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London’s best property search news: homesandproperty.co.uk 4 WEDNESDAY 14 FEBRUARY 2018 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | News stop press:

£400m revamp: a grand new entrance and 200 new homes are envisaged for Thirties-built Dolphin Square in Pimlico Trophy home of the week A cool Nothing for £30m means you need never go out £29,950,000: so you’ve sold the little garden, and the sleek kitchen/ business and made a mint. Now, breakfast room is lit by huge south- where to live? This stucco-fronted 10- facing windows. There’s a pool, gym, the locals bedroom Kensington mansion, on the cinema, wine cellar and staff living exclusive Phillimore Estate between space across the lower floors, while ULL details of the ties and has barely been Lifechanger of the week Holland Park and Kensington Palace the upper floors house the plush £400 million changed since, are now Gardens, has been remodelled to an bedroom suites and a decked roof revamp of one of being studied by Westmin- Equestrian business is a über-luxurious remit. Sumptuous terrace, reached either by lift or an London’s largest ster council. A decision is reception, dining and drawing rooms elegant winding staircase. Through and most famous expected later this year. good bet in this rural idyll have French windows to a landscaped John D Wood (020 8012 1762). Fblocks of flats are revealed Despite submitting almost today — but its American 300 planning documents to £945,000: Rowlestone on the owners aren’t saying how the council, Westbrook has Welsh borders near Hereford London buy of the week The perfect many of 200 new homes in declined to say how many of provides the most romantic of the plan will be affordable. the new homes will be ear- rustic locations for this historic Peckham combination of old and new Dolphin Square — which marked for people who collection of buildings, including a has been home to princesses, would otherwise be priced 16th-century farmhouse and a £600,000: when it politicians, spies and actors out of the area, other than fabulous studio barn with an comes to conversion over the last 80 years — is to to promise it will designate open-plan living/kitchen and flats, this one has the be reconfigured and partly the “maximum possible”. dining space. lot. Part of a handsome rebuilt to add new town- A report by its planning Other outbuildings include flat-fronted Victorian houses, flats and serviced consultants, DP9, says Dol- stables that come with five building, a few minutes apartments to its existing phin Square already provides paddocks, all designed to run a from the bars and 1,106 rental flats and 124 serv- a “different form of accessi- lively equestrian business. restaurants of über- iced apartments. ble low-cost housing”, a ref- The farmhouse has a generous cool Lordship Lane and A new underground swim- erence to the block’s original living room with a flagstone floor, the open space of ming pool and sports facili- role providing affordable an inglenook fireplace with a Peckham Rye in south- ties, plus extra shops, will rented homes to locals who wood-burning stove, slate tiles east London, it comes also be built at the seven- wanted to be able to walk to and a Rayburn oven in the with big sash windows and-a-half-acre Pimlico site, work. The council requires kitchen/breakfast room, while that let in masses of and a grand new vaulted about a third of new homes upstairs has three/four bedrooms natural light. entrance has been designed to be affordable. Dolphin that soak up the glorious views There’s a generous cabinetry and wood which has a glass door by Eric Parry Architects. Square’s past residents have across some 20-plus acres of land reception room and an floors, while clean lines out to a roof terrace. The plans by Westbrook included Princess Anne, to ramble or canter across. open-plan kitchen continue in two luxe For sale chain free Partners for Dolphin Square, Soviet spy John Vassall and Through Knight Frank (01905 By Faye that’s fitted with quartz bathrooms and through Winkworth which was built in the Thir- Carry On actor Sid James. 939053). Greenslade worktops, sleek bedrooms, one of (020 8012 3545).

O Find Ruth Bloomfield’s full story at homesandproperty.co.uk Now YOU be the judge Editor: Janice Evening Standard New Homes Awards 2018 Morley WE ARE looking for 20 people with a passion for property who are avid VISIT homesandproperty.co. readers of Homes & Property and uk/rules for details of our would like to join the judging panel usual promotion rules. When for the 2018 Evening Standard New you respond to promotions, Homes Awards. offers or competitions, the You will join industry experts to London Evening Standard and choose the very best homes and its sister companies may developments in London and the reader judge — just bags of contact you with relevant South-East and will be a VIP guest at enthusiasm for good architecture offers and services that may the glittering awards ceremony at and interior design. The awards be of interest. Please give The Dorchester Hotel in May. cover all sectors of the industry from your mobile number and/or A shortlist of schemes will be starter homes to swish warehouse email address if you would prepared by the team of experts, conversions, and from family houses like to receive such offers by who will visit each site, but our to luxurious mansions. Judging is text or email. reader judges will make the final completely independent, so decisions and choose the winners in applicants should have no direct Editorial: 020 3615 2650 each category. You don’t need any links to housebuilders and must not Advertisement manager: professional qualifications to be a have been on the panel before. Ann Finan Advertising: 020 3615 0266 HOW TO APPLY: tell us in no more than 150 words why you should be on the panel, Homes & Property, Northcliffe detailing all relevant knowledge or experience. You would also have to be free for House, 2 Derry Street, a couple of hours on the evening of March 1 to take part in the selection process in Kensington, London W8 5TT. Kensington, and all day on April 5 for the final judging day. Please email your application to [email protected] EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 14 FEBRUARY 2018 5 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by News | Homes & Property Homesick Harry wants a quick sale in LA É DESPITE their global fame, it appears there really is no place like home for the One Direction boys. So much so that Harry Styles, left, has dropped the asking price of his West Hollywood mansion to £5.9 million in a bid to sell up in California.

The Sign of the Times singer first POOLE DAVID listed the property for sale last June at £6.6 million but has yet to find a Gorgeous Georgian buyer for the three-bedroom home overlooking the Pacific with a racy past Ocean and Downtown Los Angeles. He is said to be missing his HOTSPOT: KETTNER’S London life and has previously TOWNHOUSE SOHO commented that he can’t spend too much time in a place where Branston É ONCE considered the venue of Pickle and bangers’n’mash aren’t choice for dangerous liaisons, Soho

widely on the menu. POOLE DAVID restaurant Kettner’s has relaunched His bandmate Louis Tomlinson, as Kettner’s Townhouse, with home right, has also commented that they Fancy a trip inspiration at every turn. There to are “British boys” and listed his five- GETTY/GETTY celebrate were Fawn and India Rose bedroom Californian pile for sale for down James, below, of Soho Estates. £10 million last month. Under the Soho House helm, with a memory twist, it is a gloriously decadent break from the cosy members club model. É A SPECTACULAR The Georgian building, where Oscar Clerkenwell Wilde had illicit assignations and the townhouse built in the future King Edward VII was said to Eighties by celebrated have wooed Lillie Langtry, now architect Piers Gough for houses 33 bedrooms, a restaurant and journalist and broadcaster a champagne bar. Janet Street-Porter, right, has been The original spiral staircase leads to given Grade II-listed status. the en suite rooms with their wooden The four-storey building, floors, Georgian fireplaces, heritage pictured, has been hailed as an windows and vintage chandeliers. An By Amira Hashish “extrovert and ostentatious art collection is inspired by the example of post-modern domestic buildings’ rumoured reputation for architecture” and an “uncommon affairs, with installations by Danny late 20th-century revival of the Augustine and Sara J Beazley. Visit You’ll find no cause to tut at this treasure London townhouse tradition”. kettnerstownhouse.com to book. Gough, who made his name with É A NEW investigation into King his work in the redevelopment of Tutankhamun’s tomb began last London Docklands, said he modelled week. Ever since Egyptologist the space on Street-Porter herself, Howard Carter, inset, discovered the and that it carries a “visual punch” 3,300-year-old tomb in the Valley of to resemble her own. the Kings in Luxor in 1922, archaeolo- Loose Women panellist Street- gists have suspected other chambers Porter has fond memories of the were there to be found. Now striking three-bedroom home she digging is under way that moved out of in 2001. It was last sold could unveil the treasures of for £3.5 million in 2014. Tut’s wife, Ankhesenamun. building was also used as Spread over four floors, the Somewhat closer to home, an RAF base during the standout features are the deep blue- the London apartment wheree Second World War. glazed roof pantiles, diamond-paned Carter (1874-1939) once lived The stunning five-bedroom windows and dramatic geometrical is for sale — and it’s a treasuree apartment, above, on the terraces and balconies. in its own right. In Albert Court, first and second floors is super- Kensington, it’s next to the Albert elegant and comes with first-class Got some gossip? Hall. One of the first purpose-built security. It is on the market with Tweet @amiranews GETTY mansion blocks built in London, the Russell Simpson for £9.75 million. TIM STREET-PORTER BENETT DAVE 6 WEDNESDAY 14 FEBRUARY 2018 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | New homes homesandproperty.co.uk powered by Building a solution Looking for answers to the housing shortage, Lee Mallett finds the latest factory homes built in steel and wood and delivered by lorry

REFABRICATED or modular in upfront to fully design and order the homes are increasingly viewed homes. That means extra risk. And as one answer to London’s we’ve not seen any system yet that is acute housing shortage. Outer substantially cheaper than traditional boroughs are seen as offering methods. But the big benefit is reduced Pthe best chance of delivering factory- build times. We get revenue through made homes in large numbers. sales or rent sooner. One of the other The Government’s new Housing big benefits is that OSM [off-site manu- Implementation Taskforce met last factured homes] will attract a new gen- week for the first time, chaired by PM eration of skilled workers. We need Theresa May, enthroning housing as the those tech-savvy youngsters.” top public policy issue after Brexit. So what’s happening in the capital? TIMBER’S TIME IS NOW After the Second World War, Britain Professor Alex de Rijke, co-founder of built more than 600,000 temporary architects dRMM, champions timber prefabs in 10 years using spare factory for sustainability but says the process is space, and in the Sixties prefabs were slower at present. The firm pioneered used to temporarily swell supply. The the use of cross-laminated timber pan- UK built 425,000 homes in 1968, in part els — CLT — including at Trafalgar thanks to prefabs. Place, a block of 235 apartments at Today, London is widely thought to Elephant & Castle, shortlisted for the require 60,000 new homes a year, while 2017 RIBA Stirling Prize. This used a concrete ground and basement, is from over a year to lay. Of course we shouldn’t ral materials are looking at timber sky- Mayor Sadiq Khan has set a target of timber structure but is clad in brick to timber panels and weighs a fifth of a throw the look of local vernacular archi- scrapers. The US, Europe and Asia are 50,000 and the target for the whole meet planning requirements. similar-size concrete building. This cut tecture away, but we don’t need to do looking at timber as a way forward. country, including London, is 300,000 The firm has developed the idea of deliveries during construction by 80 it in brick. We should be moving to homes a year by 2025. creating timber “shell and core” modu- per cent. It also meant the scheme could lighter cladding materials.” Global inter- THE LIGHT STEEL In London’s outer zones, where low lar homes that allow the occupier to fit be taller and provide more homes and est in the environmental benefits of PANEL SYSTEM densities and lower values prevail, them out to their own taste, cutting the workspace. Waugh says: “For planning timber buildings is such that other At Gallions Reach, on Greater London developers are gearing up to achieve initial cost of the home, something more reasons we had to clad it in brick, and designers, such as PLP Architecture and Authority-owned land in the Royal the numbers required using their own common in London’s office market. support 1,500 tons of brick that took Cambridge University’s centre for natu- Docks, Ilke Homes, one of the UK’s new- or other producers’ modular systems. They designed a custom-built private est modular home manufacturers, has Advanced technology means factory- home for artist Richard Woods and his installed two show homes built using a built homes are far more attractive than family in east London. While not light steel-based panel system. post-war prefabs. They are better qual- “affordable” for most, the spectacular “Our homes are built in our North ity and can be built quickly and with less home demonstrates some of the prin- Yorkshire factory and transported on a waste than with traditional building ciples of modular homes. lorry,” says Ilke chief executive Bjorn methods. But they are not yet competi- “We need a different economic model Conway. “The whole house is ready for tive on price and financing schemes can that targets what people can afford,” occupation within six days, with every- be problematic. says De Rijke. “But our process is slow thing installed and decorated. We just Developers, housing associations and to deliver, from planning to traditional have to connect them up. major companies and manufacturers, build methods, which raises costs. We “They match traditional build costs. including Legal & General, Berkeley relied on EU immigrant workers but They are zero carbon. Our business Homes and Swan Housing Association, they are now leaving because of Brexit. target is to produce 2,000 homes a year. are seeing enough interest to justify Build costs are rising — off-site manufac- The real demand is from housing asso- investment in building modular home ture has some answers. ciations and lots of outer London bor- factories. But developer First Base, “We need to build more densely to oughs are interested. We’re also looking founded 15 years ago to deliver afford- make better cities. Why would you go at roof boxes if the Mayor’s proposal to able homes using “modern methods of for the green belt when so much of the add two storeys becomes reality. They construction”, has found it hard going. city remains underdeveloped? Inner- are approved by the Council of Mort- “We remain big fans,” says operations city mixed-use development works for gage Lenders. We are developing 18 director Phil Wade. “But it remains everybody. We’re designing a timber house types.” tough to raise finance to build modular mixed-use prototype that can create Ilke expects to sell completed homes schemes. We have to put more money homes over workplaces.” Light materials: Dalston Lane, by Regal Homes, has a timber-panel superstructure to developers rather than individuals, costing £160-£270 per square foot to THE PROS AND CONS ECO-FRIENDLY TOWERS build, depending on specification. A OF MODULAR BUILDING Andrew Waugh of Waugh Thistleton 1,200sq ft three-bedroom house would Architects says modular timber con- cost the developer buying it about Today’s modular homes improve struction’s time “has definitely arrived. £192,000. It would then be sold or considerably on old prefabs with: Seventy per cent of us will be living in rented at local market value. √ Long-lasting galvanised steel cities by 2035 so we need to focus on frames mid-rise and higher density. We wel- √ Sound and energy insulation come the ambition of an organisation like Legal & General, which has spent Thinking of √ Low energy consumption several hundred million pounds on a moving? √ All services and finishes including new CLT facility in Yorkshire. kitchens, bathrooms, storage, “We’re working with Swan Housing Start your lighting and cabling for power and Association who have a new CLT factory wireless are part of the package in Essex. Timber panels can be cut search on √ Ready to live in once “plugged in” down to any size. You can have variation X Once they’re ordered, there’s less for houses, flats and high rise. You can ability to change the design create homes that reduce carbon rather X Just as expensive as a traditional than create it.” The practice’s Dalston new-build house Lane scheme for Regal Homes provides 121 homes. Its superstructure, above a Yorkshire built: Ilke Homes’ steel prefabs came to Gallions Reach in E6 on a lorry EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 14 FEBRUARY 2018 7 New homes | Homes & Property

Happy: Charles Davies, left; above, an Urban House in Kidbrooke Village Plenty of space CHARLES DAVIES bought his modular Urban House in Kidbrooke Village, Greenwich on Brexit Day in June 2016. The houses now cost £915,000. “I’m sharing with my brother Billy,” says Charles. “We are living in part of London, yet it doesn’t feel like it. It’s an incredibly spacious, well-designed home, with loads of storage for a family and space for bikes outside. You don’t notice it’s a modular house. We’ve a spacious ground-floor kitchen and dining area, two first- floor bedrooms and a living room and

JULIET MURPHY two more bedrooms on the top floor.” Craned in: Swan Housing Association’s regeneration of the Craylands estate in Basildon, Essex, includes modular homes ALEX DE RIJKE

‘Our prefab timber home Pioneer: architects dRMM call the glass and timber home of Richard Woods, left, “a deliberate is so warm and natural’ experiment” in prefabricated housing

RICHARD WOODS is known globally for rest of the living space. We’ve had his painted woodgrain graphics on loads of interested people knocking furniture and textiles. London practice on the door. It’s a great advert for dRMM used the pattern to inject the my work. Alex persuaded me to artist’s character into the architectural put more of my work in it. design of WoodBlock House, above and “Living with the exposed timber right, his Hackney home and studio is lovely. It’s warm, natural, and built entirely in wood and glass using a we have a lot of outdoor space.” cross-laminated timber structural system. Father-of-three Woods works on the ground floor and lives with his family on the top two floors. “I met Alex de Rijke [of dRMM] because we were both interested in wood. I’d seen his Naked House ideas for timber homes on YouTube. Our house is amazing. It’s brilliant being able to combine living and working and the kids love it. We spent around £450,000 on the site and £600,000 on the house. “The kids have fairly small bedrooms at the top, but a large landing which they use as a shared space — that was a great idea of Alex’s. ALEX DE RIJKE

PHOTOSHOT The bedrooms are quite small to maximise the 8 WEDNESDAY 14 FEBRUARY 2018 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | First-time buyers FUTURE LONDON

OOR old East Ham, eh? This outpost of the traditional East End has thoroughly missed out on the waves of regeneration that have transformed Pmuch of the rest of Newham, from Stratford in the north of the borough to the Royal Docks in the south. But over the next five years hundreds of millions of pounds will be poured into this well-connected and fantastic- value neighbourhood, creating many hundreds of new homes for first timers, other buyers and renters to augment its still-affordable period housing stock. Along with the new homes will come new cafés, shops, and restaurants. “This is an area which has real potential,” says Matthew Lees, senior land manager at Bellway Homes, which is one of the housebuilders investing heavily in the area. “It is a place where real Londoners can still afford to buy and it is not a million miles from the regeneration zone at Canning Town.” It was a tiny settlement on marshy land close to the River Roding until 1859 when East Ham railway station opened. Then, slowly, East Ham developed into a significant suburb with a magnificent Edwardian town hall and streets of good-quality period houses. Equally slowly during the 20th century it declined, battered by wartime bombs and then scarred by depressingly poor- quality social housing. LOTS OF PLUSES Despite this the area is surprisingly green, with two main parks, Central Park and Plashet Park, as well as Flan- ders Field where the late Bobby Moore, captain of the 1966 World Cup-winning England football team, played as a You won’t know the place child. The area’s multicultural population lends itself to a really interesting Cash is now pouring into East Ham with new range of restaurants, from old-school East End pie and mash to some excel- first-time buyer and rental homes, shops and lent South Indian cuisine. A recent cafés — but its indomitable community spirit is addition, Rustix Gourmet, serves designer burgers and posh fry-ups, all certain to stay strong, says Ruth Bloomfield made with halal meat. Tube links to the City, via the District or Hammersmith & City lines, are par- diner, and Applecart Arts, a not-for- an old-school and slightly shabby cov- ticularly good and community spirit is profit cultural centre just up the road ered market in Myrtle Road. Three strong in East Ham. in Upton Park. months ago, Barratt London and retail specialist Dransfield Properties sub- JAM AND JERUSALEM DESPERATE FOR CHANGE mitted a planning application for a There is, too, a Women’s Institute Despite all that promise, if ever a loca- multimillion-pound reboot of the site, group that organises activities includ- tion needed regeneration it is East Ham complete with roof gardens and a ing foraging and supper clubs and runs which currently suffers from some of landscaped courtyard. a pop-up café. The area’s slowly chang- the worst unemployment and highest There will also be 277 new homes, of ing demographic can be seen in new levels of child poverty in Britain. which just over a third will be afford- businesses such as Flip Out, a trampo- A key site in the district’s rebirth is able and earmarked for first-time buy- line adventure park with sci-fi themed the 1.9-acre East Ham Market Hall, ers. The market hall itself will be redeveloped with 21,000sq ft for shops and restaurants. A spokeswoman for Barratt London said that if permission is granted, work on the four-year build will begin this summer. It is too early to speculate on the type of retailers Dransfield will manage to recruit to the market hall, but the development represents a huge opportunity to retain the best of the existing traders and upgrade the nondescript High Street that’s heavy on the Primark/ Poundland type of outlet. Bellway Homes, meanwhile, is spend- ing £100 million on a project to trans- form an industrial estate just off Newham Way on the fringes of East Ham and Beckton into a development Green light: planning consent has been given for Beckton Parkside, the Bellway of nearly 400 new homes. There will Homes £100 million transformation of an industrial estate into 400 new homes also be co-working space for small and EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 14 FEBRUARY 2018 9 First-time buyers | Homes & Property

Ambitious: Red Door Ventures, Newham council’s own developer, will turn the Town Hall Annexe in Barking Road into 185 rental ﬂats with a courtyard garden GREATFIELD RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION GREATFIELD Bigging up the neighbourhood: Greatﬁeld Community Market in East Ham South is run by and for local residents EAST EDGE SISTERS/WI EAST Fresh baked: the East Edge Sisters, a lively East Ham branch of the WI, does teatime proud at the Mayor’s Newham Show in five years medium companies, a new public Hot new scheme: square, and access to Beckton District The Old Fire Park. Bellway is considering also Station in High installing a café and gym. The mix of Street South is property here is good. A third of the being converted homes will be affordable, earmarked into seven new for first-time buyers, while another East Ham rental third will be family-size units with three apartments bedrooms. Planning permission for Beckton carriageway, and he feels that, with course these new developments, and Parkside has been granted and the double glazing, residents should hardly the facilities that will come with them, first homes will go on sale, off-plan, in notice the hum of traffic. are a little way down the line, but buy- early 2020. Help to Buy London will be Newham council has set up its own ers can already pick up a good-value available on some of the homes, mean- developer, Red Door Ventures, special- period home in East Ham. ing buyers only need find a five per cent ising in built-to-rent developments and A three- to four-bedroom Victorian or deposit. using council-owned sites to create Edwardian terrace house would cost high-quality homes across the bor- about £500,000, while a two-bedroom HOMES THAT ‘REAL ough. period conversion would come in at LONDONERS’ CAN AFFORD In East Ham it has teamed up with about £250,000 — a price almost Bellway’s Matthew Lees believes the dRMM Architects, winner of last year’s unheard in a Zone 3 location. whole “A13 corridor” running eastward RIBA Stirling Prize for its regeneration out of the City has huge potential for of Hastings Pier in East Sussex, for a future price growth. series of projects large and small. Work Thinking of “Bellway’s philosophy is to find those on these projects will begin next year, pockets of underutilised and under- and by 2020 will make a real contribu- moving to an area regenerated land, and try and find sites tion to the supply of rental accommo- to deliver homes for real Londoners,” dation locally. with future growth he says. promise? This heaving dual carriageway is also NEW LIFE FOR HANDSOME a cycle superhighway, a swift ride to PERIOD BUILDINGS Start your search the huge regeneration zone at Canning They include a reboot of The Old Fire Town — good news since the site is Station in High Street South. The rather on about a mile-and-a-half from the near- grand red-brick edifice will be converted est stations at East Ham, Upton Park into seven homes. and Canning Town. On a bigger scale, the Town Hall The other compromise at Beckton Annexe in Barking Road will provide Parkside is traffic noise. The buildings, another 185 rented homes, with a resi- says Lees, have been designed with dents’ courtyard garden and café, while corridor space facing the road and the a former brickyard just off High Street flats themselves facing away from the North will contribute a further 98. Of 10 WEDNESDAY 14 FEBRUARY 2018 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Environment ALAMY PA Blot on the landscape: recycling rates Deposit scheme: this machine in Germany takes recyclable have been static for 10 years in London empties and refunds the deposit shoppers pay on them ALAMY We must turn the tide: plastic is expensive and we need to stop regarding it as a throwaway product

E HAVE to get better at recycling in London or we’ll drown in our own waste. We’ve all seen Blue Why are we Planet 2. If we don’t start recycling all those single-use plastic waterW and juice bottles we are, quite literally, such going to suffocate the world. Last week a report showed what can be done and what is being done — in Norway. There, an astonishing 98 per cent of plastic bottles are being recycled. This is partly possible because Norway wasters? insists they be made of only two types of recyclable plastic. A desposit system applies, which London’s recycling record is Norwegian shoppers get back when they return bottles to participating shops. Special bins read shameful. A bewildering array the bottles’ barcodes and credit the shopper. The of rules and regs doesn’t help shopkeeprs love having these bins because they bring more business into their shops. Norway is getting it right. London is not. Leonie London actually has the worst recycling rates in Britain. Weirdly, London’s recycling rates have Cooper broadly stayed the same for nearly a decade, so LONDON ASSEMBLY MEMBER progress has been non-existent. A multitude of sins makes recycling in London difficult — flat living, flat renting, lack of storage, confusing collections, confusing rules, the con- to recycling and separation of recyclates should fusing make-up of different plastics and the tran- be encouraged.” If only boroughs could better co- sient nature of our population. ordinate their rules and regulations to help reduce confusion. Recycling in flats often stalls because Currently, 50 per cent of London’s housing stock is of limited provision, inconsistent recycling systems flats, and nearly a third of people in the private and lack of incentives to reduce black-bin waste. rented sector have moved home in the past year. This does not conjure much responsibility for Plastic aside, boroughs should collect food waste your local area, as it is not your area for long, so from all properties, including flats; it makes up who cares anyway. nearly 20 per cent of London’s total waste. Yet Density hasn’t stopped Milan from showing us fewer than half of our boroughs offer a separate how it’s done. This Italian, city where 80 per cent food waste service for flats, including some of the of the 1.3 million population lives in high-rise most densely populated boroughs. buildings, has managed to increase its recycling All boroughs should provide segregated food rate by over 50 per cent since 2011. What is Milan waste collection from all homes — this not only doing that London isn’t? It has succeeded in get- encourages people to waste less food (and there- ting people to recycle by issuing clear instructions fore save money), it also increases our ability to for collecting food waste, and fining those who recycle other waste and reduces the amount of break the rules. waste sent to landfill, the most expensive form of London’s biggest problem is achieving consist- disposal, thus saving the taxpayer money. ency. Each borough in the capital has a completely We have made shamefully little progress in this different recycling regime. Move flat and the city. The problem goes far deeper than purely healthy recycling habits you developed at one offering services, its roots spread far and wide address simply don’t apply at your new home. — in the manufacture of plastic, our retailer responsibility, and our attitudes towards plastic, CO-ORDINATION IS THE KEY waste and recycling. Waste and Resources Action Programme — Wrap — found that a flat recycling service yields 50 per LASTIC is too expensive to waste. It is not cent less recycling than average homes with a a throwaway product. It should be doorstep collection. Camden, which offers a full treated with respect. If we throw it away recycling service, including a weekly food waste we throw away our environment. Atti- collection, has a recycling rate of just 27 per cent. tudes must change. With the current Ealing reportedly saves between £1.7 million and Pmomentum to reduce plastic waste and to recycle £2.3 million a year by transferring dry recyclable more, the future might look less bleak. But we all and food waste recycling out of residual waste. need to contribute if we are to turn the tide. During the London Assembly environment committee investigation into waste, Veolia, which O Leonie Cooper is a London Assembly Member provides waste services to 40 per cent of London- at City Hall and chairs the Assembly environment ers, said: “London-wide co-ordination with regard committee. 12 WEDNESDAY 14 FEBRUARY 2018 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Commuting

OOD-LOOKING, sur- THE OUTPERFORMERS: WINNER rounded by gorgeous countryside, sprinkled with great schools and offering a easy journey to GLondon, Dorking is today named top Dorking: the spot home counties commuter hotspot of the last year. Add to those attributes some fine dining, a busy and interesting high street and lashings of rural charm, and it’s easy to see why. that’s got the lot The Surrey market town saw outstanding property price growth of 15 per cent, according to research by Hamptons This market town in the lush Surrey Hills is International comparing the performance of every commuter town and vil- No 1 in our chart of the 20 best-value London lage within an hour of London. It is not as posh or expensive as other commuter hotspots. By Ruth Bloomfield Surrey commuter hotspots such as Oxshott or Guildford but it hits the sweet spot of affordability and quality. “We are quite a lucky town in that we have a village feel, a community spirit, and a really quaint town centre with a good variety of shops, really close to London,” says Marc Cox-Muggridge, branch manager of Barnard Marcus. Dorking is certainly geographically blessed, set at the east of the Surrey Hills close to the cyclists’ favourite, Box Hill — also something of a mecca for Jane Austen fans as the location of the pivotal picnic scene in Emma. But you don’t

THE STATS Dorking, Surrey Average property price: £485,360 Annual price growth: 15 per cent Price growth since 2007: 57 per cent Average price of a house: £585,436 London journey time: 51 minutes ALAMY have to be an aficionado of Austen nov- Market town charm: West Street in Dorking town centre, a must for antiques fans els to enjoy Box Hill’s walks and amazing panorama. Mountain bikers come from £950,000: for far and wide to the Surrey Hills. Vaughan “the works” in Williams was inspired to compose The family living, this Lark Ascending while walking on Leith four-bedroom Hill, near his family home Leith Hill listed Georgian Place in countryside near Dorking. and Elizabethan “I think it’s the countryside as much house in London as anything that attracts people to Dork- Road has ing,” says Alan King, senior partner at glorious interiors estate agent Jackson-Stops. “Dorking is and half an acre ring-fenced by countryside and very of gardens. Call pretty villages, much of it protected, so Hamptons there is no urban sprawl.” (01306 301007)

THE PROPERTY STOCK School and St Paul’s CofE (Aided) Pri- Cox-Muggridge of Barnard Marcus In the Rose Hill conservation area in mary School are both rated “outstand- hopes the recent abolition of stamp the centre of Dorking are streets of ing” by Ofsted. There is a choice of two duty for first-time buyer homes worth Victorian properties, ranging from state senior schools, both with “good” less than £300,000 will stimulate the large villas to sweet two-bedroom cot- reports from the watchdog. market this year, which he feels will be tages. A cottage would cost £350,000- The high street is famed for its strong “but not record breaking”. He £400,000. A detached, five-bedroom antiques and vintage shops and chichi thinks that next year will be steady, not house could cost up to £1.8 million. little boutiques, and there is a good spectacular. Cox-Muggridge’s London clients tend leisure centre and pool. Cinema and Dorking price growth this past year to be in their thirties and forties, with theatre are found at Dorking Halls, was boosted by strong sales at Vista, a young family in tow, seeking a family which runs an annual arts festival plus where two-bedroom flats sold at home with three or four bedrooms. A regular live music and comedy nights, £280,000-plus. The scheme is 80 per three-bedroom Victorian house close and an annual choral music festival. cent sold, proving an appetite for flats to the high street would cost £550,000- Dorking offers good gastropubs, while as well as family homes in the town. £575,000, he says, while a little further restaurants range from modern fine “I think there are too many question out a four-bedroom Thirties home dining at Sorrel, recently opened by marks over Brexit and the economy to would be £600,000-£700,000. Michelin-star chef Steve Drake in a predict anything more this year,” he There’s not a sink school to be found lovely 300-year-old building, to Gor- adds. “On the other hand, Dorking’s in the town, and Dorking Nursery geous Gerties, which does a mean Sun- limited supply will underpin prices.” day brunch. Out of town are plenty of nice village pubs to explore, and Den- bies Wine Estate, England’s largest, offers meals, tasting and tours. Today in Dorking GAZING INTO THE Rightmove has CRYSTAL BALL Jackson-Stops’ Alan King says the influx 169 homes to BUY of Londoners keeps them on their toes. and 67 to RENT “We are still a traditional town, but we are not stuffy. West Street has always been a bit of an antiques centre but these have been slowly changing into £650,000: a four-bedroom house in more art-led shops.” Vincent Road, with approval to extend. Whether Dorking can maintain its Barnard Marcus (01306 301023) price growth remains to be seen. But EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 14 FEBRUARY 2018 13 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by Homes abroad | Homes & Property

OURCHEVEL and Méribel are two of the Alps’ most prestigious winter sports resorts, long established, internationally loved and withC a knockout infrastructure. Together, they form part of France’s Three Valleys ski area, one of the largest worldwide, where snowfalls this winter have been epic. The area is certainly well connected. One ski pass offers a thigh-numbing 370 miles of slopes, 200 lifts, nine resorts and a top altitude above 3,000 metres — 9,900 feet. Beginners through to expert skiers are catered for with nursery slopes, snow parks, couloirs and mighty moguls set around cosy moun- tainside restaurants.

COURCHEVEL’S NEW HOTSPOT In Courchevel the chic epicentre is 1850 but it is the smaller villages, especially sunny Courchevel Moriond at 1650m that have become the ones to watch, says Andrew Beale of estate agents Free Spirit Alpine. “Courchevel 1650 is The mountain king: Colin Mathews undergoing a process of gentrification of Meriski upmarket chalet rentals with new and refurbished buildings raising the quality, introducing more ‘Méribel’s charmed stylish architecture and encouraging buyers who would previously have From £686,000: two- to four-bedroom fully furnished contemporary ﬂats at Le C in Courchevel (freespiritalpine.com) us all for 80 years’ bought in 1850 to come and pay around half the cost for similar homes.” evolved and improved its appearance number of separate villages. Find top MÉRIBEL is celebrating 80 years since Drive around 1650 and the gentrifica- Snow as 1650 has. Developers in 1650 are now value in pretty Mussillon and the tiny the first lift opened and Colin tion is obvious. Flat-roof Seventies doing top-quality, mountain-style hamlet of Le Raffort where older chalets Mathews, chairman and founder of blocks are being remodelled, reclad and homes and buyers like that. They want are being renovated. Mussillon is a bus upmarket chalet rental company extended to include splendid pent- big windows that let light pour in and ride from the slopes but easily walkable Meriski, has played a significant role houses. New traditional-style wood and palaces good use of space: a hassle-free home to local shops and restaurants, and there since 1984. stone chalets with wonderfully contem- with some rental income.” property prices are well under half of “Méribel has kept its charm,” says porary interiors are appearing, retailers Gentrification, French those in prime Méribel. Le Raffort is Mathews. “Chalets all have a similar and restaurants are improving and new MÉRIBEL, DARLING OF THE BRITS quieter, characterful and charming, roof pitch and use a similar stone. On escalators link to the family-friendly Alps style, includes ski Méribel celebrates its 80th birthday this close to a cable car direct to Méribel and the slopes there’s something for Aquamotion water park. Valentine’s Day. English skier Peter easier to return to on skis. everyone, making it ideal for family Property for sale through Free Spirit flats from £210,000, Lindsay established it as a ski resort in Free Spirit Alpine has property from skiing. Continuous investment has Alpine ranges from off-plan, four-bed- 1938 and it remains a British favourite. £300,000 for off-plan one- to three- made a fantastic lift system. They room, ski-in and out chalets, to lease- says Cathy Hawker Like Courchevel, Méribel comprises a bedroom flats in Méribel centre. have just spent £16.6 million on the back flats at L’Écrin Blanc. Beside a L’Hévana is a new resort landmark with telecabine at 1650, for example.” planned lift to 1850, these are priced 95 one- to three-bedroom leaseback Meriski operates 10 fully staffed from £210,000 for studios, up to two- flats, a pool, restaurant, shops and chalets with rental prices reaching up bedroom flats. Three-bedroom pent- underground parking. These compact, to £59,000 for 10 people over New houses are about to be added to an high-quality homes offer good views Year. Clients who would once come existing building with outstanding and easy access to the slopes. From for up to two weeks now come for mountain views, from £1.3 million. £309,000 through Free Spirit Alpine. shorter periods and often bring work Le C is a new wooden chalet with 10 In Mussillon, a one-bedroom chalet with them. “The perfect rental chalet flats, a restaurant and ski shops. Con- with potential to double in size to has charm and uses space well, not temporary interiors feature chunky 1,615sq ft is £796,000 through Savills, cramming in extra bedrooms,” says wood floors and walls of slim slate tiles, which is also selling Les Chalets Mathews. “We offer great service, and there’s a full concierge service. The d’Olympe in Méribel Les Allues, eight food and accommodation, making it fully furnished two- to four-bedroom flats and six chalets ready in autumn, easy to ski hard all day or just for one homes start from £686,000. from £482,000 for four bedrooms. hour a day.” “Courchevel 1850 is a brilliant ski resort but not so brilliant for property O Free Spirit Alpine: freespiritalpine.com O Meriski: meriski.co.uk owners,” says Beale. “It simply hasn’t £482,000: four-bedroom homes at Les Chalets d’Olympe, Méribel (savills.com) O Savills: savills.com 14 WEDNESDAY 14 FEBRUARY 2018 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Out of town

NE of the rituals at Kettle’s Yard gallery in Cambridge is for a volunteer to nip to Art gem an hour from London Waitrose to find the perfect yellow lemon to place on a Visit much-loved Kettle’s Yard gallery, now given O16th-century pewter plate in the perma- nent collection: Instant Still Life with a masterly makeover, and explore Cambridge, Lemon. The gallery was the home of Jim Ede (1895-1990) — painter, art collector where 3,000 new homes strike a similarly clear and pioneering Tate curator — and his art teacher wife, Helen, and has been architectural note, says Robert Bevan extended repeatedly since he donated it to the university in the late Sixties. London-based architect Jamie Fobert’s latest intervention opened last week. Fobert has restored important interiors by architect Sir Leslie Martin (1908- 2000) and built neutral new galleries within the shell of a 19th-century terrace Gift: Jim Ede donated his home and property next door. Fobert is on some- art collection to Cambridge University thing of a roll, with recently completed extensions at Tate St Ives and the news that he is to remodel the National Por- trait Gallery.

Originally a backwater terrace of four knocked-together derelict cottages, Kettle’s Yard is now an important regional gallery. The cottage interiors remain much as they were when Ede began opening his house to students interested in his collection of contemporary art, antiques, ancient artefacts and found objects. Ede was interested in both the primi- tive and the avant-garde. This spectrum, combined with the move from highly Cambridge favourite: London’s Jamie Fobert Architects have made new “gentle additions” to much-loved Kettle’s Yard The mix: natural high-quality materials decorative Victorian museum interiors House and Gallery, including a new entrance and roomy welcome area, two new gallery spaces and a new shop and café characterise the new gallery interiors to the plain “white cube” art gallery of the 20th century, led to the emergence museum or public art gallery.” He might be displayed at armchair height press. Good old rugs and battered fur- of a particular English domestic aes- befriended artists and amassed a col- and a row of round pebbles on a win- niture suggested a life well-lived. A 1970 thetic that combined these elements. lection that includes Miró, Henry dowsill culminated in an ancient axe- extension by Martin with brick floors “A living place where works of art Moore, Ben Nicholson and Barbara head masquerading as a tiny Hepworth and whitewash continued the pattern could be enjoyed,” wrote Ede, “where Hepworth. Students would ring the sculpture. Busts stood on a piano and with furniture and books joining the art, young people could be at home, unham- Kettle’s Yard doorbell for a tour of its also on a pedestal formed from the giant blurring the domestic and the public. A pered by the great austerity of the whitewashed interior, where paintings timber screw of an old wine or olive famously elongated sofa, removed for the recent refurbishment, revealed itself PROPERTY NOTEBOOK to be two humble single beds end-to- YOU don’t need an ancient cottage as a end once the white covers were off. setting to live like Ede. A similar aesthetic works just as well within a HIS was an influential Anglo modernist frame. For those priced out version of l’art de vivre — the of central Cambridge, the settlement of art of living — although the North West Cambridge, right, just French foodie aspect of this outside the city, is where 3,000 clean- bypassed the Edes. It was lined homes are being built using some Tsaid you had dinner before eating at the of the country’s most talented hospitable but ascetic couple’s cottage, architects such as Witherford Watson while their alcohol-free soirées at a pre- Mann, Alison Brooks and Stanton vious home in Hampstead ended Williams. The aim is for half of these promptly at 10 o’clock. homes to be affordable. O kettlesyard.co.uk At home: Jim Ede with Henri Gaudier- O nwcambridge.co.uk O jamiefobertarchitects.com Brzeska’s Bird Swallowing a Fish 16 WEDNESDAY 14 FEBRUARY 2018 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property Don’t move, improve

HE number of home A LOFT EXTENSION improvement planning Tapplications is up 60 per cent since 2012, with the loft extension being one of the most popular ways of creating space. Asia Kowalczuk and Duncan Grey took that JustJustst well-trodden route but with great imaginative flair, transforming their two-bedroom maisonette into a family home in the process. The couple, who live in oneonnee Walthamstow with daughter Iona, aged six, turned their attic into a light-drenched master suite. The project began with the fairly modest wish to create a third thingthingg bedroom at the Fifties property, which the couple bought seven years Cor-Ten steel and ago when Asia, a stylist, was pregnant. However, in 2016 Duncan’s full-height windows father fell seriously ill and they Welcome extra space: transforming a wanted enough extra space for him to turned this attic Fifties maisonette into a family home stay with them if he wished. has created room for a study nook Enlisting the help of neighbour conversion into a Grant Straghan, director of deDraft architects (dedraft.co.uk), they set truly stunning family out to create something more master suite, says interesting than a run-of-the-mill attic room. They used increasingly Ruth Bloomfield Room in the roof: Asia, Duncan and daughter Iona at home in Walthamstow fashionable Cor-Ten steel, a material which until relatively recently was couple decided to press ahead. Having used mainly to clad the hulls of ships. got so far along the route of setting up Cor-Ten is also known as weathering the extension it seemed foolish to give steel, thanks to its ability to rapidly up. Duncan, 39, a product designer, form a protective — and attractive — says: “We thought that whatever we did layer of rust which, in the case of this would be expensive — so why not go project, echoes the colour of the local the extra mile and get something roof tiles. “Grant brought a piece of special?” the metal and put it in his garden and The family are now enjoying life with after only two days we could see how a new staircase and another level, and much it had changed,” says Asia. their new bedroom is nothing short of a triumph. Rather than squeezing in the Having settled on their design, the smallest possible staircase to save couple thought the process of space, Straghan opted for generously converting their loft into a useable wide stairs, with floorboards in a white Wide and wonderful: waxed oak room would be relatively quick and waxed oak that extends into the stairs lead to the maisonette’s painless. However, the legal bedroom. The new room has Velux Handsome addition: Cor-Ten weathering steel rusts beautifully to blend in super-smart new master suite preparations took longer than the windows overlooking the street, with build itself. Planning permission was floor-to-ceiling sliding widows at the granted in six weeks, but negotiations rear that lead on to a small terrace with with neighbours in order to make the a glass balustrade, offering views of necessary Party Wall Agreements, gardens and the park beyond. and with the freeholder of their building, a housing association, The project cost £60,000. However, dragged on. Dealing with what Asia recent research from Nationwide describes as the “bureaucratic giant” Building Society finds a loft conversion of the required legal paperwork also can increase a home’s value by 22 per cost an eighth of their total budget. cent. Soaring Waltham Forest prices in The four-month building project the last 10 years mean that as well as a finally began in June. Sadly, Duncan’s design statement, Asia and Duncan’s father had died at Christmas but the project is a rewarding investment. Take it to the next level: light ﬂoods the new extra room White magic: super-light décor and ﬂoors for a roomy feel JULIET MURPHY PICTURES BY 18 WEDNESDAY 14 FEBRUARY 2018 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Interiors homesandproperty.co.uk

Animal magnetism: the Animalia fabric and wallpaper collection, above and right, by Emma J Shipley, inset, for Clarke & Clarke includes cotton fabrics £39 a metre, velvet £49 a metre and wallpaper £49 a roll (emmajshipley.com)

Left: Versace + Rosenthal tableware, pieces from £60 at the Versace boutique in Sloane Street (versace.com/gb)

From £399: Smeg Patternity + John Lewis: Anna Murray kitchen gadgets and Grace Winteringham’s stunning designed by Dolce monochromes for the home include & Gabbana at cushions, right, from £30 (johnlewis.com) Smeg in SW1, Selfridges and Harrods (smeg london.com) Rooms good enough to wear Top designers translate catwalk trends into homewares as London Fashion Week starts, discovers Barbara Chandler

HILE the big fashion fashion does not have to cost a fortune, trim and sequin pineapples. Pick up an printed tees and dresses of Ted Baker brands strut their stuff however. It can be edgy, fabulous, afford- embroidered duvet set for £70. He does is founder Ray Kelvin, former Glasgow at London Fashion able and easily available in our big shops. wallpapers, too, at Osborne & Little in menswear store owner. This season Week, launching tomor- At John Lewis, there’s Patternity — a Chelsea. “We often rework Matthew’s brings bed linens from £35 to £115, rugs row, British and Italian daring pair of London women, Anna fashion prints for furnishing,” says Sue from £185, tiles from £36 a square metre, Wdesigners are also launching their home- Murray and Grace Winteringham. Hardie, the company’s head of design. and crockery from £25. ware collections. Gucci has charming but They’ve made big monotone abstracts Arriving soon is Ikea’s outrageous pricey chairs — about £1,800 each — and for fashion and home in one seamless Emma J Shipley has a fervent fanbase for Omedelbar edit, meaning “instant”, by velvet cushions at £895 apiece. Versace edit: wear the tights and Airtex tee as her exotic scarves and loungewear. Now Swedish costume designer Bea Åker- has gone for limited-edition teacups. you lounge on the cushions and rugs. there are wallpapers at £49 a roll and lund. “Part Hollywood, part Goth”, it’s For your kitchen, Dolce & Gabbana fabrics from £39 a metre, laden with the very red and black. Find all the kit for a offers toasters, kettles and juicers In Oxford Street, Debenhams was a pio- London graphic artist’s signature animal fashionista’s wardrobe from a golden printed with saucy swirls of Sicilian folk neer, offering homewares by a loyal fash- motifs, including fine pencil drawings rack with velvet coathangers, to a clothes art, from £399. Find them at Smeg’s ion team for 20 years. “Each designer has of mythical jungle beasts. Browns fash- stand with a corset torso. swish new flagship in Regent Street, St a strong individual aesthetic and we’ve ion boutique snapped up her first col- James’s, SW1, near the D&G hand- nurtured that,” says Sophia Ridley, the lection of scarves at her graduation show At newly expanded Designers Guild in painted fridges, £30,000. store’s head of design for home. In at the at RCA and she won emerging fashion King’s Road, founder/director Tricia Armani Casa — known for “rooms you beginning was Jasper Conran, now brand at the WGSN Global Fashion Guild has an ongoing collaboration with can wear” — will reopen in New Sloane putting upscaled mustard minimalist Awards 2013. Maison Lacroix. This spring sees inky Street in Chelsea next month, while motifs from his spring/summer 2018 cat- backgrounds for fine-detailed birds and Rosita Missoni — decking out homes walk on to linens, with a duvet set at £80, London fashion designer Peter Pilotto is flowers by creative director Sacha since 1981 — freshens up her signature and copper cookware from £16. doing crazy furniture and distorted Walckhoff, who says: “We’ve always stripes and florals this spring. A key John Rocha is washing watercolours glassware by his maverick designer pals, done our own fabrics, both for couture stockist for her is the ever-expanding on to duvets, inspired by Japan, while plus racy rugs made from recycled work- and ready-to-wear, so fabrics and papers online store Amara, which has also Star by Julien Macdonald is all glam room scraps. South London fashion duo are a natural for us.” And just arrived secured exclusive lines from Versace and From about £1,800: charming chairs and glint, with cushions from £25. Eley Kishimoto now do their trademark from Paris at Lelièvre in Design Centre Roberto Cavalli, along with Britain’s from Gucci Décor Collection. Cushions Matthew Williamson layers rich spiky geometrics on wallpaper for Chelsea Harbour is a charming new col- Mulberry Home (amara.com). Home from £895 (gucci.com/UK/decor) embroidery, tropical prints, pompom Kirkby Design. Behind the popular lection by Jean Paul Gaultier. EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 14 FEBRUARY 2018 19 powered by Interiors | Homes & Property

Christian Lacroix Maison at Designers Guild: fabrics from £85 to £230 and wallpapers from £75 to £235

Designers at Debenhams: J by Jasper Conran duvet set, £80; cushions £32; throw £125. Below, his mustard duvet set, £80; cushions £32; throw £125 (debenhams.com)

Teaming up: Peter Pilotto and Christopher De Vos collaborated with design world friends for the brand’s tenth anniversary. New London design duo: Eley Kishimoto’s daring prints include these homewares fabrics at £75 a metre, wallpaper £90 a roll and cushions at £85, include 1882 x all from kirkbydesign.com. Right, Orangery wallpaper, £75 a Peter Pilotto roll; cushion seat in Contour, £60 a metre; cushions in Duchess plates, above, Garden, £70 a metre and Contour (as before), all from Matthew from £30 Williamson at Osborne & Little (www.osborneandlittle.com) (peterpilotto.com) 22 WEDNESDAY 14 FEBRUARY 2018 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Outdoors

IGH on a roof in the shadow Up on the roof: of the BT Tower is not the Wendy Shillam first place you’d expect to grows organic spot a greenhouse, but People in veg among the squint as you walk along chimneypots in GreatH Titchfield Street and you might the West End catch the glint of Wendy Shillam’s little glass paradise. Squeezed in among the chimneypots glasshouses on her 16ftx23ft rooftop, the organic veg grower picks tomatoes right up to Christmas and cucumbers all summer. Coax those seedlings. There’s a Over winter, it’s chard and salad leaves and on cold sunny days she sits in her greenhouse to suit every space greenhouse and admires the skyline. “There’s just about space for a chair.” The aluminium-framed, toughened Alex Budget option: glass, 6ftx4ft structure (from elite- below, Lacewing greenhouses.co.uk) is screwed securely Mitchell mini greenhouse to brickwork so it’s safe in high wind. plant stand, from “If you only grow a few pots of mustard £19.99 (primrose. and cress and sprigs of parsley in your co.uk) greenhouse, you’re doing your nutrition wonders,” says Shillam. “Nothing is available outdoor space, we’re using better than fresh produce.” greenhouses as summerhouses and kids’ playrooms. Specialist Hartley Whether you’re eager to get ahead with Botanic has noticed a growing demand spring vegetable sowing, take cuttings for large and lean-to greenhouses from of your favourite perennials, grow great Londoners looking to invest long-term tomatoes or overwinter your precious in their properties rather than move. lemon tree, a greenhouse will vastly “Increasingly, homeowners want widen your horticultural horizons. something that makes a beautiful state- Some Londoners aren’t stopping there. ment in their garden and will last over Keen to squeeze every bit out of the time, as well as serving a practical or hobbyist function,” says sales manager Christopher White. The Opus glasshouse is popular on roof terraces in the city, providing extra living space with-

out looking like a standard extension. SARAH COTTLE Visit hartley-botanic.co.uk for prices.

Over in south London, the surreal glass dome in Charles Rutherfoord’s garden certainly makes a beautiful statement. Packed with succulents and cacti, the Solardome Pod (3.62mx2.22m, £7,680 from solardome.co.uk) makes a fine backdrop to the 2,000 tulips he plants every year. The German-made Garden Igloo, a recyclable plastic alternative of the same size, can be put up without tools in a couple of hours. Priced £999 (notonthehighstreet.com).

Also being used as a garden room is the frameless Pure Greenhouse, winner of the RHS Chelsea Garden Product of the Year 2017. Made from panes of toughened glass held in place with 20 stainless steel clamps, it’s all but invisible, easy to clean and blends in with any prop- Pretty in pink: erty. For roof terraces and small spaces, above left, Forest designer Joe Ellis recommends the Garden Victorian Daisy model. At 1.83mx0.76m, you Tall Wall might just squeeze in a deckchair along Greenhouse, with your scented-leaf pelargoniums. £389.99 (forest Priced £2,299 including delivery and garden.co.uk) installation (puregreenhouse.co.uk).

Smaller “reach-in” lean-to greenhouses An extra room: are perfect for narrow balconies and above, the terraces or even side returns, and can Hartley Botanic pack in a surprising quantity of plants. Opus (hartley- They benefit from the warmth released botanic.co.uk) by walls at night, rather like a storage heater. At 1.2mx.07m, Hartley Botanic’s Patio Glasshouse, with safety glass, is Like a mini Eden an elegant option with an aluminium Project: left, the frame that comes in 12 colours. Also Garden Igloo, good for narrow spaces is the Victorian £999 (notonthe Tall Wall Greenhouse, £389.99 — paint highstreet.com) the frame cream for an “olden days plant hunter” vibe — and the Mini elegant option for tiny spaces is a cold budget option is the Lacewing 4ftx2ft Greenhouse, £259.99, both by Forest frame: a long, low box with a clear top wooden cold frame with polycar- Garden (forestgarden.co.uk). and sometimes clear sides, too. Pure bonate glazing, £45.99 (primrose.co. Greenhouse (as before) is launching a uk). Of course, what Londoners really A pop-up mini greenhouse, basically a frameless cold frame at this year’s Chel- need is a reinforced cold frame that plastic cover over a light frame, makes sea Flower Show. If you can’t wait until doubles as a seat for tiny spaces. But a fine temporary home for spring-sown then, check out the classy hardwood until someone fills that gap in the mar- seedlings and won’t break the bank. The and glass Essential Cedar Cold Frame ket, there’s something here to tick every Lacewing three-tier mini green- by Gabriel Ash, £270, and the alumin- box, whether glass or plastic. house plant stand with removable ium and glass Lean-to Cold Frame, cover is £19.99 (primrose.co.uk). But from £159, both at Harrod Horticultural O Follow Wendy Shillam’s organic veg sturdier for stormy nights and a more (harrodhorticultural.com). A good journey on Twitter @Rooftopvegplot 24 WEDNESDAY 14 FEBRUARY 2018 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Reader offers

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S ONE of London Mayor former prime minister David Cameron Sadiq Khan’s 30 Housing Today in Romford gave an example of his work to Barack Zones, the Essex com- Obama; revitalised The Quadrant, a muter town of Romford is Rightmove has 925 tired shopping arcade, by encouraging due to get investment of homes to BUY and start-up businesses include Lockie’s nearlyA £35 million from the Greater Kitchen opened by Towie star James London Authority, with the aspiration 344 to RENT Lock, and put on street theatre festivals of unlocking the finance to build more and music and comedy events. than 3,300 new homes and provide The Retailery in Market Place is nearly 7,000 new jobs. Sarah’s small business hub. Home to a First off the block is likely to be a joint buzzy café, independent restaurants venture between the local council, and a not-for-profit bar, it also acts as Havering, and developer First Base, on a shop window for creative launches, the Bridge Close site that sits on the a live music venue, and in the basement edge of the town centre between is an entrepreneurial “incubator” Waterloo Road and the River Rom. The where start-ups can develop their plan is to build 840 new homes, a ideas. health centre, a school and commercial Sarah, 30, says: “I went to Goldsmiths workspaces. to do Fine Art and History of Art and Proposals include a new bridge across there they drill into you that art is for the Rom to improve access to the sta- everyone, so after graduating in 2009 I tion, where the forecourt is getting a came back to Romford, my home town, £1.4 million facelift ahead of the much- and asked myself the question, ‘Where anticipated arrival of the Elizabeth line will I find everyone?’ And back came in December. the answer — in the town centre.” As estate agent Max Harding from Romford is close to the A12 London local firm Balgores says, Romford is to Lowestoft road. It is 16 miles north- coming up in the world. This is in no east of central London with Chigwell small part thanks to young entrepre- and Brentford to the north, Horn- neur Sarah Walters, who in a few short church and Upminster to the east, years has gone from jotting down her Dagenham to the south and Ilford to ideas in a notebook in her bedroom to the west. managing a creative agency employing 16 people. East is best: Sheila Coombes at Robins In those years her agency, called Pie & Mash Shop, Romford. There are Made Public, has commissioned lead- six branches of the traditional family ing street artists including Eine — business in the East End and Essex

Bosses at The Retailery: Richard Ward’s Italian Kitchen; Jaspal Kaur’s Jas’ Punjabi Kitchen, and Purvesh Patel of Tad’s Diner Cool for cuts: Jamie La-Rocque, owner of Larox Barbershop in Quadrant Arcade

£620,000 £525,000 £585,000 A FIVE-BEDROOM house in Glenton RECENTLY refurbished, this five-bedroom house THIS three-bedroom extended detached bungalow Close, Romford, with two en suites. with a garage in Kenilworth Avenue, Romford, is sits in Brook Close, a quiet Gidea Park cul-de-sac. Call Through Tepilo (020 3858 2478). chain free. Through Purplebricks (0121 396 0867). Davis Estates, Hornchurch (01708 923070). £850,000 To find a home in Romford, visit A SMART four-bedroom detached house in Raphael rightmove.co.uk Avenue, Marshalls Park, a much sought-after part of For more about Romford, visit homesandproperty.co.uk/romford Romford. Call Accord Sales & Lettings (01708 923008). EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 14 FEBRUARY 2018 27 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by Property searching | Homes & Property

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STATS CHECK WHAT HOMES COST BUYING IN ROMFORD (Average prices) One-bedroom flat £210,000 Two-bedroom flat £270,000 Two-bedroom house £325,000 Three-bedroom house £388,000 Four-bedroom house £529,000

RENTING IN ROMFORD (Average rates per month) One-bedroom flat £911 Two-bedroom flat £1,124 Two-bedroom house £1,203 Three-bedroom house £1,421 Four-bedroom house £1,818

Source: Rightmove Photographs: Daniel Lynch FOR MORE, VISIT Retail therapy: homesandproperty.co.uk The Liberty O Use our School Checker to find Shopping Centre catchment areas and inspection — Romford’s reports for local schools largest — and pedestrianised O The best Romford shops and South Street, left nightlife O Local arts, leisure and sport Leisure: The O Romford’s best streets — and a Brewery centre, tour of the green open spaces right, is home to restaurants, cafés, shops, a 16-screen Vue Cinema and a Virgin Active gym

THE PROPERTY SCENE

WITH plenty of Thirties semis, Park development, The Modern £575,000. Visit kings-park.co.uk or and two-bedroom flats that are ready 18, at Kings Park in Harold Wood (as Romford also has Victorian terrace Homes Exhibition, was added in 1934 call 01708 348578 for more to move into now. Fifteen remain for before). houses built when it first became a and 1935, mostly in Modern information. sale, with prices ranging from commuter town with the arrival of Movement style including one in Clermont Place in Manor Road is a £290,000 to £340,000. Through ■ HOMES FOR RENT the railways in 1839. Many modern Heath Drive by Tecton, the firm of development of nine four- and five- estate agents Balgores. Call 01708 Romford has three times as many flats have been built in recent years. architects led by Berthold Lubetkin. bedroom houses. All but one of them 755507 for details. homes to buy than homes to let, Typical three-bedroom Thirties are built in a contemporary style — Tara Court on Southend Arterial although Balgores estate agent Max semis range from £400,000 to ■ NEW-BUILD HOMES the odd one out has been built in Road in Gidea Park is a development Harding says the town is becoming £650,000. Romford’s most expensive Kings Park by Countryside is a keeping with the Victorian properties of eight flats that are almost ready to increasingly popular with buy-to-let houses are in Gidea Park, where development of one-, two- and three- close to it. Four-bedroom houses move into. Three flats remain on the investors who see the opportunity Romford Garden Suburb was planned bedroom apartments in St Clements start at £640,000, with five-bedroom market, with prices starting at provided by the arrival of Crossrail. in 1911 and more than 100 architects Avenue near Harold Wood station, houses at £775,000. Through estate £300,000. Call Haart on 01708 Two thirds of all Romford rental designed homes in the Arts and Crafts which is due to get the Elizabeth line agents William H Brown. Call 01708 762384. homes are flats and most are in new- style. These are often called “The in December. One-bedroom flats 764418 for more. build blocks, with prices ranging Exhibition Houses” and four are start at £285,000, with two-bedroom New Enterprise Court in High ■ AFFORDABLE HOMES from about £725 a month for a one- currently for sale, priced from homes from £365,000 and three- Road, Chadwell Heath is an office-to- Countryside is holding a Help to Buy bedroom home to £1,550 a month for £825,000 to £1,495,000. A later Gidea bedroom penthouses priced from residential development of 83 one- event this weekend, February 17 and a three-bedroom apartment.

TRANSPORT

ROMFORD is on the Shenfield to Liverpool Street line which was taken over by Transport for London Rail from Abellio Greater Anglia in 2015. Trains to Liverpool Street take half an hour and run every few minutes. The line will form part of the Elizabeth line when it is launched in stages from December. There will be all-through services to the West and Chadwell Heath are nearby End, with trains to Bond Street stations on the Shenfield to taking 34 minutes and trains to Liverpool Street line. Romford, Gidea Heathrow airport in 62 minutes. Park and Harold Hill are in Zone 6 Romford also has Overground and an annual travelcard to Zone 1 trains to Upminster where costs £2,492. Chadwell Heath is in commuters can pick up the District Zone 5 and an annual travelcard line Tube. Gidea Park, Harold Hill costs £2,328. Family favourite: Raphael Park, for music, the playground and feeding the ducks Clubland: Romford nightspot Fiction 28 WEDNESDAY 14 FEBRUARY 2018 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Letting on

£667 a week: a three-bedroom 1,000sq ft ﬂat at Highbury Crescent, And I thought Highbury, N5, is available to rent unfurnished and long term through Currell I knew it all … (020 8012 0228) Victoria Whitlock takes a belated landlord training course and discovers she should be teaching tenants how to operate the toaster

OR ages, I had been meaning to attend one of the National The Landlords Association training days but never managed to find the time accidental Fand, between you and me, I never made it a priority because I was fairly landlord sure that after letting property for £2,350 a month: more than 10 years, I knew pretty labels attached to furniture in rental a two-bedroom much everything. How wrong was I? homes to prove it is fire retardant, or ﬂat in Rosemary When the NLA’s head of policy make sure the inventory states the Apartments at Chris Norris finally persuaded me to labels were checked, just in case they Branch Place, drag myself along to its one-day get torn off. Then if there’s a fire, a between foundation course, I realised there landlord can prove they were Haggerston and were big gaps in my knowledge. observing all the regulations on Hoxton on the The main thing I learned was how furniture. Overground, is important it is for landlords to keep available to rent detailed records of everything we do I was previously unaware that through to protect ourselves from possible landlords must provide operating Chestertons legal action. For instance, it’s not instructions for all electrical items, (020 8012 3890) enough to check your smoke alarms even small appliances such as kettles at the start of every tenancy, you also and toasters. This is in case the need proof that they were tested. So tenant decides to do something nuts you could ask tenants to sign a like clean the kettle in the document confirming the alarms dishwasher. It could happen. Giving were working when they moved in your tenants the user manual won’t or, better still, make sure your smoke stop them behaving like idiots but alarms are included on the inventory. when they blow up the microwave or fry their fingers in the toaster, at least You should also get the tenant to you won’t be to blame. confirm in writing that you have given Despite the low risk of tenants them all the documents you are contracting Legionnaires’ disease in required by law to provide at the a residential property, Chris insisted start of the tenancy, including the gas landlords must routinely inspect safety record, the latest version of the their place for potential risks and, government How to Rent guide crucially, log the details of these (which no one will ever read), the inspections. They must also provide Energy Performance Certificate tenants with details of how to avoid (which no one understands) and the legionella bacteria, such as running details of the scheme used to protect hot water taps for several minutes in their deposit. properties that have been left empty You can send all this information by for more than a week. email, but if you do you should ask Essentially, landlords have a duty to the tenant to confirm they have look after their tenants and their received it. If not, you ought to property — and to keep proof that provide paper copies and get the they are doing so. tenant to sign a written document stating they have every one of the O Visit landlords.org.uk for details of above. Tedious, I know, but if you National Landlords Association courses. don’t and the tenant denies having received these, you won’t be able to O Victoria Whitlock lets four end the tenancy. NLA trainer Chris properties in south London. Daniel suggested landlords should To contact Victoria with your ideas also take photos of all the fire safety and views, tweet @vicwhitlock

£2,400 a month: a three- bedroom ﬂat on the second ﬂoor of this block in Park Road, Beckenham, with parking, is available to rent through Foxtons (020 8012 6720). 30 WEDNESDAY 14 FEBRUARY 2018 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Inside story A move north Diary of an estate sends sale south agent

MONDAY conversations take place and we are THURSDAY Into the office early to get organised. close to putting the deal together. One It’s all go today with back-to-back This time of year is always quite excit- final call to the buyer and he is appointments from 9.30am till 7pm. ing for us, as the number of new prop- delighted that the vendor has agreed But there is a particular market erties coming on to the market really to take the offer. appraisal this afternoon that I’m begins to pick up after Christmas and excited about, a new property, again depressing January. WEDNESDAY in the highly popular Strawberry Hill At our morning meeting there is a Not the best news to start the day — one area, which could lead to a new real buzz about an exciting new-build of our clients has had to pull out of a instruction. development that has recently come purchase. He has been offered a new The build is a lovely Thirties detached on to the market. Right next to Twick- job and he’s having to relocate up to house that has been refurbished to a enham station and starting from Manchester. However, it’s not all doom very high standard. The vendor has £600,000, these apartments are a and gloom, as we have a back-up buyer. spent over £100,000 on improvements great opportunity for first-time buyers We call the vendor to update and and a loft extension. Along with the using the Help to Buy scheme, for advise on the next step and this time 120ft garden, this will be a fantastic hit young working professionals, or for it’s good news, the sale to the new and we instantly have a client on our those looking to start a family. We are buyer is under way and in solicitors’ backbooks who we know would love keen to start booking in viewings as hands within 24 hours. it. After valuing the property, the ven- soon as possible. The afternoon looks even more dor signs with us on the spot. positive. An exchange of contracts has TUESDAY gone through on a very popular prop- FRIDAY The branch is in full swing after a flying erty, a two-bedroom Victorian cottage Happy Friday! Today is normally my start to the week and we begin the day in the Strawberry Hill area. Houses day for admin tasks, as I look to confirm chasing viewings from yesterday for here normally go for above the £1 mil- more appointments for tomorrow. feedback. lion mark, which is way above the Saturday is our busiest day of the week. I speak to one potential buyer regard- average £700,000-£750,000 in Twick- As I mine the database for new buyers ing an apartment he was possibly enham. Strawberry Hill is a great spot and set up further market appraisals, interested in from the weekend, and I for young families, with some of the the weekend and a few beers at the pub have good news for him, because the best primary schools in the country, come round quickly. It’s time to cele- seller is prepared to decrease the guide such as Archdeacon Cambridge’s and brate the end of a good week. price by £50,000. So the buyer makes St James’s. With the bonus of only a his offer and the negotiations begin. 23-minute commute to Waterloo, who O Michael Gearing is sales and lettings Within the next few hours, various wouldn’t want to live here? director at Your Move (020 8891 3444). 32 WEDNESDAY 14 FEBRUARY 2018 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Ask the expert Heated row over who pays to fix boiler Fiona WHAT’S WE WANT to buy a new-build house but our YOUR friends are warning us off. They say that they McNulty PROBLEM? Q know people who have had awful problems IF YOU have a with developers. For example, you have to OUR LAWYER ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS question for use the developer’s solicitors, they don’t do the Fiona McNulty, snagging, the house is not ready on time, it’s difficult please email to get a mortgage for a new build, and so on. Do these WE SOLD our house about legalsolutions@ things really happen? six months ago. During the standard.co.uk Qsale we became quite or write to Legal DO NOT allow your friends to put you off buying friendly with our buyer Solutions, Homes a new build if that is what you really want to do. and told her where we were & Property, A Problems and issues can arise whatever type of moving. We were astounded today London Evening property you buy. You just need to ensure they to receive a letter from her saying Standard, 2 Derry are managed and dealt with in the best possible way. the boiler had broken down and we Street, W8 5EE. You do not have to use the developer’s solicitors but should pay the cost of the repair or We regret that can instruct a solicitor or law firm of your choice. The pay for a new boiler, whichever the questions cannot legal work involved in the purchase of a new-build gasman said was needed. We won’t be answered property is often complex — so do use a solicitor be doing so — but why does she individually, but experienced in dealing with the purchase of new-build think she can ask this of us? we will try to homes. feature them Your solicitor should ensure the contract protects you. IF THE fault occurred with here. Fiona For example, the points you mention can be covered in the boiler after the property McNulty is a the contract by including a long stop date in case the A was sold and you were not solicitor house is not physically complete by the anticipated aware of it, the responsibility specialising completion date, and a clause dealing with snagging for the repairs remains with the in residential after completion. purchaser. However, if you made any property. Lenders will provide mortgages for off-plan/new-build misrepresentations to your buyer of which would have been the Law passed this documentation to the properties although in general a mortgage offer lasts for about the boiler, she may have a right Society Property Information Form. buyer’s solicitor. If you provided a fixed period of six months. This can be troublesome if of action against you. Part of this form relates to central accurate information, your buyer is your new home is not physically complete before the A misrepresentation occurs when heating and asks the seller to confirm unlikely to succeed with a claim mortgage offer expires. However, some lenders will one party makes an untrue statement when the central heating was against you for misrepresentation in extend a mortgage offer subject to a financial of fact which induces another party installed and last serviced or relation to the boiler. reassessment. to enter into a contract and that maintained. You should have The principle “caveat emptor” other party suffers loss as a result. completed this form and provided meaning “buyer beware” applies More legal O These answers can only be a very brief commentary on When you were selling your house your solicitor with copies of any gas when buying property. Your buyer Q&As the issues raised and should not be relied on as legal advice. your solicitor should have asked you safe inspection and service records, could have had an independent Visit: homesand No liability is accepted for such reliance. If you have similar to fill in various protocol forms, one and your solicitor should have inspection carried out on the boiler. property.co.uk issues, you should obtain advice from a solicitor. 34 WEDNESDAY 14 FEBRUARY 2018 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | New homes By David Spittles SmartSmartmoSmaSmmartmaraartrt moo Make a concrete offer in Barbican Buy a W12 townhouse, get a ANS of Barbican’s brutalism includes sliding “pocket” doors, hall will love a new show flat at cupboards and window bench seats spring stamp duty holiday listed Blake Tower, right in bedrooms. Characteristic open and below right, a former external stairways have had to be DEVELOPERS eager to get spring sales under way are YMCA hostel purpose-built retained, while the tower’s original offering tempting deals to prospective buyers, from Fin the Sixties in keeping with the City entrance lobby has been upgraded trimming prices and paying stamp duty to taking their estate’s uncompromising concrete and a concierge reception installed. current homes in part exchange. At Ashchurch Villas in aesthetic. Two-bedroom flats from £1,465,000. west London, First Base is offering all three. The 17-storey block’s stern exterior Call Redrow on 020 3430 6920. Set in a private mews, the scheme of 15 townhouses, is largely unchanged, but the inside above, slots nicely into a Victorian conservation area has been reconfigured to create 74 bordering Ravenscourt Park, one of the district’s most apartments, from studios to Looking to buy a family-friendly neighbourhoods with well-kept homes, penthouses, offering sleek, in- good primary schools and small specialist shops that keeping, up-to-date interiors in a new-build home? appeal to buyers on the lookout for a larger new home. renovated wrapping that’s so prized Start your search Each townhouse has high ceilings, glass-walled open-plan English Heritage insists on five-year living spaces, a secluded garden, a garage, huge utility maintenance inspections. on room and even a self-contained annexe that is ideal for a Each flat retains an original bush- live-in nanny or a kids-free office or studio. hammered concrete wall in the In addition the developer will pay up to £200,000 in hallway, though interior design is a stamp duty and buy your existing home, up to the value of softer mix of white surfaces, bespoke £1.2 million based on an independent valuation. joinery, concealed lighting, brass and The homes cost from £2.15 million. Call Strutt & Parker on terrazzo fittings and fixtures redolent 020 7318 4677 for full details. of the Sixties. Good space planning EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 14 FEBRUARY 2018 35 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by New homes | Homes & Property

GO GREEN WATERSIDE E15 ECO-HOMES just launched on the banks of an industrial waterway in Stratford E15 are bold and imaginative. Blaker Island, above, beside City Mill River was used for the production of chemicals before falling derelict in the Sixties. But its locks and banks have been restored and upgraded with 2012 Olympic Games investment money. Three houses and five apartments have been built to Passivhaus standards, a German construction method that reduces energy bills by up to 90 per cent. The homes are triple glazed, with an advanced airtightness and air filtration system to remove dust, pollens and smoke. Interiors have been designed to maximise natural light and views of the water. Prices from £615,000. Call estate agent Currell on 020 7226 6611.

Track a rare beast to Essex SHARED-OWNERSHIP houses for sale are rare but in Chigwell, Essex, a green travel Zone 4 location, you’ll find Oaklands Hamlet, left, a scheme of 149 homes including 11 five-bedroom part-rent, part-buy houses. Prices start at £166,250 for a 25 per cent share of a house with a full market value of £665,000. You must already live or work in a London borough to qualify. Call L&Q on 020 8522 2223.