report by Rightmove has assessed the cost of renting a two-bedroom flat and a three-bedroom house at stops on the Central line, which closely mirrors the trajectory of the Elizabeth line. It found a wide variety of prices along the line and reveals that major savings can be made by simply moving a stop or two further down the line, or In the market: lands Light Railway, and Overground even by opting to rent a house rather Ealing has five, services right now, and Crossrail to than a flat. from antiques to come, all in Zone 2. Rents on its flats, farmers’, below mostly new, are fairly stiff. A two-bed- WEST LONDON room flat costs an average £1,781 a Acton has three stops on the Centralntral month.mont But for sharers, a house in the line: West, North, and East, all of shadowsh of the Olympic Stadium which are within easy reach off couldco work out much better value. Acton Main Line station where A three-bedroom house rents at Crossrail services will stop. Of the an average £1,821. three, North Acton, in Zone 2, is Charlotte Russell, associate the most affordable. A typical director of property company JLL, two-bedroom flat costs just over says the typical Stratford renter is £1,500 a month, while an average a young professional after quick three-bedroom house costs justt linksli to their offices in Canary over £2,100. The other west Londonon WharfWh or the City. “We have got a lot Crossrail hotspot to consider is Ealingling of newnew companies moving into London Broadway, although it is more expensivensive like FFacebook and Amazon and the than any of the Actons despite being in transport links from here work very well Zone 3. A two-bedroom flat costs about to their offices, too,” she adds. £1,950 a month and a three-bedroom Recently, however, Russell has noticed house almost £2,800. an increasing number of family renters adopting Stratford, not only for its value- EAST LONDON for-money houses but for its green space In east London there are few locations and the great sports facilities within the with transport links to match Stratford’s Olympic Park. Shopping, obviously, is multiple lines — Jubilee, Central, Dock- taken care of by the mammoth Westfield

CENTRAL LINE AVERAGE RENTAL RATES Station Zone Type Avg rent (mth) Station Zone Type Avg rent (mth) Ealing Broadway 3 2-bed flat £1,950 Queensway 1 2-bed flat £3,074 Ealing Broadway 3 3-bed house £2,771 Queensway 1 3-bed house £6,406 West Acton 3 2-bed flat £1,646 Lancaster Gate 1 2-bed flat £2,929 West Acton 3 3-bed house £2,263 Lancaster Gate 1 3-bed house £4,798 North Acton 2 2-bed flat £1,557 Marble Arch 1 2-bed flat £4,690 North Acton 2 3-bed house £2,121 Marble Arch 1 3-bed house £8,181 East Acton 2 2-bed flat £1,655 Bond Street 1 2-bed flat £5,169 East Acton 2 3-bed house £2,333 Bond Street 1 3-bed house £8,849 White City 2 2-bed flat £2,154 Oxford Circus 1 2-bed flat £4,943 White City 2 3-bed house £4,183 Oxford Circus 1 3-bed house £6,460 Shepherd’s Bush 2 2-bed flat £2,308 Tottenham Court Rd 1 2-bed flat £4,218 Shepherd’s Bush 2 3-bed house £3,886 Tottenham Court Rd 1 3-bed house £5,317 Holland Park 2 2-bed flat £2,802 Holborn 1 2-bed flat £3,882 Holland Park 2 3-bed house £5,240 Holborn 1 3-bed house £4,866 Notting Hill Gate 1 2-bed flat £3,204 Chancery Lane 1 2-bed flat £3,598 Notting Hill Gate 1 3-bed house £7,009 Chancery Lane 1 3-bed house £4,782 EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 2 MAY 2018 7 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by Renting | Homes Property

£1,850 a month: Ealing rents are a a three-bedroom semi in Wells bit higher but it’s House Road, North Acton, for grown-up, like us rent via Orchards of London (020 HAVING abandoned more fashionable 8012 5131) Clapham, where he rented a house with friends for a bargain £500a month, Bogdan Marinescu has been living in Ealing Broadway for the past year. The choice was partly practical. Ealing is midway between his office and that of his girlfriend Chiara Molena, seen together, left. In terms of value for money, the couple’s one-bedroom flat costs them £1,200 a month. “Something similar in Clapham would have been £1,400-£1,500 a month,” says Bogdan. He adds he had begun to outgrow Clapham’s frenetic atmosphere. Aged 33, he is head of public relations at Greenlight Digital, while Chiara, 30, is brand manager for a spirits company. “Clapham is a bit more ‘party out in the street’, a bit more hectic,” Bogdan explains. “Ealing has more young couples with kids, but not too many. It is more cosmopolitan and perhaps a bit less gentrified. It has got lots of independent restaurants and cafés, while Clapham is almost all chains.” Although cost was a big driver in the couple’s decision to move out of Clapham, they would not, says Bogdan, consider upping sticks to North Acton, which is criss-crossed by railway tracks and very light on bars and restaurants. “I am at that point in life where I am happy to pay a little bit of a premium in order to enjoy an area,” he says. “Ealing is very, very well serviced, and you do

JULIET MURPHY JULIET get a lot more for the higher rents.”

£646 per week: value at £1,725 a month. Tony Strover, a a five-bedroom director of Allen Davies estate agents, end-of-terrace says the price differential on flats can be house to rent in put down to the age of the properties on Crawley Road, offer. Leyton’s stock is mostly Victorian Leyton, E10. Call conversions while Stratford’s is shiny Theydons (020 new build with trendy facilities. 8539 2009) “A lot of the modern buildings have a concierge and a gym and people pay a premium for that kind of living,” he adds. mall, and Russell says Stratford also has However, if a gym in the basement isn’t a surprising number of smaller family- an essential, Leyton is perhaps a more run shops and restaurants to explore. interesting option for renters. And it is of course within walking dis- Strover has seen the area change expo- tance of the bars and restaurants of nentially over the last five years as a adjacent Hackney Wick. ripple of Londoners priced out of more expensive parts of east London have LEYTON moved in. A single stop further east from Stratford “A lot of young singles have moved into is the increasingly fashionable option of Leyton — when I started as an agent in Leyton. The extra expense of travelling 1998 you would have had to pay them to from Zone 3 needs to be set against come here — and that has had a knock- considerably lower costs: a typical two- on effect on the new businesses coming bedroom flat is more than £100 a week to the area,” says Strover. cheaper than in Stratford, at an average “There are new restaurants, shops and £1,333 a month, although three-bed- quirky little cafés. The area has changed room houses are only marginally better for the better.”

Note: not enough data exists to offer rental costs for a three-bedroom house near Bank station Station Zone Type Avg rent (mth) Station Zone Type Avg rent (mth) St Paul’s 1 2-bed flat £3,085 Snaresbrook 4 3-bed house £2,038 St Paul’s 1 3-bed house £3,630 South Woodford 4 2-bed flat £1,356 Bank 1 2-bed flat £3,521 South Woodford 4 3-bed house £1,834 Liverpool Street 1 2-bed flat £2,734 Woodford 4 2-bed flat £1,247 Liverpool Street 1 3-bed house £4,263 Woodford 4 3-bed house £1,731 Bethnal Green 2 2-bed flat £1,794 Buckhurst Hill 5 2-bed flat £1,241 Bethnal Green 2 3-bed house £2,526 Buckhurst Hill 5 3-bed house £1,713 Mile End 2 2-bed flat £1,687 Loughton 6 2-bed flat £1,268 Mile End 2 3-bed house £2,419 Loughton 6 3-bed house £1,800 Stratford 2 2-bed flat £1,781 Debden 6 2-bed flat £1,248 Stratford 2 3-bed house £1,821 Debden 6 3-bed house £1,444 Leyton 3 2-bed flat £1,333 Theydon Bois 6 2-bed flat £1,322 Leyton 3 3-bed house £1,725 Theydon Bois 6 3-bed house £1,683 Leytonstone 3 2-bed flat £1,311 Epping 6 2-bed flat £1,232 Leytonstone 3 3-bed house £1,761 Epping Zone 6 3-bed house £1,629 Snaresbrook 4 2-bed flat £1,336 Source: Rightmove 8 WEDNESDAY 2 MAY 2018 EVENING STANDARD Homes Property | First-time buyer Join the Lavender Hill mob for just £120,000 First-time buyers can afford boom town Battersea with shared-ownership ﬂats, says Ruth Bloomﬁeld

HE excellent bars and restaurants of Lavender Hill, plentiful wide open spaces provided by a network of commons and parks, Tproximity to the River Thames and a Zone 2 location together make Battersea one of London’s most sought-after locations for young buyers. Unfortunately, flourishing prices in SW11 rule it out for all but the best- funded first-timer. Buyers priced out of Fulham have surged south of the river, inflating prices on their way. An average flat in the area costs almost £500,000: a two-bedroom garden flat in a period house in £880,000, according to the latest data Denton St, Wandsworth Town. Call Jacksons (020 8012 4236) from Rightmove. Next month, however, buyers on tiny London budgets will find this top- notch area within their reach, thanks to a new shared-ownership scheme from Wandle Housing Association. Flats start from £120,000 and are aimed at buyers with household incomes from £50,000.

The Cotton Apartments are part of housebuilder Linden Homes’ £100 million Viewpoint Battersea development, with almost 200 homes grouped around landscaped gardens on a site close to Wandsworth Bridge. £500,000: two-bedroom purpose-built flat in Smugglers Way,

Clapham Junction station is half a ALAMY Wandsworth Town, SW18. Call PurpleBricks (0121 396 0867) mile away, providing fast links to Vauxhall and Victoria. A taste of “old Battersea”: Battersea living or working within Wandsworth agents is selling a one-bedroom flat in And during their downtime, Arts Centre is a landmark hub for the arts borough. a Victorian conversion in Meath residents will not only be able to enjoy and the odd beer festival in Lavender Hill ⬤ Visit thecottonapartments.com Street for £499,950. “old Battersea”, with its shops, cafés, You get more bang for your buck bars and local landmarks such as at £120,000, meaning buyers will WHAT ELSE CAN I BUY? around Wandsworth Town, where Battersea Arts Centre, Battersea Park, need a minimum deposit of £12,000. If you want a Battersea address for a Jacksons estate agents has a two- and Wandsworth and Clapham Monthly costs include mortgage at bargain price your best bet is to bedroom garden flat in a period Commons, but will also be well- £569, rent at £600 and service charge search slightly off the main drag, house in Denton Street, priced at placed to make the most of the at £135, totalling just over £1,300. around either Queenstown Road £500,000. emerging “new Battersea”, as modern A 25 per cent share of a two- station on the eastern fringes of the For the same price you could go for facilities and venues are created in bedroom flat will start at £147,500, postcode, or around Wandsworth a two-bedroom purpose-built and around the regenerating power and the minimum deposit for these Town station to the west. contemporary flat at Smugglers Way station. larger homes is £14,750. Monthly A budget of £450,000 to £500,000 with views of the river and a balcony, The homes formally go on sale on costs come in at £1,600 once rent of will buy a one-bedroom period on sale with PurpleBricks. One- May 19 but registrations of interest £738, mortgage of £700 and service apartment within an easy walk not bedroom flats here are priced are being taken now. A 25 per cent charge at £162 are taken into account. only of Battersea but also of between about £350,000 and £120k: 25 per cent of a one-bedroom share of a one-bedroom flat will start First dibs will go to people already Queenstown Road. Dexters estate £400,000. flat at The Cotton Apartments, SW11 10 WEDNESDAY 2 MAY 2018 EVENING STANDARD Homes Property | Architecture ‘London can learn a lot’ WHAT IS A GOOD MODEL FOR CITY LIVING? Designer and TV presenter We are not using our space well and planners are not good at providing it. Kevin McCloud wants planners Planning laws are still rooted in the Forties. We should be far more creative that care and communities that with our existing housing stock and industrial and commercial spaces. share, he tells Liz Hoggard In Melbourne, Australia in the Eighties recession, urban planner Jan Gehl helped transform the city centre. You’ll find an IBM office on floor 415, and next floor up Dreaming big: Beauty — near Winchester where we’ve is apartments, and on the rooftop there’s Kevin McCloud is offered over nine different house types. Of a crèche. They’ve created a knitted, geared up to present 50 houses, 20 are social housing and 30 vibrant community that’s far more Grand Designs Live, are open market. We’ve attracted a really resilient and sustainable. London could based on the interesting mix of age and social Built with community in mind: McCloud’s learn a lot. We are still largely just another Channel 4 series, at background. We’ve designed variety in custom-build company HAB — Happiness international city where it’s all ‘“here is ExCeL in Docklands order to attract variety, which is the Architecture Beauty — offers different types of the work zone” and “here is the live zone”. bedrock of a good community. housing, above, to attract buyers with a mix of You live in Clapham and work in the City, ages and social backgrounds, “the bedrock of or you live in Catford and work in the IMPROVE TO ENJOY YOUR HOME a good community” West End. I don’t understand this stuff about But there is some good work being done, improving your property to maximise its Among Kevin’s Green Heroes: The by Soho Estates, for example. They’re sale value. Do it for yourself, not for the Bamboo Bicycle Club of east London will revitalising Soho with affordable housing market. Do it to make yourself happy. It’s manufacture their eco-friendly self-build units. And some of the most interesting never going to be your perfect dream bikes, left, in front of a live audience at pop-ups in London come out of fighting house, there’s no such thing. It’s all Grand Designs Live next Monday, May 7 planning policies and creating a clever relative but many of us can make a and intelligent use of the pop-up model. Victorian house hugely pleasurable, we can love an old building or a modern flat CO-HOUSING IS GOOD with just as much passion. We can get real I’m a big fan of co-housing. Why not share delight from remodelling to create a view facilites like a tumble dryer? Why should out of a window, and plenty of light… we have to buy a washing machine in a communities are important and we tiny flat? My mother lives in a facility should stay within them. where they have a shared kitchen- laundry. It’s immensely progressive, in THINK ABOUT SAVING ENERGY fact she met her boyfriend that way. You don’t need hi-tech gizmos to go green. Anything that is promoting diversity in Turn down your thermostat, triple terms of tenure, and diversity in terms of insulate your loft or attic. Draftproof flexibility, for any generation, is good windows or get secondary glazing. I because it encourages people to move on, guarantee you’ll get the payback sell their big home to a family and move between two to four weeks. Go on the into something smaller. internet and find Freecycle and eBay In Europe I’ve seen schemes with that and other apps, somewhere to recycle diversity of housing type. It means people when you do things like remodel your can carry on living in the street they’ve kitchen. I know people who buy whole lived in for 20 or 30 years, or round the houses off eBay — insulation, blocks, corner. It means they still have role in that bricks and windows. community, they’re not segregated. What we’ve done over the last 50 ECO-FRIENDLY years is remove our elderly PRODUCTS AT from society, treated them as a THE SHOW burden, added cost to their Carbon-neutral logs care and effectively made out of coffee removed any role for them. grounds, for use in solid fuel stoves, RETIREMENT chimneys and open VILLAGES? IT’S A fires. We have a big NO FROM ME tech trail and a big I’m one of those baby green trail. There are boomers more small makers. approaching 60. We’ve also got more For many of us demonstrators on the active people Green Heroes stand, retirement is just a showing how they make phase, going from their products. The Lavatory maybe a 40-hour Project will include mock- week to a 20-hour ups from six interior week. Retirement villages designers who let their are just posh old people’s imaginations run wild to homes. It doesn’t solve create unique and striking anything. We’ve just finished a rooms. And there’s a scheme with my business, HAB garden gnome trail for the — Happiness Architecture kids. I’m quite a big fan of gnomes in gardens.

⬤ Kevin McCloud will appear KEVIN’S THOUGHT at Grand Designs Live, FOR THE DAY running at ExCeL from May We all want to make the 5-13. For more information world a better place visit granddesignslive.com and fashion it so that it looks after us and our loved ones. Architects and designers just happen to be expert at it — but design is something we all do, with thought, and carefully. EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 2 MAY 2018 11 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by Homes abroad | Homes Property PUT ON THE MAP BY Bardot’s home town BRIGITTE BARDOT may be billionaire THE fortunes of Saint-Tropez changed largely thanks to one woman, French territory but you can film star and acclaimed beauty Brigitte Bardot, right. In 1956 she starred in And get a ﬂat 10 miles God Created Woman, set on the beaches of St Tropez, where this away for £147k, says picture was taken. The international response was Cathy Hawker instant: men and women fell for Bardot’s charm and her sunny South of France lifestyle. Over the past six T IS a town of two extremes: crazy decades tourists have poured into the with people and busy market squares town, billionaire’s superyachts fill the in summer and chilly and quiet in the marina and the price of everything — winter, but the eye-watering prices lunch at famed beach restaurant Club never change in Saint-Tropez. For 55 and especially properties — has Iintriguing yet cheaper South of France spiralled upwards. prettiness, travel just 10 miles and find an Bardot has stayed loyal to the town. apartment for £147,000. Now aged 83, she still lives in the It’s 60 years this month since French waterfront house she bought 60 years cinema siren Brigitte Bardot bought a ago. She retired from the film industry home in Saint-Tropez, helping to in 1973 to become an animal rights

transform the town from a quiet fishing ALAMY activist, running a second Saint-Tropez

village to one of Europe’s most famed Playground of the rich: pass the time yacht-spotting in picturesque Saint-Tropez harbour property as a farm for rescued animals. CORBIS Mediterranean resorts. Bohemian artists who came for the special quality of the light were soon replaced by the world’s wealthiest holidaymakers, who moored their yachts in the harbour and partied on the soft Saint-Tropez: 60 years a star sand of Pampelonne Beach. However, Saint-Tropez is hugely seasonal, which is not to everyone’s taste. The year-round population of 3,000 is swollen by up to 100,000 daily summer visitors, causing truly notorious traffic jams along the coast road. Commercial rents run for just eight months of the year meaning most premises are closed from November to March. This schizophrenic lifestyle is shown clearly in Place des Lices, the beautiful main square where flat-capped men play boules in the shade of the plane trees while international shoppers browse the Celine, Dior and Louis Vuitton boutiques nearby. Anthony Bruni of Savills acknowledges

the changes international visitors have ALAMY brought to his home town, yet says that 60 per cent of property owners are French, many from old-established families who have holidayed here for decades. “That is what marks Saint-Tropez out as different to Cap Ferrat further east of the Côte d’Azur,” says Bruni. “There, it is predominantly international owners and a sea view costs about £26 million. In Saint- Tropez you can still get a sea view for closer to £10 million.”

CENTRAL SAINT-TROPEZ Property hunters have three locations to explore. There are charming fishermen’s cottages in the narrow lanes of the Old Town, individual properties in the town itself or apartments and houses on private estates, most built in the Seventies. All Riviera TOWN LIVING three options are within walking distance prettiness: top, a Away from the Old Town, in Saint-Tropez of the port and shops. typical Saint-Tropez itself, a three-bedroom apartment over The small properties of the Old Town are back street. two floors with its own front door and the where prices are generally highest with £780,000: above: rare plus of a balcony is £1,212,000. The the pretty, car-free setting and good rental between the Place apartment requires modernisation but potential all part of their charm. A one- des Lices and the has high ceilings, good-sized rooms and a bedroom apartment of 485sq ft in a quiet Port, a beautifully convenient yet quiet location. part of the Old Town is £508,000 through renovated two- A recently refurbished two-bedroom Savills. This would rent well for £1,300 a bedroom flat over duplex apartment with views of the iconic week while also making a perfect pied-à- two floors of a Saint-Tropez bell tower is on the market terre with minimal maintenance. traditional for £780,000, also with Savills. Its location More space and the comforts of townhouse. Through between the Place des Lices and the port underground parking, concierge and a Savills is a big part of its appeal. communal garden can be found on one of Still sold on Saint-Tropez but priced out Saint-Tropez’s 10 private estates. A two- of town? Head 10 miles north to Le Plan- bedroom, ground-floor apartment of de-la-Tour where Erna Low is selling new 1,022sq ft, refurbished six years ago, is on ⬤ Savills: savills. apartments with one to three bedrooms, the market for £566,000. The open-plan, com (020 7016 plus balconies and parking, with prices modern style and central location would 3740) from £147,000 at Ecrin Vert. The 37 help this property rent for £1,800 a week ⬤ Erna Low: erna apartments share a pool and gardens, with in high season, according to Savills’ lowproperty.com all the pleasures of Saint-Tropez within 30 Anthony Bruni. (020 7590 1624) minutes. 12 WEDNESDAY 2 MAY 2018 EVENING STANDARD Homes Property | My home A garden extension to soothe the soul Psychiatrist Jane Mounty knows the healing effects of nature. The big, bright garden room she had built on to her standard Fifties semi in Lambeth transformed her quality of life. By Philippa Stockley

E ALL know the positive effect that connecting with nature has on wellbeing. Whether Wyour home is large or small, rented or owned, a link with the outdoors is important. Even on a windowsill or tiny balcony, you can grow attractive, oxygen-boosting plants in pots, while any garden, no matter the size, will enhance our lives as well as being a haven for wildlife. Freelance psychiatrist Jane Mounty, 62, has lived in the same three- bedroom semi-detached Fifties house in Lambeth since 2000, but she has recently made changes that have connected her house to the garden and completely transformed her quality of life. Come on through: light from the extension pours through the Mounty moved here with her two house from back to front, enhanced by a natural colour palette children after 18 years of marriage. A friend who lived nearby told her the standard brick semi was for sale, the big draw being its mature 120ft garden. There were two bedrooms, a box room and an integral garage. The long, wide garden had a lawn and fruit trees.

The year after moving in, Mounty with a wraparound timber structure It feels like a handmade terracotta tiles, along with converted the loft into an extra that would create one big space for studio flat in the the high-performance glazing in this bedroom, so there were plenty of living and cooking, with a wall of glass Med: the garden very large room, is particularly rooms for everyone to do their own set in thick vertical supports, or room extension appreciated by Mounty’s cat and dog. thing. The ground floor had a small muntins, of golden larch across much gets plenty of light It feels like a Mediterranean studio front sitting room, while the back held of the back, plus two huge pivot doors via the glass wall flat, enjoying extraordinary light even a dining room used as a study, and a that are like picture frames to nature and Mounty can on a dull day, while rain does not strike small, thin kitchen. and a large, low shelf for pot plants. enjoy outside the windows. Consequently, Mounty The dining room had a French The thick muntins are cleverly angled views, even while spends most of her time here. window to the garden, and there was a to completely screen a corner desk busy with food This is a textbook example of side return. The classic Fifties garage, from the occupants of a block of flats prep. The roof is architects responding fully to a client’s built into the house, held the utilities that went up at the same time next slotted timber and brief and budget. The sensitive, but there was no access from the door. the kitchen island attractive materials, down to an house. is veined marble unpainted natural plaster — which the Mounty added an off-the-peg The planning and permission process builders wanted to paint white — conservatory in 2003, which meant was completed in spring 2016 and the create a harmonious and uplifting knocking down part of the back wall job was finished early last year. The feeling. and making a sort of kitchen- roof, instead of glass, which always conservatory-diner. But it never really gets too hot, is slotted timber, Even as a doctor who knows the worked. It boiled in summer, was insulated and leaded on top. benefits of a good environment on freezing in winter and then started to The side return has sandblasted mood and health, Mounty was leak. In 2011, friends told her of a glazing for privacy, and there’s an surprised by how good it feels on a young architecture couple called internal door into the garage, now a daily basis. “Nature comforts us. It Nimtim, and Tim came to have a look. big storage room. A bit of the former puts things in perspective, and Mounty asked for an extension that dining room has been shaved off to balances the mind,” she says. “There is would focus on the garden. Her wish create a utility slip-room. And the wildlife including foxes, hedgehogs list included bringing the outside in; kitchen island, covered in white and jays, beautiful scents coming in privacy from being overlooked; marble with rust-coloured veining, is during summer, and wild flowers. drawing in the side return to make the set so that you can look out at the “I would say to anyone who has a most of the space, and connecting up garden while Mounty cooks. Photographs: chance to do something like this, don’t the garage. The architects came back Underfloor heating beneath Juliet Murphy wait — just do it.”

GET THE LOOK

⬤ Architecture: by Nimtim (nimtim. (superfront.com) co.uk) ⬤ Green lustre wall tiles: from ⬤ Builder: TW Space Conversion Ltd Pentagon Tiles (pentagontiles.com) (spaceconversion.uk) ⬤ Marble: from MGLW (mglw.co.uk) ⬤ Doors and windows: Maison ⬤ Terracotta floor tiles: by Alhambra Property Renovations (maison.org.uk) Home (alhambrahome.co.uk) ⬤ External timber: Accoya treated ⬤ Terracotta pendant lamps: Hand with oak shade Osmo exterior oil and Eye Studio (handandeyestudio. (osmouk.com) co.uk) ⬤ Kitchen: howdens.com ⬤ Glo-ball wall lamps: by Jasper ⬤ External render: Clayworks UK Morrison (jaspermorrison.com) (clay-works.com) ⬤ KoskiDecor eco-laminated ply: WHAT IT COST koskisen.com Cost of 253sq ft extension: £135,000 ⬤ Handletrunk leather lug handles Value before extension: £835,000 Window on nature: Jane Mounty’s glassy extension provides in kitchen: from Superfront Value now (estimate): £1.1 million one big space for living and cooking — plus great garden views 14 WEDNESDAY 2 MAY 2018 EVENING STANDARD Homes Property | London Craft Week

The Home of Craftsmanship: far left, ceramicist Florian Gadsby is among makers at Dunhill and Hole & Corner mag’s Craft Week event Left: New Leaf rug, among Design- Nation works at Hele n Yardley Studio in SE1 Right: make a cushion at a Fine Cell Work class. The charity teaches creative stitching to prisoners as a means of rehab

Make a piece of tableware at a clay workshop with Collective Matter at Sugarhouse Studios, Collett Road, Craft news SE16. Priced £25, book at eventbrite. co.uk or buy on the door. Free tasters at The Conran Shop in Fulham Road, By Corinne Julius SW3 include red clay slip casting and ceramic painting, alongside a selling exhibition The Global Market: See fab handcrafted pieces Crafting by Design on May 9 and 10, 10am-7pm; May 11, 10am-6pm; May and meet the makers at the 12, 10am-7.30pm; May 13, noon-6pm. Craft Scotland at Heal’s, Tottenham fourth London Craft Week Court Road, W1 showcases five Scottish makers from May 9-12, 10am- 7pm, with workshops for £35-£40. ⬤ Visit NYONE interested in craft South London’s Christabel Balfour londoncraftweek. or design is in for a treat. weaves a rug in the Barbican Shop in com/programme to From May 9-13, London Silk Street, EC2 and hosts weaving download the full will be awash with events workshops on Sundays from May 13. list of events. and demos, from brick At the V&A in Cromwell Road, SW7, Participating venues making,A to handling and buying silver marking the centenary of women’s will have free hard and ceramics, to leather working and suffrage for Contemporary British copy programmes weaving. London Craft Week is a Silversmiths, enameller Jane Short available, or they chance to enjoy and buy crafts of all and silversmith Miriam Hanid can be ordered kinds: contemporary or traditional, demonstrate their skills for free on online in advance, cutting edge or luxury artisanal. May 9 from 11am-4pm. priced £8 See the work of 30 top makers, finalists for the Loewe Craft Prize, at Find three floors of silver and the Design Museum in Kensington jewellery for sale at Fortnum & W8, daily from 10am to 6pm, for free. Mason in Piccadilly, W1, selected by At the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese The Goldsmiths Company. Cosmima Foundation in Cornwall Terrace, in York Street, W1 has a selling show NW1, Made in Japan is a free show of work by silversmiths and jewellers, with demonstrations on May 11 from May 9-11, noon-8pm; May 13, noon- 10.30am–4.30pm. At Nobu Hotel 5pm, with a talk on May 10, 6.30pm. Catch the demo: Shoreditch in Willow Street, EC2 see Booking necessary, 20 places, £8 Flared Shoal Vases Experience Kyoto: A Celebration of (cosmima.co.uk). by Sasha Wardell. Japanese Creativity and Making from There’s silver at Contemporary The ceramicist Kyoto. See crafted products free, from Applied Art in Southwark Street, SE1, will show slip textiles to ceramics to cuisine, May 9- with metalsmith Adi Toch’s Echoes of casting and china 12, 11am–5pm; May 13, 11am-4pm. Process, May 9-12, 10am-6pm. At decoration at A Trio of Korean Crafts — ceramics, Leathersellers’ Hall in St Helen’s Contemporary embroidery and lacquerware — is at Place, EC3, Then and Now is a free Applied Arts in the Han Collection in Museum Street, exhibition of fine leatherwork Southwark St, SE1 WC1 on May 9-13, with tea ceremony, curated by Bill Amberg, May 9 and 11, (caa.org.uk) noon to 4pm, on May 12, priced £3. 10am-4pm; May 10 and 12, 10am-2pm. Also here and free, on May 9, 10.30am-1pm, is Makers’ Stories with Cockpit Arts makers. At Bourdon House in Davies Street, W1, Dunhill and Hole & Corner stage Home of Craftsmanship with three floors of homeware to buy, May 10-12, 10am-7pm. See furniture, ceramics and textiles by Design-Nation makers at Helen Yardley Studio in Hardwidge Street, SE1 from 11am on May 9-12. At APT Gallery in Creekside, SE8, m2 Gallery marks its 15th year with work by 31 eminent makers, May 10-27. Real to Reel is a Crafts Council film festival at Picturehouse Central, W1 on May 8 and 9 from 6.30pm-8.30pm. Book for a talk on May 10 by puppet maker Mackinnon & Saunders, £13, £10 concs (craftscouncil.org.uk). EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 2 MAY 2018 15 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by Art events | Homes Property

Tribute to English painting: Lily of the Valley, St Bees (1940) by Winifred Nicholson, at Crane Kalman gallery in SW3

Follow the trail across the Square Mile: collaborative work by sculptor Nick Hornby and painter Sinta Tantra takes in Finsbury Avenue Square, right Art in residence By Kate Gordon

SHOW ME THE MONET of protection for Bliss. She was inspired ALONGSIDE the National Gallery’s to create this series to celebrate the acclaimed Monet & Architecture show, memory of loved ones. Check out the you can explore your own creative tal- Guardian tassel key ring, as well as the ent. As part of the gallery’s outdoor series of lamps. All are collectors’ items workshop, artist Joseph Connor will in the making. help you produce a series of digital Visit thenewcraftsmen.com/handmade- paintings at different times of day. Bring craft-makers/camilla-bliss. Prices from your iPad or other smart device and £100. learn how to create a video animation of views that feature in Monet’s ART IN THE SQUARE MILE works. SCULPTOR Nick Hornby and painter Monet & Architecture, until July 29, visit Sinta Tantra met at the Slade in the nationalgallery.org.uk for ticket prices early 2000s. Both are best known for and to book. Digital painting workshop, their site-specific work and installations Saturday May 26, 11am–4pm; £46, £42 in the public realm: Hornby for his concs, £40 for members and patrons. sculpture commission at Glyndebourne last year, and Tantra, a British artist of THE ART OF SMARTPHONES Balinese descent, for her 2017 Folke- US-BORN Jeffrey Kroll was one of the stone Triennial painted building and a first artists to recognise the importance 330-yard painting at Canary Wharf. of the camera function in mobile Occasionally they collaborate. You can phones. In 2005 he had the idea of mar- now follow a trail of their joint work rying this new digi-tech with painterly across the City, from Finsbury Avenue tradition, in a new hybrid art form. Square through to 201 Bishopsgate, The Kroll uses his mobile camera to record Broadgate Tower and Exchange House. images of his paintings, reproduces Tantra’s colours are inspired by a sort them on two-metre canvases in his of 18th-century Farrow & Ball, while Cotswolds studio, then fleshes out their Hornby’s work references Picasso and composition in oil paint. His latest work Matisse. is on show at Partners & Mucciaccia Until May 25. Viewings Monday to Friday gallery in Mayfair. Kroll reminds us that 10am-4pm. Visit broadgate.co.uk Dürer, Rembrandt and Toulouse-Lau- trec all used mechanical reproduction TO LOWRY WITH LOVE techniques in their work. EMIGRÉ Hungarian dealer Andras Jeffrey Kroll at Partners & Mucciaccia, Kalman effectively put artist “match- Dover Street, W1, from May 16-June 8 stick man” LS Lowry on the map. Lowry (partnersandmucciaccia.com). felt so sorry for the struggling dealer — who pawned his typewriter weekly

GUIDING LIGHTS to pay rent — that he went out of his way CERAMICIST Camilla Bliss hand- to buy paintings from Kalman. carves exquisite sculptures that also Almost 70 years on, the London gal- work as lights and lamps. Many in the lery Crane Kalman flourishes opposite Guardians of Bliss range are decorated Harrods, and is remembering a 1963 with faces looking outwards — a symbol exhibition with a display of English artwork, The Englishness of English Painting Part III. Kalman’s son Andrew runs the gallery now with his sister Sally and director Robin Light. Andrew says: “We wanted to revisit some of the artists we’ve exhibited from the very begin- Hybrid art form: ning.” The exhibition includes work by Corinth by Jeffrey Winifred Nicholson, Mary Newcomb, Kroll, who uses his Alan Lowndes — and Lowry. mobile phone Crane Kalman, Brompton Rd, SW3; until camera — and oils Friday (cranekalman.com).

Jeffrey Kroll and gallerist Sid Motion will be in conversation in a special event for Homes & Property readers. Please email london@partnersandmucciaccia. com for further details; May 24, 7pm, Partners & Mucciaccia Gallery, 45 Dover Street, W1 (krollogy.com). 16 WEDNESDAY 2 MAY 2018 EVENING STANDARD Homes Property | Outdoors

Pick’n’ mixology: Lottie Muir, left, creates amazing cocktails from plants she grows in the Midnight Apothecary rooftop garden in Rotherhithe

Sprig fever: sprigs of sweet cicely and heather, along with nasturtium flowers, enliven cocktails and mocktails — and “sensational” lemon verbena is a must ©CICO BOOKS 2018 ©CICO PHOTOGRAPHY PORTRAIT BY ASHLEY BRADLEY ASHLEY BY PORTRAIT Grow your own cocktails

Alex Put a kick in your cocktails with Mitchell ingredients from your garden, says mixologist Lottie Muir

HEN the sun shines, ⬤ Midnight part water. Heat it so the honey dissolves Londoners think of Apothecary is open and leave overnight. Strain it, add gin, cocktails in the garden. Friday and Saturday lemon juice and tonic or soda.” Go one step better and evenings in two grow your own sittings, from 5pm- FOR A HIPSTER HIGHBALL ingredientsW —leaves, flowers or berries. 7.30pm or 7.30pm- Nasturtiums are easy to grow in pots. Lottie Muir, aka the Midnight Apothecary, 10pm, £5 per ticket, Lottie packs the leaves and flowers in has just opened her cocktail bar for its at the Brunel white rum and leaves it for two to three seventh season at the Brunel Museum Museum rooftop days. “Then add lime juice and crushed rooftop garden she created in Rotherhithe. garden, Rotherhithe ice. You get the pepperiness of the Every Friday and Saturday night you can SE16 (brunel- nasturtium leaves coming through.” The taste botanical cocktails infused with museum.org.uk) flowers make a great garnish — as do blue ingredients she grows there. It’s so star-shaped borage flowers, which taste of popular that sessions are timed to ensure ⬤ Lottie Muir’s cucumber. Add them to Pimm’s. more room around the campfire, latest book, Wild If you’ve got a vine, pick the grapes marshmallow toaster in one hand, Mocktails & Healthy before they’re fully ripe and squeeze the strawberry mint martini in the other. Cocktails from the juice out to make verjuice, a tart, tangy Want to pick something at home to Midnight lemon juice equivalent. Or try growing throw in a cocktail after a long, hot day? Apothecary, is out yuzu, the Japanese citrus tree that’s said, Lottie advises: “If you don’t have much now (CICO Books) unlike regular lemons, to be able to space, grow what you can’t buy. Lemon survive UK winters in a container outside. verbena is sensational, as are orange ⬤ For yuzu trees But to be truly en courant, cocktail-wise, thyme and chocolate mint. We make a and shiso plants, says Lottie, grow fennel in big containers. chocolate mint julep by adding honey visit The Wasabi When the yellow flowers are in full bloom mint syrup to crushed ice and whisky. Company later in the summer, tap the pollen dust on Orange thyme is delicious with pear or any (thewasabi to a plate. Dip the rim of your glass in fruit puree.” company.co.uk) lemon juice and then the pollen for the ultimate hipster highball. MIX A MAGICAL MOJITO Mint, crucial in mojitos and Pimm’s, grows easily in pots in light shade. Freshen up a Bloody Mary with chopped oregano, parsley, basil and a lovage stem to stir. Grow purple shiso in a bucket and use just a few leaves for a wonderful pink vodka martini. “If you have some sun, lavender and rosemary grow really well in window boxes or pots and they’re great for infusing gin,” says Lottie. “Just before the lavender flowers open, pick a dozen heads and put “It’s medicinal”: them in a bottle of gin for a couple of ultimate summer hours. The liquid goes pink. You can do cocktails from the the same with rosemary, four sprigs is Midnight Apothecary enough. Strip the sprigs and add the are enhanced with leaves to a solution of two parts honey, one flowers and herbs 18 WEDNESDAY 2 MAY 2018 Homes Property | My home A Victorian terrace goes cool rock’n’roll

Designer Audrey Carden and her husband wanted a party home so they extended a period terrace house and went full on the colour chart. By David Nicholls

UILT in 1908 and pieces mingle with the contemporary. untouched for Their budget was healthy but Carden decades, the found ways to make savings. The house in north- patchwork of stone tiles on the west London that kitchen floor was designed using was bought by offcuts from various suppliers, and B interior designer the striking carpet on the stairs is Audrey Carden actually a few inexpensive runners and Andrew Mansi had a lot of small from contemporary homewares and spaces at the back. décor company CB2 sewn together. But with her expert eye, Carden could see the potential. In 1996, she co- The entire renovation took just nine founded her business, Carden Cunietti, months. Carden’s secret weapon is with Eleanora Cunietti, and today they preparation: “Everything was work internationally, masterminding designed and bought beforehand, so the interior design of homes ranging as soon as the builders needed from chalets in Saint-Gervais-les-Bains something, it was there.” in France to houses in London and the Carden Cunietti: carden-cunietti.com English countryside. Their work is often described as hav- SITTING ROOM (right) ing a rock’n’roll edge, and Carden’s own The red tones of a painting by Laura house, like their work, illustrates Arison contrast with the white walls. immense flair, imagination and atten- tion to detail. KITCHEN (left) Carden designed the units, which It was a desire for more space that were made by Ashburnham London prompted Carden and her husband to (ashburnham-london.co.uk). move from nearby Queen’s Park in 2013. “We wanted one big entertain- SPARE ROOM (below left) ing space, which is hard in London Sanderson’s Mimosa Yellow paint terrace houses, which tend to have brightens one of the bedrooms long, narrow rooms,” says Carden. (stylelibrary.com/sanderson). In While not an enormous house, this another spare room, Pine, a dark one was fairly stout — a little wider green shade from Vicalvi (vicalvi.eu) and deeper than many built in the is used to complement a group of same era. With the addition of a new artworks. extension at the back and side and floors lowered by one metre, the HALLWAY (left) space now has the proportions of a The staircarpet is made up of several warehouse apartment. inexpensive runners sewn together, The house is built on a slope, so the from CB2 (cb2.com). A photograph by newly lowered sitting room in the Individuality: the patchwork of stone tiles on the kitchen floor is made from offcuts David Hilliard is on the wall. extension is flush with the back garden, and the ceilings soar. White BEDROOM (opposite, top right) walls are hung with large-scale Carden lined the walls of her artworks and are topped with shadow bedroom and dressing area with blue gaps where they reach the ceiling. Alcantara fabric from GP&J Baker “There was a lot of engineering (gpandjbaker.com). involved,” adds Carden.

The first floor, which is dominated by the open-plan main bedroom and marble-clad bathroom, has a wonderfully indulgent dressing area. The mood is luxurious here, with blue, paper-backed, suede-effect fabric on the walls of the bedroom and dressing area, and a tray ceiling in the bedroom painted in the same shade. There are silk curtains in emerald green, and honey-toned mid- century furniture. The look ties in with the style of the dining room at the front of the ground floor, which is painted a gloss blue. See the full feature in the June issue of Throughout the house, vintage Paint it pretty: mellow yellow guest room Cash-wise: using runners on the stairs House & Garden, on sale tomorrow EVENING STANDARD 19 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by My home | Homes Property

Expert in laid-back luxe: interior designer Audrey Carden’s home is a striking example of her dramatic flair

Flexform day bed: throughout the house, vintage pieces of furniture mingle with contemporary Photographs: Michael Sinclair 20 WEDNESDAY 2 MAY 2018 EVENING STANDARD Homes Property | Reader offers

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⬤ The companies listed here are wholly independent of the Evening Standard. Care is taken to establish they are bona fide but we recommend you carry out your own checks prior to purchases and use a credit card where possible. To offer feedback on any of these companies, email [email protected] with “Bargain News” in the subject line. For more bargains, visit alisonathome.com or homesandproperty.co.uk/offers 24 WEDNESDAY 2 MAY 2018 EVENING STANDARD Homes Property | Property searching Spotlight on Windsor With the world’s biggest castle, perfect for a royal wedding, this historic town beside the Thames is a favourite for tourists, top schools, great shops and a fast commute. By Anthea Masey

HE Thames-side town of Windsor is preparing to Today in Windsor celebrate the wedding of the year. More than 100,000 Rightmove has people are set to line the 586 homes to BUY Tstreets when Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle in St George’s Chapel and 243 to RENT at Windsor Castle, the world’s largest and oldest inhabited castle, on May 19. Well-wishers will follow the happy

couple through the Berkshire town AP and down the Long Walk, the three- mile avenue from the George IV Gateway to the Copper Horse statue. The council, the Royal Borough of nations were out here for the The world will Windsor & Maidenhead, which had to Laurelle Henry, Young Mayor in Commonwealth Conference. Now the be watching: backtrack on a suggested bid to ban Lewisham, and Pamela Anomneze flags are going up for the Royal more than 100,000 rough sleepers on the big day, is set to from Haringey who runs Studio 306 Windsor Horse Show from May 9-13, people will line festoon the town with bunting and Collective, a social enterprise that and then there will be a new set of the streets around banners. The meadows of Windsor uses the creative arts to help people flags for the wedding.” Windsor Castle Great Park will be foraged by Harry recovering from mental health issues. Windsor is close to the M4 and a when Prince Harry and Meghan’s chosen florist Philippa Harry, who attended Eton College, short drive from Heathrow, with and US actress Craddock for wild flowers and foliage will be more than familiar with an aircraft noise as a consequence. It is Meghan Markle for the floral displays in the chapel. area where he and Prince William 21 miles west of central London with marry at St spent their teenage years. Eton might Slough to the north; Datchet and George’s Chapel Up to 240 volunteer Royal be just a bridge away but the village Heathrow to the east; Windsor Great on May 19 Ambassadors will guide visitors has all the quiet charm that escapes Park and Ascot to the south, and a Historic heart: through the streets. A car park for Windsor with its hordes of tourists. ribbon of pretty villages linking it cobbled Church 6,000 cars must be booked in advance Local Savills estate agent John with Reading to the west. Lane, right, a and is being set up in the Review Henson says the firm plans a Harry Henson says Windsor is buzzy and stone’s throw Ground off the Long Walk. Train and Meghan window display at its cosmopolitan with an amazing park, from Windsor companies serving the town’s two High Street branch and he is inviting an open shopping mall, good schools Castle stations promise extra services. Giant his clients to come and celebrate with and an easy commute to London and screens will be mounted in Alexandra them. “The wedding has increased other local employment hubs at Gardens and the Long Walk, while interest in the town. Our applicants Slough and Reading. The castle and local entertainers will perform and are up 46 per cent on last year.” the Queen add to the glamour and street food vans will feed the crowds. Property website Rightmove agrees sense of history. “About half our Harry and Meghan have invited — its indicators show a recent 24 per buyers are local, young couples and 2,640 people into the castle grounds. cent surge in property searches in the families trading up, while others are Two lucky Londoners have been town. Henson adds: “Two weeks ago, incomers, often moving from south- chosen to be there — 14-year-old all the flags of the Commonwealth west London.”

WHAT THERE IS TO BUY

£550,000 £800,000 £1,275,000 £2 MILLION A THREE-BEDROOM semi-detached house in St THIS five-bedroom semi is in Straight Road, Old IN DESIRABLE Clarence Road near Windsor town WITH a 350ft garden running down to the river, a Anne’s Mews in Bridgeman Drive, a cul-de-sac. Windsor, a sought-after location close to local centre, a three-bedroom flat at The Residence is four-bedroom house at The Willows, Windsor, is Through Hamptons International (01753 377059). amenities. Through Tepilo (020 3858 2478). for sale through Savills (01753 377066). for sale through Waterview (020 8398 8550).

To find a home in Windsor, visit rightmove.co.uk For more area guides, visit homesandproperty.co.uk/area-guides EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 2 MAY 2018 25 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by Property searching | Homes Property

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STATS CHECK What homes cost

BUYING IN WINDSOR (Average prices) One-bedroom flat £312,000 Two-bedroom flat £394,000 Two-bedroom house £469,000 Three-bedroom house £582,000 Four-bedroom house £888,000

RENTING IN WINDSOR (Average rates) One-bedroom flat £1,258 a month Two-bedroom flat £1,447 a month Two-bedroom house £1,499 a month Three-bedroom house £1,920 a month Four-bedroom house £3,091 a month Source: Rightmove

Iconic view: the glorious Long Walk and Windsor Castle

Linking town to village: Windsor Town Bridge, above, also known as Eton Bridge, over the Thames Taking the train: right, TRANSPORT Windsor & Eton Riverside station WINDSOR will benefit when Crossrail and Windsor & opens in Slough in December next Eton Central year. Residents already make the six- station will have minute journey from Windsor & Eton extra services for Central station to Slough as part of royal wedding day their commute to Paddington but they will be able to get Elizabeth line trains from Slough directly to Bond Street and Liverpool Street. For now, trains from Windsor & Eton Central, changing at Slough, take 30 minutes non-stop to Paddington; from Windsor and Eton Riverside it’s 56 minutes to Waterloo, and 51 minutes to Vauxhall, which connects to the Victoria line. Near junction 6 on the All photographs M4, Windsor is handy for Heathrow by Daniel Lynch airport at junctions 4 and 4b.

PROPERTY SCENE AFFORDABLE HOMES WINDSOR offers a wide variety of £610,000 to £2,695,000. Contact Help to Buy is available on three of homes, from period cottages to Savills on 01344 295361. seven new two-bedroom flats that elegant Georgian houses, Victorian Victoria Residences in Victoria remain in Sheet Street, priced from terraces, Thirties and more modern Street, by Frontiera Real Estate, offers £515,000; at St Annes Mews in houses plus modern riverside flats. 11 two-bedroom flats, two-bedroom Bridgeman Drive, a scheme of four The most expensive house currently duplexes and penthouses and one three-bedroom semi-detached for sale is The Priory in Church Road, four-bedroom duplex penthouse. houses, from £550,000; and at two Old Windsor, an eight-bedroom listed Prices from £695,000 to £1.25 million. remaining flats at Sefton Lodge in 18th-century home, at £4.45 million. Through Savills (as before). Clewer Hill Road, a gated scheme of In St Leonard’s Hill, a private road Castle View in Helston Lane, with one- and two-bedroom conversion south of the town centre, North 65 one- and two-bedroom flats for flats. Contact Hamptons for all three Lodge has six bedrooms and is on the over-55s launches this month and will schemes (01753 415265). market for £2.7 million. The favoured be finished in the autumn. One- “golden triangle” sits between Kings bedroom flats from £390,000 and WHO RENTS HERE? Road and Frances Road, adjacent to two-bedroom flats at £515,000. Savills’ lettings manager Adrian the Long Walk. A four-bedroom listed Contact Savills (as before). Moody says the Windsor branch is Georgian house here is £1,575,000. Work starts this week at St Martin’s second busiest outside London. “Our Row in St Mark’s Road — five terrace tenants are a mix of people working NEW-BUILD HOMES houses and nine two-bedroom flats in nearby Reading and Slough and Thameside is a Shanly Homes by Spitfire Bespoke Homes, with families where a member commutes scheme of 28 townhouses and two- prices likely to range from £750,000 to London. Eton College is not a and three-bedroom flats and to £1.25 million. The official launch is major driver although we’ve had one duplexes overlooking the river. They in July, with completion in July next or two parents from the Far East are ready to move into, priced from year. Contact 01628 308860. renting when they visit pupils.” 26 WEDNESDAY 2 MAY 2018 EVENING STANDARD Homes Property | Ask the expert Help us dodge the buy-to-let investment traps

MY DAD is going to help us financially to buy our first home, Q which is on a new development. For some reason he is quite adamant that we must not use any solicitors that are recommended by the developers or their sales agents. Why is this? What would be the problem with using those solicitors?

YOUR father is probably By Fiona McNulty concerned about whether a law OUR LAWYER ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS A firm recommended by the developers is truly independent. In general, large developers will often WE HAVE some savings and my have two or three law firms on their wife wants us to get a buy-to-let More legal Q&As: “panel”, with which they will have an Q property as she feels it would visit homesand arrangement whereby they refer all their provide a good pension for us. We know property.co. uk new home buyers to them. very little about property — having lived These law firms may have been given a in the same house we bought 37 years ago sample contract package at an early stage — and even less about investment so that they are well acquainted with the property. Do you have any pointers for us? information when letting. A written expenses you will face. These include the development layout, any planning tenancy agreement will be needed, and additional stamp duty that will apply to an requirements etc. Also, by acting for a CONSIDER how much of your there are strict requirements for investment property; surveyor’s fees; legal number of buyers they may be able to savings you can afford to spend on protecting tenants’ deposits. fees and the cost of furniture if you decide charge lower fees as the legal work A the property and where it should The property will need to be to let the place furnished. required for each plot will be similar. For be located. Decide whether you want a flat WHAT’S maintained and various legal If the property increases in value, then example, the contracts for sale are likely to or a house. Ensure there are no restrictive YOUR PROBLEM? requirements for letting will capital gains tax may be payable, as the be in a standard format, as will be the title covenants banning letting, or restricting Email legalsolutions@ need to be satisfied — for property will not be your principal private reports that solicitors should provide to the way the property may be let. standard.co.uk or write to Legal example, the provision of a residence. Income tax may be payable on the buyer prior to exchange of contracts. Decide whether you wish to undertake Solutions, Homes & Property, Gas Safe Certificate and the rent you receive. And remember that Panel solicitors won’t want to upset the Evening Standard, 2 Derry Street, holiday letting or have more long-term W8 5EE. Questions cannot be checking the identity of any you may have void periods when you have developers who refer work to them but tenants, and if you wish to let the place answered individually, but we will try prospective tenant, to verify no tenants and therefore no rental they must act in the best interests of their furnished or unfurnished. You should also to feature them here. their immigration status. income. buyer clients at all times. If they show any consider the energy performance of any Fiona McNulty is a solicitor Budget carefully, taking Consider discussing your options with a bias in favour of the developers, they could property as you have to provide that specialising in residential into account the particular good letting agent and your solicitor. face serious disciplinary action. property. EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 2 MAY 2018 29 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by Inside story | Homes Property I’m up to speed and on trend in my electric car

be home by 6:30. I look forward to her place feels familiar. I start to feel Diary of an updates on the charities and events anxious. The last time a client said we support together. that the situation unravelled rather quickly. It went like this: upon Estate Agent TUESDAY hearing the vendor’s voice during the The Colony Grill beckons for an early viewing, the client uttered an breakfast before our sales meeting. expletive and whispered that he had When we arrive at the Curzon Street been to the apartment before, in the MONDAY office, it’s buzzing with exciting evening, and needed to leave For once, it’s not running a business instructions — some mouthwatering immediately. Which he did. It still or my social life that leaves me sleep international business as summer remains a mystery why. deprived. Today it’s my two looms. Sadly, relocating next week’s Thankfully today’s viewing passes daughters, aged four and seven, who meeting to Mykonos is vetoed for without incident. Walking back to the ensure an early start — but at least I’m being too much of a distraction. office I bump into a client in ahead of the traffic, making calls and I can’t hide my pleasure at the Marylebone High Street and get an in Marylebone before 7.30am. My progress of our latest sale, of a update, before back-to-back viewings fellow Beauchamp Estates penthouse in Fitzrovia that in the Chiltern Street area. I love this Marylebone director, Richard completed without incident. Fitzrovia part of London for its diversity, the Douglas, and I still use our cars daily, is an area we hope to become more culture, boutique shops with friendly but we’ve gone electric. involved with, as we often have owners and, of course, the food. The early start means we can share buyers who want to be part of this breakfast at either Chiltern Firehouse increasingly popular location. A full- FRIDAY or Fischer’s. As a massive foodie, I’m on day — so it’s too late to join football Richard and I grab a coffee and always tempted to eat out. training. review the week. The London market Then I’m off to value a great is still a little subdued on sales but apartment on Bryanston Square, WEDNESDAY alive with viewings and lots of followed by another in Regent’s Park. Everyone seems to have a funny story valuations. Anything is possible if all Back in the car there’s time for some about a lift and today, it’s my turn. At a parties are realistic in their hands-free calls, one of which viewing of a Mayfair property we take expectations. There’s a final email involves the sale of Cresswell House the lift to the upper floors. All is well check before I flick to Saturday in my in Chelsea. I sold the £20.95 million until we start to come back down and diary and see we have two of my property for more than the asking get stuck. It’s a small lift and the 20 favourite passions lined up — interior price, with a super-fast exchange now minutes it takes to get it moving again Later I start some skilful juggling of THURSDAY décor and food. needing a super-fast completion. feel like an eternity. Luckily, the my diary to accommodate Traffic jams leave no time for I finish in time for an early evening couple aren’t deterred and make an appointments for the rest of the week breakfast, as I race to a viewing just ⬤ Alex Bourne is director at with my wife, Rachel. She has been offer … providing the lift is fully and then I’m home in time to walk off Marylebone High Street. As we Beauchamp Estates Marylebone working in Spain and I’ve promised to serviced. the dog, which is a rarity. enter the lobby, my client says the (020 7486 9665). 32 WEDNESDAY 2 MAY 2018 EVENING STANDARD Homes Property | Letting on

the joists and the very fabric of the Dodgy landlords? I’ll building. It can destroy the building. Trust me folks, you really don’t ever want to hear the words: “You have dry rot.” tell you who’s the (dry) I need to rip out and replace the rotten skirting and hack off and replace the plaster on one wall. Both rotter around here have to be treated with a chemical to kill off the fungus. I’ve had a quote for £3,000 and the bill will go up if it turns out that the fungus has spread Y LOCAL Labour Party to the joists. shoved a leaflet The accidental through my door I went with a damp expert to inspect promising to tackle the neighbour’s house, where we Landlord “rouge” landlords if saw that the landlord had replastered theyM manage to topple the Tories in their bedroom where they’d had tomorrow’s local government damp, but hadn’t bothered to elections. I assume they mean redecorate. Tackling rogue “rogue” landlords who break the law The tenant said he didn’t see any by renting out unsafe or unlicensed point complaining as the rest of the landlords is a big properties. house was such a mess. In particular, However, I hope they are also water from the bathroom was leaking issue in the local referring to rubbish landlords who into the kitchen. fail to maintain their properties and When the property had blocked council elections. leave tenants living in damp, smelly drains I reported the foul smell but homes while consistently ignoring the landlord didn’t do anything until Victoria Whitlock requests to carry out repairs. If so, £2,000 per month: a newly refurbished three-bedroom house to rent in Pump Lane sewage started to seep under my there’s one in particular I would like SE14, close to New Cross Gate station. Call Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward, 020 8012 2724 fence and I threatened to report them would like to take them to tackle. to the environmental health It’s probably the borough’s biggest department. this chance to landlord, happens to own the terrace top, drenching the party wall. The someone else was sent to finish the If the Labour Party wants to track house next to mine and the property landlord did nothing until I job, but the damage was done. A few down and bring rubbish landlords to point out a is in such a shocking state of disrepair complained about the damp in the weeks ago, I moved a wardrobe in the account, good luck to them. My that it has caused literally thousands first-floor bedrooms of both houses as damp-afflicted bedroom and saw that neighbouring landlord won’t be supreme irony… of pounds of damage to my home. a consequence of the blocked gutters. the skirting was rotten. A damp difficult to find because, guess what For years this landlord ignored my specialist told me I have dry rot as a — it’s the local council. requests for them to clean out their Then the cheapskate sent a result of the wall being repeatedly blocked gutters, which were so jobsworth who only cleaned out a soaked from next door. ⬤ Victoria Whitlock lets four properties choked with silt that trees had begun couple of yards of the gutter because Dry rot is the worst kind of rot. Left in south London. To contact Victoria to grow out of them. As a result, “that’s all he’d been paid to do”. After a untreated it can spread throughout a with your ideas and views, tweet rainwater constantly spilled over the few more angry phone calls from me, house, eating away at the floorboards, @vicwhitlock 34 WEDNESDAY 2 MAY 2018 EVENING STANDARD Homes Property | New homes homesandproperty.co.uk powered by Brewing up a great buy in E17

FOR many years Walthamstow was workshop” on Blackhorse Lane aims associated with the bottom rung of to encourage more locals to learn Smart moves the property ladder, but steady skills such as furniture making. For a improvements and a town centre small fee, anyone can rent a space or face lift are encouraging people to studio at the workshop. By David Spittles settle, including artists priced out of But the old industrial legacy is inner east London. disappearing. A former brewery site One of the area’s highlights is has made way for The Essex William Morris Gallery, historic home Brewery, below, 158 new flats from of the influential Victorian designer £379,995. Many are available and poet. Walthamstow has a history through Help to Buy, requiring a of crafts and manufacturing and a deposit of five per cent. Call Crest new purpose-built “people’s Nicholson (020 3640 7577). Westminster flats get our vote

ESTMINSTER’S HQ. Part of the project entails parliamentary demolition of Ergon House, built in quarter is buzzing 1907 as the Horseferry Road Electrical ahead of tomorrow’s Power Station, and designed by local elections, while Wimbledon Centre Court architect theW local property market is Charles Stanley Peach. generating excitement, too. In its place will be a neoclassical- What used to be a discreet “Division style building clad in limestone and Bell” address for blue-blood granite with Art Deco flourishes, politicians is now finding favour with while grand flats in the retained listed Medical College, adds a bohemian buyers fleeing pricier central districts building are coming later. Call St touch. Westminster council flogged such as Chelsea and Belgravia. Edward (020 7118 7799) for details. off many local properties during the One of the area’s riverside Millbank is perhaps most famous Eighties and these SW1 “right-to-buy” landmarks, 9 Millbank is the latest for Tate Britain, but back from the resales are among the most desirable launch, and brings 95 swanky Thames lies a quiet neighbourhood ex-local authority homes in London. apartments priced from £999,950. with a mix of well-kept private, Blocks are spotlessly clean with The scheme, part listed, looms over council and charitable housing private courtyards. Lambeth Bridge and is sandwiched estates. Listed Chelsea College of Vincent Square is a great green between MI5 offices and Burberry’s Arts, formerly the Royal Army space, though not open to the public EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 2 MAY 2018 35 New homes | Homes Property

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as its 13 acres of private playing fields From £999,950: high ceilings, comfort cooling and are owned by Westminster School. above, 9 Millbank, underfloor heating, sleek Poliform Moments from here is another new smart riverside kitchens and wardrobes, marble- apartment scheme, 33 Greycoat flats in a landmark walled bathrooms, sliding internal Street, with 23 tastefully designed building in doors and solid oak floors. homes behind a stone and red-brick Westminster SW1 A wow-factor penthouse comes with façade with elegant geometric Above right: 33 a wraparound roof terrace accessed railings. Greycoat Street via an electronically controlled glazed Large, bronze-framed windows flats, priced from stairwell. Prices from £850,000. Call throw in light, while interiors have £850,000 020 3632 1549.

A PLACE FOR FAMILIES TO PUT DOWN ROOTS

AN ANCIENT oak tree planted by renowned landscape architect Capability Brown (1716- 1783) is the centrepiece of Cambium, left, an eco-friendly scheme of townhouses in leafy Southfields, SW19, perfect for young families to put down roots. The Lend Lease development has distinctly modern and energy-efficient homes built around an “urban meadow” and children’s play area. Some houses have rooftop gardens and garages. A showhome has opened for the coming bank holiday weekend. Prices from £1,049,995. Call Lend Lease on 020 3817 7000. New-build or period? Clapham Road’s got both SOUTH of the river it may be but Clapham is comparable in price to coveted north and west London addresses. The open 220-acre expanse of its Common is one reason; another is the three Northern line Tube stations connecting it to the City and central London in 20 minutes. Twentysomethings like the gyms, bars and the train links, while families gravitate towards the Old Town, with its pond, child-friendly cafés, gift shops and organic food outlets. A new scheme of 79 homes, 330 Clapham Road aims to attract both types of buyer, having a mix of apartments and townhouses, all a short walk from the lively high street. Houses cost from £995,000. Call 020 7368 4830. Up the road at 381-383 Clapham Road, right, two listed Georgian townhouses have been split into 10 flats priced from £475,000. Call Hamptons (020 3451 1544).