Wednesday 13 July 2016

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NEW HOMES: BAKER STREET P8 CLEVER COMMUTES P10 BREXIT BENEFITS P15 SPOTLIGHT ON CLAPHAM P36

What was under the floorboards in Soho? The World of Interiors: Page 26 ANTONY CROLLA ANTONY ’s best property search news: homesandproperty.co.uk 6 WEDNESDAY 13 JULY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | News

Trophy home of £345,000: a two-bedroom flat in Bream Close, £480,000: a three-bedroom house in Holcombe the week Tottenham. Through Kings Group (020 8012 2349) Road, Tottenham. Kings Group (as before) Knightsbridge flat oozes opulence Tottenham Hale is £18.5 million: it is so easy to spend your money in Knightsbridge, especially when tempted by a the new King’s Cross magnificent apartment like this one, in posh Pont Street. There’s luxury in every to a bespoke kitchen/ to an exquisitely manicured, HE developer behind the nook, starting at ground breakfast room that appears south-facing garden where rebirth of King’s Cross has level with the grand hall to have marble on every there are living quarters for clinched a deal to regenerate leading to divine drawing surface. Four of the five staff, plus a double garage Tottenham Hale, creating and dining rooms. These are bedrooms are huge double for the Roller and a hundreds of new homes, linked by open doorways and suites with dressing rooms runabout. Through Knight jobs,T shops and leisure facilities in a parquet flooring, flowing on on the lower level, opening Frank (020 8012 3479). £1 billion project. Haringey’s cabinet committee was last night set to agree a partnership with Argent to create what the council hopes Lifechanger will be “London’s next great affordable of the week

Editor: head north Janice and open a Morley boutique hotel VISIT homesandproperty.co.uk/rules for in Edinburgh details of our usual promotion rules. When you respond to promotions, offers or competitions, the London Evening Bigger, better: neighbourhood of choice”. As part of Standard and its sister companies may Tottenham Hale, the deal the council will sell Argent pub- £1.5 million: take the leap contact you with relevant offers and focus of £1 billion licly owned sites including Tottenham and leave London for Drylaw services that may be of interest. Please regeneration, is Hale bus station. In the initial phase of House, a dreamy 18th- give your mobile number and/or email also getting a the plan up to 800 new homes will be century mansion in a leafy address if you would like to receive such rebuilt, enlarged built on those sites, and on Ferry Island north-west corner of could easily convert to a green cabinetry and walnut offers by text or email. Zone 3 Tube Retail Park, already owned by Argent. Edinburgh. fabulous boutique hotel. worktops, and the staircase station with a Work on the first 298 homes and a The 10-bedroom pile covers Solid wood floors, high is a rather grand affair of Editorial: 020 3615 2524 new concourse new health centre is due to begin next 7,400 square feet and enjoys corniced ceilings and open stone steps and elaborate Advertisement manager: and shops year and the council hopes the first about three acres of tranquil fires are the theme in wood- balustrading. Ann Finan residents could move in during 2018. grounds. There’s a mass of panelled reception rooms, It’s on the market through Advertising: 020 3615 0266 is also investing entertaining space that while the kitchen sports mint Coulters (0131 291 0081). Homes & Property, Northcliffe in Tottenham Hale, with plans to House, 2 Derry Street, Kensington, rebuild and enlarge the Tube station. London W8 5TT. London buy of the week pretty studio by the O Find Ruth Bloomfield’s full story at homesandproperty.co.uk Thames is a perfect Hampton Court pied-à-terre £325,000: this small but perfectly formed Hampton Court studio flat is prime pied-à-terre material, set within an imposing white period building in a lovely spot right near the River Thames. The main living space incorporates ample living and kitchen areas, laid with dark wood floors balanced by white walls and large sash windows. There is a separate study and bathroom and a large glass door opening to a neat patio — ideal for enjoying summer drinks while soaking up views over lush gardens filled with box hedges and herbaceous borders. For further details contact John D Wood (020 8012 1758). By Faye Greenslade

Facebook: ESHomesAndProperty • Twitter: @HomesProperty EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 13 JULY 2016 7 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by News | Homes & Property Branson É BREXIT isn’t bringing down prices on Park Estate in W2. A student home in Connaught Square, left, has just exchanged at the asking price of digs sell £5.95 million, a record for the square in terms of pounds per square foot. for £6m Richard Branson, left, started Student magazine, his first business, in the basement of the 3,671sq ft property in 1968. The five-bedroom Grade II-listed house with a pretty terrace has a location to die for — with Hyde Park and Oxford Street just around the corner. New residents should brace themselves for the paparazzi, as the

GETTY Blairs are among near neighbours. SWNS

Got some Ramsay rocks to gossip? Tweet victory in Cornish Homes @amiranews planning skirmish É GORDON RAMSAY is cooking up a plot in Cornwall. He has won gossip planning permission to demolish his £4.4 million home, above, and By Amira Hashish despite ongoing protests from locals who claim his scheme will ruin the picturesque coastline, the council has ruled in favour of the celebrity Tempted chef, pictured below with wife Tana. He will be able to build two Taylor? properties in place of the original. One will sit at the bottom of the É A VICTORIAN garden, very close to the sea. He also building in the middle of has his sights set on a lower ground- Eton High Street, once the floor swimming pool. Ramsay intends medical wing of Eton College, to use the estate in the upmarket area is now seven stylish flats. The of Rock for UK staycations with Aitch Group scheme, above, cookery writer Tana and their retains the red-brick diamond- children. They already have homes in patterned façade and Dutch gables. London and Malibu, California. With alumni including English actor Tom Hiddleston — seen right Kendall’s É SUPERMODEL Kendall Jenner has with his girlfriend, American singer bought a five-bedroom home in the Taylor Swift — to Princes William £5.3m Hollywood Hills from British actress and Harry, Eton has long been Emily Blunt and her American actor synonymous with wealth and place on husband, John Krasinski. privilege. The new two-bedroom, The 20-year-old sister of the two-bathroom apartments are Sunset Kardashians spent £5.3 million on the designed with this in mind, 4,800sq ft house, above, in Sunset appealing to those with a taste for Strip Strip. Social butterfly Kendall loves the finer things in life. the white walls, exposed brick and At £499,950 the homes will also the fabulous outdoor pool area with benefit from Crossrail completion in a cosy fireplace and barbecue. No 2019, with trains to the City, Canary doubt model pals Cara Delevingne Wharf and the West End running and Gigi Hadid will approve of the from nearby Taplow station.

GETTY huge walk-in wardrobes. REX REX 8 WEDNESDAY 13 JULY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | New homes WHERE SHERLOCK SLEUTHED There’s no place like Holmes’ Following the success of Chiltern Firehouse, the Portman family has gone for a major facelift of Baker Street, says David Spittles

HERLOCK HOLMES, the fic- of 69 streets with 650 buildings, four tional detective who “lodged” garden squares and more than 1,000 at 221b Baker Street, has given homes. The estate used to own more this central London highway land, but the northern patch and a glamorous profile strangely Selfridges were sold in 1948 to pay taxes atS odds with reality. With its humdrum after the death of the seventh Viscount shops, sterile-looking office blocks and Portman. traffic noise, any sense of neighbour- A veil fell over the district during the hood deserted Baker Street long ago. post-war period when it became a gen- But that is about to change. The fam- teel backwater populated by actors and ily-run Portman Estate, landlord of the retired doctors. By the start of this area’s 110 precious acres since 1554, has century, many buildings let on long woken up to regeneration. It has seen leases were starting to deteriorate. a successful formula work wonders at The makeover began five years ago Marylebone High Street, precinct of and is now in its stride. The vision has the Howard de Walden family estate, become far more ambitious, with plans and watched the glamorous Grosven- being unveiled for redevelopment of ors create welcoming and tempting high-profile buildings and tired-looking streets in Belgravia and Mayfair. streets, all aimed at giving this edge-of- In its 18th-century heyday, Baker West End neighbourhood a fresh iden- Street and its satellite streets were tity. More than £240million will be among the city’s top addresses. Now the invested during the next six years. Bill plan is to revitalise this neglected chunk Moore, Portman Estate chief executive, cobbled retreat off bustling Oxford police section house has been bull- the grand foyer of 55 Baker Street, once of London just north of Marble Arch. is an ex-Army man bringing organisa- Street, is another focus, part of a hub dozed to make way for 24 flats. Marks & Spencer HQ and now swish tion to the task. branded “Portman Village”. Pop along Elegant mews-style homes with mod- offices, is part of the initiative and COOL CHILTERN STREET Chiltern Street gained overnight suc- to the annual summer street party, ern, open-plan layouts and a light-filled moves out to Portman Square Garden A priority is to change the traffic swirl cess when Chiltern Firehouse opened, being held tomorrow evening. “Success internal courtyard, designed by archi- in summer. Redevelopment of a prom- along Baker Street — currently a one- converted from a splendid old fire sta- is about leisure as much as shopping, tect Bennetts Associates, have been inent corner site at Baker Street and way, three-lane carriageway with eight tion into a luxury hotel and must-try so you need bars and cafés where peo- built at Rodmarton Street, and are George Street will create a new public sets of traffic lights — by making it a restaurant. It sits opposite a Victorian ple can relax. It’s a lifestyle thing,” says part of Portman Estate’s expanding square, currently a closed-off car park, lower-speed, two-way boulevard that terrace with a charming row of refur- Simon Loomes, projects director. rental portfolio. From £1,395 a week. plus offices and 40 new flats. is more pedestrian and cycle friendly, bished shopfronts and 49 niche busi- Many more homes are being created. Much bigger projects are in the pipe- One telltale sign of the area’s growing with wider pavements and welcoming nesses — an eclectic mix that includes a Portman is buying back “lost” free- line, alongside small-scale renovations cachet is the number of international street-level shops and restaurants. specialist whisky merchant, musical holds and collaborating with develop- of listed properties including a zero- property corporations that have relo- Work is likely to start in the next year. instrument specialist, organic cafés and ers to bring forward buildings it does energy eco-home at Gloucester Place cated their head offices to this postcode Portman’s estate stretches east of fashion, beauty and art shops. Condé not own. A joint venture with British Mews. — Knight Frank, Gerald Eve and Cush- Road and north of Oxford Nast Traveller called it “London’s Land at 62-64 Seymour Street has man & Wakefield among them. Street, and makes up an orderly grid coolest street”. New Quebec Street, a launched 10 smart flats, while a former AREA’S GROWING CACHET Perhaps the biggest challenge is the Local businesses, big and small, have ragged patch around Marble Arch and come together under the umbrella of Edgware Road, badly in need of a an “Improvement District” to help co- facelift. Redevelopment of Marble Arch ordinate activities. A food market on Tower, a relic from the Sixties, will pave the second Wednesday of the month in the way for this, literally, by creating a

Fun for foodies: right, a monthly food market is held in the grand foyer at 55 Baker Street, former Marks & Spencer HQ, now swish offices

Party time: left, the annual Portman Summer Street Party in Seymour Place and New Quebec Street, an area brimming with independent shops and cafés EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 13 JULY 2016 9 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by New homes | Homes & Property

£1,395 a week: above and above right, attractive new mews homes in Rodmarton Street, part of the growing Portman Estate rental portfolio         

new pedestrian route through the site to the Portman Estate conservation area, where blue plaques abound, a    & " !( marker of its former glory. One of Oxford Street’s two “bookends” — the other is Centre Point — the tower is being replaced by a collection of new buildings, Marble Arch Place, with 54 flats, offices, a shopping precinct, a new Odeon cinema and London’s first new petrol station for a decade. !#  Almacantar, the developer, has com- missioned artist Lee Simmons to create a dramatic “installation artwork” that !"" will be at the heart of a new civic space. Another 76 flats are being built at a linked site in Edgware Road.   WOOING FAMILIES Portman Estate says the Middle-East-   ern “quarter” based around this part of Edgware Road will not change but Looking ahead: there are attempts to create a bigger above, Marble community mix and entice more Thinking of Arch Place will families to the area by opening more moving? bring 54 new flats, nursery schools, cultural initiatives, and offices, to the summer fairs and fêtes. Start your landmark junction “West of Baker Street is definitely an with Oxford Street area to buy into,” says Laurence Glynne search for a of Fitzrovia estate agent LDG. “It’s new home at Joint venture: becoming more animated as the street Portman and scene improves and the quality of the British Land are buildings and architecture shines collaborating on through.” Stephen Lees, an author who new apartments has lived in Seymour Place since 1986, at Marble Arch welcomes the remake but fears the area House, 62-64 could become “too chichi and less Seymour Street diverse”. And that’s the challenge.  *-,4 ))4- 1 0-  0)-$ *,-1/ (( )+- . 1) +2 &,3), ), ,-, * 3),+)-, /,$ 10 .))1+ 1-  )+ ,$ ), 3 41- ) ) .4 )),) &)- !)1 1 -                     '# "" " %& #  " !#"  !&           

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 ---)1 . -*-+ )- 1 1,1+)1 - 3 10 WEDNESDAY 13 JULY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Commuting homesandproperty.co.uk powered by

£2 million: a TOP 50 GUIDE TO LEAVING LONDON seven-bedroom house in nearly three acres in Blackberry Lane, backing on to Lingfield Park Racecourse. Through Coles Aim to get (01342 821101). Commute from The Surrey village of Lingfield to home in less Victoria in about 50 minutes. than an hour In Part Two of our series, Ruth Bloomfield examines the pros and cons of commuting     to a town or a country village

%! # ITH commuter routes in the sticks to live the rural dream, be snaking out of London in the centre of Cambridge in 20 to 30 like a giant, asymmet- minutes, and also commute to the rical spider’s web, capital with relative ease. anyone considering And the downsides? A flick through leavingW the capital can face too much homes for sale in Cambridge might choice. Psychologists agree, too many have you screaming: “OMG! These are options make decisions more difficult London prices” — although in truth, — and life decisions rarely come bigger homes in the centre of Cambridge are than a full-on change of location. cheaper than almost anything you’ll To help you determine where your find in Zones 1 and 2. search should start, here is Part Two It’s also worth remembering that of Homes & Property’s guide to the best Cambridge is packed with tourists in 50 locations for London commuters. summer, while pressure to build more homes has led to protests across the CAMBRIDGE city about increasing urban sprawl. And, after several years of very strong CAMBRIDGESHIRE price growth, buyers may not be able What it costs: the average property to expect similar levels of capital price has risen 26 per cent in two years growth in today’s more cautious post- to almost £509,000. Houses sell for just Brexit market. over £600,000 on average, with flats at almost £330,000 (Source: Savills). LINGFIELD The commute: takes from 50 minutes to King’s Cross, with an annual season SURREY ticket starting at £5,012. What it costs: an average home costs Schools: most of the city’s schools almost £415,000, up 13 per cent in two have “good” or “outstanding” Ofsted years. An average house costs £433,000 ratings. St Alban’s Catholic Primary and (Source: Savills). St Bede’s Inter-Church School (seniors) The commute: trains take from 50 are among those with top marks. minutes to Victoria, and an annual Who it would suit: Londoners who season ticket costs £3,396. Take a punt: top, don’t want to forsake city life, since Schools: both of Lingfield’s state pri- the River Cam in Cambridge has a cosmopolitan feel and mary schools — Lingfield and Dormans- Cambridge an excellent range of shops, cafés, pubs land — are rated “good” by Ofsted. and restaurants. Its student city status Seniors can travel to the “outstanding” £750,000: four- gives it buzz. Parents love its great Imberhorne School, four miles away bedroom terrace schools — and that there is less of a in East Grinstead. house, above, in waiting list scrum than in London. Who it would suit: those who love Petersfield, Unlike most other commuter options, open countryside, since Lingfield is a Cambridge. Cambridge offers an excellent range of great staging point for the High Weald Through Haart " & local jobs. Nick Redmayne, partner at Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, (01223 787042). estate agents Redmayne Arnold & Har- & "   ris, says: “Often one person will con- tinue to work back in London and one WICKHAM BISHOPS # $$' $ $   & #% will get a job locally.” ($ $ )$$ $"  ) $ ('*) . ' * *0)" *' .(** Buyers wanting a short walk to the ESSEX ) $ '"$ station look at the Tenison Road area What it costs: the averageproperty and the northern end of Mill Road, price is just over £215,000, up 21 per * )  $ "$  "$ %&  where a four-bedroom Victorian ter- cent in two years. Houses cost race costs about £800,000. However, £243,000, with flats at about " "" # $ $ ) $$  the imminent arrival of a new station £178,000 (Source: Savills).   $ & $ " $     near Cambridge Science Park, north- The commute: trains from the  $ &  & " " ! $ east of the city, has increased interest nearest station, Witham, about three     "  $ $  ! #!  ! #!  !  !  in the suburb of Chesterton, where a miles away, take from 45 minutes into three-bedroom Thirties semi sells for Liverpool Street. An annual season $ $" )$ $   $$  '0* .* * )'.0 &'1  1 £400,000-£500,000. ticket costs £5,232.   ' -* ')*  '*" /.11.,).- '*" Redmayne is also enthused by the Schools: there’s no village school, ' * *0)"  +)-.*" $   Cambridgeshire Guided Busway, with but Great Totham Primary, in the next a regular service using old rail lines village, gets a “good” Ofsted rating. connecting Cambridge, Huntingdon Maltings Academy in Witham, for  $ $ $   $ )  ' )  " $   $ $   $ &  and St Ives. The busway has given vil- seniors, is “outstanding”.  $  $   )'$ )    $ lages including Histon, Impington, Who it would suit: Essex is often Swavesey and Over a direct link to both overlooked by exiting Londoners, but the science park and Cambridge city this quality village between centre, allowing Londoners who buy EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 13 JULY 2016 11 Commuting | Homes & Property ALAMY Hotspot: Guildford’s got good looks, close countryside and great schools GUILDFORD SURREY What it costs: average property price of £502,239 has risen 29 per cent in two years. Houses cost, on average, £649,047. Flats come in at almost £292,000 (Source: Savills). The commute: from 39 minutes to Waterloo. An annual season ticket costs from £3,360. Schools: most are highly rated by Ofsted with the youngest pupils especially well catered for. Wood Street Infant School and Stoughton Infant School get an “outstanding” rating from the schools watchdog. Who it would suit: the mix of good schools, lovely town centre,

ALAMY fast commute and beautiful countryside on the doorstep has rightfully made Guildford one of London’s leading commuter hotspots. And the downsides? Although the town centre is extremely pretty and has plenty going on, there is a slightly smug vibe about Guildford. Don’t expect any edge here, and your neighbours will most likely work in the City. You will get more bricks for your money compared to London. However, by commuter belt standards, Guildford is expensive following two years of impressive price growth. while the horse racing at Lingfield Park Friendly spot: The Star Inn at Lingfield. makes for a really fun day out. For Less than an hour from London, enjoy a those who want a village lifestyle that village lifestyle that isn’t too sleepy isn’t too sleepy, Lingfield is a great option. It’s a friendly sort of place, and Tudor buildings, mostly in public or with restaurants, a couple of pubs and community use — the heart of Lingfield sports clubs, there’s enough going on has a shortage of the kind of handsome to stop you feeling isolated. period homes most London exiles £950,000: a four-bedroom house in And the downsides? Although there yearn for. There can be slight aircraft Pit Farm Road, Guildford. Through are gorgeous rambling country piles noise from Gatwick airport, but noth- Hamptons (01483 660060). on the village outskirts — and delicious ing that would shock a Londoner.

£1,975,000: Colchester and Chelmsford is an easy Grade II*-listed commute to the capital, and highly Great Ruffins at affordable. Beacon Hill, Although it lacks a station and a Wickham school, neither are far away. And to Bishops, was compensate, Wickham Bishops has designed and several useful shops, a couple of built by London pubs, tennis courts, and a library. architect More than a dozen different clubs Arthur run out of the village hall, including Mackmurdo as one offering regular live jazz nights, his own home in so you needn’t feel isolated. 1904. It has six The surrounding countryside is bedrooms, a lovely, and you can be at the coast three-storey within 40 minutes — Bradwell-on-Sea tower, a is particularly nice for days out. billiards room And the downsides? Having to drive and garaging. to the station and on the school run is Call Savills a pain, while the heart of the village (01245 930107). isn’t what you might call chocolate- box pretty. 12 WEDNESDAY 13 JULY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property Summer sales|

HARPEN your elbows and hone your haggling skills — DOWN £25,000 DOWN £50,000 10 ways to talk the summer property sales are upon us. Discounting down the price through negotiation was alreadyS rife in London’s housing O Do your research on property market but has stepped up a gear prices in the area and get hard since the EU referendum, with evidence to back up a discount vendors accepting they must drop request. asking prices to offload homes. O Find out how long the property Meanwhile, nervous buyers have has been on the market. The longer become more demanding, wanting it has lingered, the more likely a deals that will insulate them from deal. possible future price falls as the UK’s O Never admit your true budget to separation from the EU takes shape. agents — inevitably they will want to Paul Mahoney, managing director of £700,000: a three-bedroom house with options for push you to its limits. property advisers Nova Financial, extension, in Cannon Hill Lane, Raynes Park, SW20. O Don’t say you are in a rush to buy says: “With the uncertainty in the Was £750,000. Through Haart (020 8012 1508). — it weakens your position. market many buyers want a O Really cheeky offers just annoy sweetener to make them feel more everyone. Stay within 10-20 per comfortable with making a cent of the asking price. transaction. Buyers should use this O You will be more appealing if you uncertainty and the slowdown in are a cash buyer, chain free or have transactions to their advantage.” a mortgage in place. Price cuts have been spreading £525,000: a three-bedroom terrace house in Lancaster Road, O Always go for a discount on new across the market over the past two Walthamstow, was £550,000. Through Haart (020 8012 1079). build at slow times of the year such years, largely thanks to increases in as summer holidays and Christmas, stamp duty at the top end, and tax when builders like to unload stock increases for buy-to-let investors and DOWN £300,000 in the run-up to their financial year. a generally tougher mortgage lending O If you can’t get money off, ask for climate in the mainstream market. In freebies — for example, if the vendor May the average discount on the will throw in carpets, shelving, original asking price of a UK property expensive light fittings, garden was over £25,000 — up nearly £4,000 furniture etc. With developers, compared with January. discuss rental guarantees, stamp But even if a property has already duty payments, legal fees and been discounted it would be a mistake furniture pack inclusions. to assume it is a steal — it may simply O Don’t panic if the agent says have been overpriced in the first there are other keen buyers — it’s place. “The Brexit result has been the DOWN £200,000 probably not true. catalyst for what is actually a O A poor survey can be a correction in the market,” explains negotiating point. Suggest splitting Anthony Pears, sales manager at £3 million: a lovely three-bedroom mews house in Leinster Mews, £2 million: six-bedroom house in Cecile Park, Crouch all the cost of repairs 50/50. Lurot Brand. “Vendors who do now Bayswater, W2, was £3.3 million. Lurot Brand (020 8012 2569). End, N8, was £2.2 million. Foxtons (020 8432 4343).

Jeremy Leaf & Co estate agents. “Lack of stock is supporting prices even if ’Tis the season for sharp elbows demand weakens.” But Lucian Cook, head of residential research at Savills, feels it is “far too early” to tell exactly how the market will react to Brexit. Exploit this summer’s jittery market and drive a hard bargain, advises Ruth Bloomfield Johnny Morris, head of research at Hamptons International, says: “You need to sell are more likely to cast Buyers will naturally want to avoid market will also fall. The only major London. Most agents advocate calm. might not get the price you would their optimism aside and ask a more buying at the top and tumbling into player so far to estimate how much “We don’t expect huge falls but slower have done six or 12 months ago but enticing and realistic asking price.” negative equity. But if significant prices will fall in Brexit’s wake is price growth and fewer transactions the same will be true of the house What the market will do over the numbers succeed in driving down KPMG. It forecasts nationwide drops in places where prices were most you’re now buying.” next year or two is anyone’s guess. prices, particularly of new build, the of five per cent, and a little more in stretched,” says Jeremy Leaf, of A natural reaction to the current uncertainty might be to do nothing. “But I would ask, wait for what?” adds Morris. “We certainly won’t see a Start your search for a new home at quick resolution of the EU situation.”

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[email protected] 020 8003 1706 Prospecteast.co.uk 14 WEDNESDAY 13 JULY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Homes abroad

" #   "# 

& )+*1 ((1+ ,  "# % .(+*  +./   (0+ ,1 &-$ )(+*  ! + / , ( + )+* ((1+ (0 +* (  $' GETTY Ancient meets modern: a historic temple of Bangkok, where the 77-floor tallest tower, above, houses Ritz-Carlton Residences

PRAWLING, vibrant Bangkok along with a children’s playroom, a golf is known as the capital of the simulator and several meeting rooms, Land of Smiles — a reference Land of lounges and a library. Perhaps most to the gentle Thai character enticing of all for many buyers is the and supreme service culture. full concierge service from the Manda- SThis city of ancient temples and mod- Smiles rin Oriental Hotel. Freehold prices for ern skyscrapers, where visitors come the Residences start from £900,000 to do business, shop and eat Asia’s fin- with annual service charges from est street food, is also nicknamed the £9,700. Over 40 per cent are sold, with Venice of the East because of its canals and completion planned for 2019. and rivers. This is a “high-quality, low-cost city”, Visitor numbers across Thailand are says Chaiwatana. “The Residences at    soaring, up nine million year on year Asian Mandarin Oriental are in the prized from January to March and with an river area, 10 minutes from the Central expected 34 million arrivals over this Business District and very close to the year as a whole. Europeans, Austral- bargains Temple of Dawn. Buyers have come ians — and, increasingly, Chinese — are from Europe, China and Hong Kong +)0 )'0 eager visitors, many choosing to spend looking for quality homes with full a few days in Bangkok before using the service in a world-class destination.” +) + * + +3 capital as a springboard to the islands, 0/ -( '))+ including Phuket and Koh Samui. LIVE IN LUXURY IN THE The Oriental Hotel on the Chao HEART OF A NEW DISTRICT $* 2'30'+ 0. Phraya River, oldest hotel in Bangkok, There is a cluster of five-star hotels  20 0. 3" /'22 ' opened in 1917 and was soon being along this prestigious stretch of the '* 10)/+ '+' described as “the most popular hotel river but the waterfront is not easily in all of Siam”, with advertisements accessible. Iconsiam plans to change $2 30 )'+  boasting of its “French chef and mod- that, with well-advanced plans to open (+*3 ern toilet fittings”. a vast, upmarket retail centre and cre- In 1974 the Oriental merged with the ate a new tourist district in Bangkok +3' +* equally legendary Mandarin Hotel in From £900,000: the Residences at with international boutiques, water 10)/+ -3 2+ Hong Kong and a five-star superbrand Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok, on the features and gardens. The aim is to “fill ) '.+ was born — Mandarin Oriental. Today river, with full hotel concierge service in what is lacking on the river” says there are 29 Mandarin Oriental hotels Chaiwatana.  02 0  +" /( worldwide and a further 17 in develop- Other branded apartments for sale in '* +') +'30)  '* '22 ment. The Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok Bangkok include three- to five-bed- remains one of the world’s best-loved room Ritz-Carlton Residences in a +.'+* '20')+ 020.  ('/3 hotels with a guest list of the great and 77-floor tower — the highest in Thailand 0)2 *0. -0*.+ -+++" '2)  '22 ''3+ good down the decades, from Noël — in the Central Business District. The Coward and novelists Joseph Conrad building will include seven floors of '/0. 3')/0+ '* '+220+%++0'2 and John le Carré to Prince Charles and retail and 20 of the Miami-based Edi- *0/ '/+ !# 0  ()00 David Beckham. tion Hotel. There will be a Joël Robu- Fifteen of the hotels offer residences chon restaurant and, as at the *+ ('/3  0+ + 0+*& for sale, including London’s One Hyde Residences at Mandarin Oriental, the 0/ )/3+ 0. 00) /+'0. +3 Park. The first Mandarin Oriental focus on facilities and service will be Residences in Southeast Asia are being From £1.6 million: apartments at the heavy. Apartments here start from built in Bangkok, diagonally across the Ritz-Carlton Residences, Bangkok £1.6 million, through Sphere Estates. river from the famous hotel. “Buyers come from Europe and a few penthouses, and all have generous from the US, with ever-increasing 00 022 .  /+ 20 0. 0 /+ *  ./ - '3*+ STUNNING HOMES WITH balconies with front-row river views. demand from Hong Kong, China and  / +/2* 0)3+ 3   +)++* ," + ' 3 FINEST-QUALITY FINISHES These are top-quality homes, surpass- Singapore,” says Adam Taugwalder, Thai developer Iconsiam has taken a ing even the finishes of One Hyde Park, Sphere Estates’ Thailand partner. five-acre waterfront site to build two according to Iconsiam managing direc- “Bangkok property is considerably tall, slender towers containing the tor Thanawan Chaiwatana. The ceilings cheaper, often half the price, of that in       Residences at Mandarin Oriental, are 10½ft high, the full-height windows the capitals of those Asian countries.” Bangkok. One tower has 379 apart- overlook the river, and bespoke fur-      ments — all of which are already sold, nishings include inspirational metal- O The Residences at Mandarin      at prices from £230,000 — and the and-glass-enclosed Bulthaup kitchens Oriental, Bangkok: moresidences second has 146 Residences over 52 with aluminium laser-cut units. bangkok.com (+662 118 2211) floors. The two- to four-bedroom apart- Leisure facilities feature an outdoor O Sphere Estates: sphereestates.com ments range from 1,367sq ft to 7,610sq ft pool, fitness studios, sauna and gym (020 3617 1360) EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 13 JULY 2016 15 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by Finance | Homes & Property A benefit for London’s landlords and renters

ONDON’S property market rent repayment order. It’s wise to is widely expected to stutter Sara work through the HMO requirements as a result of the country’s methodically and in liaison with your decision to leave the EU. Yates local HMO authority, use an While this could be an FINANCIAL COMMENTATOR experienced builder to convert your uncomfortableL time for property property, and ensure you have owners, it may offer exciting sufficient funds for all requirements. opportunities — be that for buying a Apart from council regulations, the larger home, or perhaps to enter depends on the rental income. In my property may also have stipulations London’s lucrative House in Multiple experience, London’s relatively low that prohibit an HMO set-up. For Occupation market. buy-to-let rental yield makes it example, the lease on one of my A House in Multiple Occupation — difficult to release more than 50 per properties only allows me to sublet it or HMO — is basically a property cent of the property’s value. An HMO, to one family unit and not multiple where three or more unrelated however, with its higher rental return, households. You need to know this individuals/households pay for their can let you release 70 to 80 per cent. before you invest. own rooms while sharing communal This makes it a much more efficient A final consideration is managing amenities such as a bathroom or use of your hard-earned cash — the property. With an HMO, you are cooking facilities. They are particu- though you typically will pay a higher renting out individual rooms which larly popular with those who would interest rate and arrangement fees. can be a lot more time-consuming struggle to rent a flat on their own, than renting the whole flat in one go. such as young professionals, PLAY BY THE RULES As there is also a high probability that students and those in receipt of Before leaping on to the HMO profit the sharers are strangers, you may

benefits. ALAMY bandwagon, careful research is find yourself dealing with anything Share the space: landlords can get a better return when letting a property by required. HMOs have provided some from a love triangle to a selfish late- RETURNS IN DOUBLE FIGURES the room but must observe strict rules covering Houses in Multiple Occupation of the UK’s poorest-quality housing night party animal. Many landlords are able to generate in the past. To combat this, strict impressive double-digit returns by digit returns are confined to the mortgage interest payments will regulations have been introduced OU can always hire a renting out rooms separately in an storybooks. I am doing well to get a make the environment even more about occupancy numbers, room letting agent but as HMO HMO. One, who I shall call “Jinny”, five per cent gross yield on my latest challenging. size, fire escapes and the number of dwellers can be a more recently bought a large four- rental. The problem is that while The HMO market doesn’t tie up as communal amenities. transient part of the rental bedroom house in Ilford which she nationally high, London’s rents have much capital as the buy-to-let For bigger HMOs, or those in areas market, be prepared to converted to create a six-bedroom failed to keep pace with the capital’s market. For serial investors, a key where concerns about housing payY out a lot more in fees. So, HMOs HMO. All the rooms were let to property prices. And once you’ve strategy for maximising your return quality remain, landlords may also are not for the faint-hearted. They professionals within a week for rents paid service charges, maintenance is to use mortgage financing to pull require a licence to operate. These are more hassle, and have higher of between £450-£700 with bills costs, agent fees and covered the out as much capital from each need to be obtained from the local running costs as a result of increased included. Jinny thinks her return is costs of any empty periods, you may property as possible and reinvest it council, usually incur a cost and last management and maintenance work. currently about 15 per cent. find you have little left for your into another rental property. But for for a maximum of five years. Getting it But if you do your research and pick This is very different to London’s efforts. Come next April, the changes both buy-to-let and HMO mortgages, wrong can mean a £20,000 fine and wisely, maybe you could make a buy-to-let market, where double- to the tax treatment on buy-to-let the amount of equity you can pull out other sanctions, such as a 12-month healthy return on your investment. DESIGN  " MUST END SOON

SAVE UP TO 20% NOW on our furniture and accessories to order and make apply C’s & *T’s SAVE UNMISSABLE SAVINGS OF UP TO 50% on our clearance and ex-display items. Book our FREE design service in-store or in your home. UP TO 50% 0% FINANCE *

 #   #         !     #     !         18 WEDNESDAY 13 JULY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Outdoors

YOU can’t dine with ease in a deckchair SIMPLE, sculptural lines that follow the NO NEED to wring out these cushions if but the upright silhouette of a body’s contours make the Amaze you left them out in the rain over the narrower, safari-style version makes it lounge sofa surprisingly comfortable as weekend. Botanical Cushions, depicting an ideal choice for small-space seating, well as a striking feature for any room, bugs, birds, flowers or foliage, are in any environment. The balcony indoors or outside. made of waterproof fabric and have deckchair has a sturdy teak frame and Designed by Danish duo Foersom & hollowfibre pads, so they’ll withstand removable fabric sling in a choice of Hiort-Lorenzen, and in untreated teak summer showers, yet they are smart four vintage-style prints — cherry, leaf that will develop a grey patina over enough to bring inside and brighten (pictured), feather and stripe. It’s £125, time, this stylish piece of kit costs the sofa all through winter. Standard, with extra slings at £36 each, from £1,625 from The Worm that Turned £65, super-size, £160, from denysandfielding.co.uk (worm.co.uk) botanicalcushions.com ◄ ▼ ►

Join the in and out The season’s smartest outdoor furniture and stunning new fabrics are weatherproof and designed to look as good in the living room as out on the terrace, discovers Pattie Barron

DESIGNED by maverick Andrée Putnam and her daughter Olivia, the stackable Inside Out armchair from Fermob boasts seats woven from the same material used to make the seat belts on Concorde and a frame made from an aluminium alloy used in the aeronautics industry. With webbing of pearl grey, bronze green or night blue (pictured), the Inside Out stacking armchair costs £407 from worm.co.uk ▼

▲

CHRISTOPHE PILLET’S sublime lounger chair makes a great design statement anywhere. And to prevent the powder- coated metal mesh making a design statement on your behind, a reversible quilted and weatherproof cushion is included in the price of £795. The Summerset lounger is from L Maison at llifestyle.com ▲ ►

CHAMPAGNE corks make a great mulch the perfect solution when you need a for containers, but now there is an even seat to perch on or a side table to park better use for them in the garden. the glass of bubbly. Choose from cork Giant-size, at 110 times larger than the side table/stool, right, or wire cage more familiar version, and crafted with cork top table/stool, above, £170 from solid Portuguese cork, they are each from thechelseagardener.co.uk EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 13 JULY 2016 19 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by Outdoors | Homes & Property

REVERSIBLE outdoor rugs can be rolled up and stored when not transforming a lacklustre deck or terrace, but why would you want to, when they look so good indoors, too? Handwoven in India from recycled polypropylene, Fab Hab’s rugs in a range of jazzy prints — this is Puebla — are wipe-clean and available in two sizes: standard WITH organic, fluid lines inspired by ▲ THE curvy Giro garden table from Spanish company Point is (6ft x 4ft), £49.95 two bells joined together, Gloster’s side compact enough at 43in x 39in to bring indoors, adding, if and large (8ft x table could prove an indispensable you wish, a tempered glass top. But you could also leave it 5ft), £89.95, from piece of furniture, wherever you use it. out through the year, because the synthetic rattan is fade cuckooland.com The buffed teak top lifts off so that you proof, dirt repellent, water and frost resistant. Choose from can add either a customised liner to natural (pictured), ivory white or dark, and resist, if you can, serve as a storage unit or an insert that the matching stackable chairs. Giro table, £680, and chairs, ◄ acts as an ice bucket. £300 each, from Go Modern (gomodern.co.uk) In four powder-coated colours of coral and aqua (pictured), white and charcoal, the Bells side table costs £387 from worm.co.uk ►

Thebestseat club in the house

ROCKING chairs, soothing to sit in and easy on the eye, are enjoying a revival. Rock the look on your patio — and enjoy the gentle sensation provided by the gently curved feet — with an  outdoor rocker     that is more    French chic than Grandma Moses, and is part of a furniture range         that is designed     for both house       and garden. The Provence rocker, in dove grey (pictured) or soft          sage, costs £104 from coxandcox.    co.uk          20 WEDNESDAY 13 JULY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Reader promotion Alison Cork Enjoy style and Three-for-two value shutters offer WILLOW & HALL THOMAS SANDERSON, expert in designs and window stylings, has a wide range sells quality of made-to-measure shutters to upholstered create the perfect balance between living room light and shade, and prevent floors and bedroom and furniture from fading. furniture, Get three shutters for the price handmade by of two and an extra 10 per cent craftsmen in off* when quoting T7366 before Wiltshire, July 31. including the For a free brochure or to book a Hamptworth free design consultation, visit sofa/sofa bed ts-sale.co.uk or call 0800 051 7711. in Cotton Pale *T&Cs apply. Gothic mirror gives Grey, below, from £932 and you a secret garden £1,118. Use code BRIGHTEN a dark corner of your BN3816 by garden with this Gothic church- August 3 to style mirror from One Regent receive a Place. Reduced by 50 per cent further five per from £59.99 to just £29.99, this cent off current pretty mirror is made in recycled discounts, BargainBargrgaggaain nenewnewsewe s wood with an aged finish, and the leading to 35 reflection will give the illusion of a per cent lower A sleek, Swing a mystery garden beyond. prices than Sturdy and durable, it would also high street sturdy deal on make an attractive feature indoors retailers. — in an alcove, a hallway or on a Call 0845 468 sleigh garden bedroom wall. 0577 or visit To order, visit oneregentplace.co. willowandhall. bed seating uk/gothic13 or call 020 3455 7730 co.uk to find while stocks last. out more.

HAND-CARVED from solid sizes, prices start from THE three-seater from £495 to £198 plus mango wood and £795 for a Josephine Chatham swing seat, delivery in the Wallace upholstered in pure linen, double. Get £100 off both above, has an adjustable Sacks summer sale, the lovely designs of the the Marianne and the canopy, a weatherproof readers save a further £20 Marianne sleigh bed, Josephine with code powder-coated steel using code ABN13JUL16. above, and the Josephine BED13. To claim, visit frame and comes with For details and to order, bed will turn your withinhome.com/bed13 removable cushions, plus visit wallacesacks.com or bedroom into a relaxing or call 020 3455 7731 by a five-year guarantee. call 020 8885 6814 by haven. Available in three July 27. Reduced by 60 per cent August 3. O The companies listed here are wholly independent of the Evening Standard. Care is taken to establish that they are bona fide but we recommend that 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 13 JULY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Design

From left: hull strawberries without staining your fingers with the Stem Gem, £7 at Debenhams (debenhams.com; 0844 800 8877); Strawberry Fayre mug, £6 (creative -tops.com; 01536 207 668); hand- printed cotton cushion, £45 at Thornback & Peel Rugby Street, WC1 (thornbackand peel.co.uk; 020 7831 2878)

Right: Sanderson cotton print from the Vintage2 collection, £49 a metre, also £55 a roll as wallpaper (wallpaperdirect. com; 01323 430886)

Below: Wild Strawberry teapot, £110 (wedgwood. co.uk; 01782 282651)

1,2&3BEDROOMLUXURY APARTMENTS NOW AVAILABLE 500ChiswickHighRoadistheperfectplacetoenjoyitall. An exclusive new collection of contemporary houses and apartments where the Merry Chiswicklifestylecanbelivedtothefull. 500ChiswickHighRoadoffersexcellenttransportconnections,witheasyaccesstotheWestEnd, Heathrow Airport and the M4. Located for everything Chiswick. TO REGISTER YOUR INTEREST PLEASE CALL 0203 538 0824 berry Prices from £610,000 By Barbara Chandler

TravelTimesbyTube Above: Christy’s Wimbledon Strawberry Pop Beach Towel, 75cm x 150cm, with an all-cotton pile, £22 Knightsbridge Heathrow Airport King’s Cross (jdwilliams.co.uk; 0871 231 2000) 18 MINUTES 30 MINUTES St Pancras International 34 MINUTES

Interactive model available to view at Savills, 92 Terrace, London W4 1QN For more details call 0203 538 0824 Above: Wild Strawberry Pimm’s glasses, £60 for two from www.redrow.co.uk/500chiswickhighroad Wedgwood (as before) Journey times and distances are approximate. Sources: TFL.gov.uk, nationalrail.co.uk, Google maps. Computer generated images are indicative only. Price correct at time of going to press. Right: pack a pretty picnic with this Strawberry Fields melamine dining set. For £29, you get four each of dinner plates, side plates, deep bowls and mugs. And you can pop it all in the dishwasher when you get home. From Home by JD at JD Williams (as before) 26 WEDNESDAY 13 JULY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | My home homesandproperty.co.uk

Glorious mellow Handsome brickwork: the setting: what is meticulously now the dining tuck-pointed room once held a façade of the watchmaker’s house restored by sales counter. David Bieda, seen Now it displays with his 1973 prints by De Lancia Chirico, Braque and Dali

Soho’s Georgian house of secrets Leana Pooley tells how her bare. The major finds have been two The work of cesspits and two rooms hidden in the specialist friend David Bieda restored his attic. Many Londoners will have noticed craftsmen: the this lovely building. The brick façades of main bathroom, derelict 18th-century townhouse — Number 68 and 67, two rare townhouses far right, and the built in 1732, seem gloriously mellow stairwell, right, and unearthing a servants’ cesspit against the bustle of their Soho street. But are both lined it is 68 that invites your attention. with flat was just one of the surprises panelling Attractive greenery rampages up from the basement, and a tree, now 15 years HE urgent voice on the phone old, produced 80 apples last year. It said: “Come over, quickly. I’ve seems extraordinary that when Bieda just found another cesspit!” bought number 68 in 1993 the house had It was my friend, David Bieda. been on the market for eight years. I locked up my office in Cov- Miraculously, the original wooden entT Garden and hurried to Soho, where panelling and shutters were intact, as Bieda was waiting impatiently outside was the delicate carved cornicing. For the early Georgian house he’d recently Bieda there followed “three years with- bought in Dean Street. out a bath, having to use the outdoor We went through the hall and down the privy in the yard, and huddling over coal stairs into the basement kitchen. “Here, fires in the winters”. He gained an inter- take this torch. I’ll get a spade.” He led esting insight into Georgian life. the way into the flagstoned area in front Grants from English Heritage and West- of the house, opening a rickety door to minster city council helped fund restora- reveal a dank, dark space under the pave- tion. Bieda learned that his house was ment. I leaned against the door jamb and built by John Meard Junior, who in 1713 shone the torch downwards. David, inherited 20 properties, as well as St squeezed beside me, started digging into Anne’s Court in Soho. Master of the Wor- the brown, crumbly ground — dry earthy shipful Company of Carpenters in 1735, stuff from the 18th century: night soil. Meard also worked with Sir Christopher Photographs: That was was 22 years ago. Now the Wren at St Paul’s and other great London Antony Crolla secrets of 68 Dean Street have been laid churches. Number 68 was Meard’s own  EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 13 JULY 2016 27 powered by My home | Homes & Property

Surviving features: luckily for Bieda, the hallway retained both its original floorboards and wall panelling

home. The first cesspit was discovered many years doing conservation work during the restoration work. “Archaeolo- — he is chairman of the Seven Dials Trust gists from University College London and a founding trustee of the Covent were too concerned about its structural Garden Area Trust — so he was experi- integrity to dig it out, so I did it myself enced enough to lead his own project, after a precautionary tetanus jab. Among hiring 16 subcontractors, all specialist the found objects were hundreds of long, craftsmen, to help. With 18 rooms in all, thin scent bottles. When empty they were the project took two decades. thrown into the cesspit, which effectively doubled as a rubbish chute.” O GEORGIAN house was complete without the odd BBC architectural historian Dan Cruick- joke: think a chamberpot shank told Bieda there would have been drilled with a hole. The cus- a separate servants’ cesspit. “When I tom continues with a remote- cleared out the left-hand vault under Ncontrolled rat on the sideboard and a Dean Street I noticed a missing section rubber spider to greet you upstairs. of Victorian paving, and dug a hole that revealed an odd brick construction. The O For information about booking a Museum of London Archaeology Service group tour of 68 Dean Street, W1, unearthed the servants’ soakaway and email [email protected] a tiny vaulted sewer, the latter only for liquids.” The conversion of this vault into a coal cellar and the installation of the Victorian drainage system were dated by the fortuitous find of a marmalade jar inscribed with the date of 1862. The full When Bieda was persuaded by archi- version of this tectural historian, John Martin Robinson, article to rescue Number 68, he was happily appears in the living in a house in Seven Dials. He made August issue a reasonable living importing juice but of The World buying the house was a brave move, of Interiors, given its dereliction. Bieda had spent out now Atmospheric: the office, now filled with natural light,is in the former basement kitchen, built in 1732  28 WEDNESDAY 13 JULY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Design You’ve gotta love terracotta Get fired up about warm-toned homewares. By Dominic Lutyens RENDS go in cycles, and it Right: Chimney pendant lights from has been at least 30 years Benjamin Hubert, £300 each, and since terracotta was last in Gardenias terracotta vases by Jaime vogue. Back in the Eighties, Hayón for BD Ediciones, from £205, ancient Roman and Greek both at Viaduct (viaduct.co.uk) architectureT and ceramics inspired countless artists, designers and architects, and terracotta — Italian for Left: Tom Housden’s A-Beam “baked earth” — was hugely popular. industrial-look terracotta pendant Today’s designers are rediscovering light, £540 (handandeyestudio.co.uk) this clay-based medium, appreciating its rich orange tones and raw, warm, Hayón has produced his watertight tactile surface. Rather than delving Gardenias vases and planters for BD into the classical past for inspiration, Barcelona, available at the London they are giving it a contemporary showroom and Viaduct. Benjamin twist, moulding it into streamlined, Hubert’s Chimney pendant lights for even starkly minimalist products. Yet, Viaduct are hand-painted with a influenced no doubt by a renewed terracotta slip incorporating sand, interest in traditional crafts, they’re giving them a slightly rough texture. also attracted to terracotta’s historic, washing.” Habitat made the chicken Barber & Osgerby, who designed primitive and rustic associations — brick famous and still stocks it. The the 2012 London Olympics torch, from farmhouse earthenware to more store recently launched its new Elliot have stepped back in time with their utilitarian pieces. terracotta cookware range with a Olio range for Royal Doulton, from Designer Tom Housden of Hand & decidedly handcrafted aesthetic. Aram. “Terracotta is the colour of Eye Studio makes lights with Silvia K, a ceramicist whose pieces clay itself — natural, tactile, utilitarian. terracotta shades, some partly coated are stocked by London gallery The We’re drawn to its raw, ancient with white glaze for a more New Craftsmen, likes terracotta’s character,” says Osgerby. Apparatu’s contemporary look. Certain of his “historical richness and nostalgic Terrasse vase, from Viaduct, is made designs are manufactured in Stoke- comfort”. Ian McIntyre has created a of unsealed terracotta, so the water on-Trent “to support the UK’s pitcher for Another Country which seeps through the vase, retaining dwindling terracotta industry”. looks traditional yet has been fired at moisture and keeping flowers fresh Housden reimagines terracotta in a an unusually high temperature to give longer. It stands on a saucer to protect thoroughly modern way. His hard- it an intensely rich, scorched tone. the surface beneath. edged A-Beam pendant light looks Hend Krichen produces containers industrial, has LED lights and hangs and vases using a Tunisian terracotta from super-fine cables. in a paler blush pink. “I combine these with a warm copper finish that FROM RICH ORANGE TO BLUSH complements the terracotta.” PINK WITH WARM COPPER Reiko Kaneko’s Terracotta Ceramicist Sue Pryke, whose teapots collection, for SCP, reflects the and jugs are slip-cast — meaning liquid material’s versatility with a platter, clay slip is poured into plaster moulds tumbler, wine cooler and biscuit jar. — is equally enthusiastic about the “Terracotta’s primitive quality is a material and believes it has been refreshing antidote to our digital age.” undervalued. “With a diminishing More established designers are terracotta industry in the UK, there’s embracing terracotta, too: Jaime been less interest in it, although plenty of potters use it. From left: Sgraffito Stripe terracotta “In Spain and Portugal it comes in bowl with leather handle from Silvia K very traditional styles. Its Seventies Ceramics, £285 (silviakceramics.co. image of chicken bricks and olive oil uk); terracotta bowl by Reiko Kaneko pourers hasn’t helped. We’ve craved at SCP, £65 (scp.co.uk); Sue Pryke’s dishwasher-proof crockery for years, terracotta jug, £55 (suepryke.com); but now we’re happy to enjoy tall copper-tipped vase by Hend handcrafted pieces that need hand- Krichen, £195 (hendkrichen.com) 30 WEDNESDAY 13 JULY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Outdoors MILLBOARD Fuss-free flooring: synthetic decking needs none of wood’s maintenance

ELCOME the revolu- tion in outdoor floor- ing that ushers in practically zero-main- tenance materials for Wdecks, patios and roof terraces. Forget cheap-looking synthetics — these are products that replicate timber and stone so closely that it’s impossible to tell the difference between the fake and the real deal. Porcelain sounds like a delicate choice for paving that is more suited to indoors, but it’s reputedly tougher than timber and stronger than stone. In fact Alfresco Floors, a Teddington-based company that supplies and installs exterior floor- ing, claims that each of its 20mm por- celain tiles will take the weight of a car. Even Marshalls and Bradstone, the UK’s

two biggest paving companies, have ROIG AND JOANMA ROTHWELL SARA JANE MARIANNE MAJERUS/DESIGN: MILLBOARD recently introduced ranges of porcelain Mixing it up: Cor-ten steel provides a striking contrast to porcelain tiles for this London garden Fooling the eye: resin boards simulate weathered timber flagstones, including “plank” paving that replicates timber.

“Porcelain tiles are made from natural products — feldspar, clay, quartz — and because they are fired in an exception- Patios with a perfect surface ally high heat, are frost-proof,” enthuses London garden designer Claire Mee, who, in a Notting Hill gar- Londoners love tough new easy-care outdoor floors that have the good looks of real stone or wood den, installed a terrace of porcelain at the back of the house to make a smooth segue with the porcelain tiles on the thinner than stone and makes them a that recreates the look of oak boards. For the show garden, we wanted black kitchen floor, and a more traditional lot lighter, so they’re a more practical “The light shades are very popular, Pattie decking but we needed something sandstone terrace in the front garden, choice for roof gardens.” because Londoners like the luxurious more robust than wood because of the to suit the white stucco house façade. Mee will never give up her favourite look of a light-coloured patio or ter- Barron heavy footfall all week, and because “They look so realistic and they per- York stone, but even London Stone, a race. Stone is more porous, so a light- there were perfume demos, we didn’t form so well. They don’t attract algae, specialist in natural stone paving, is coloured stone tends to show the dirt want marks and spills.” which is another big plus. Also, porce- seeing a big increase in sales of porce- and absorb stains more easily, whereas lain paving is about 10-20mm which is lain, including a paving called Rovere porcelain is denser,” says Antony Pas- Even on the pale “limed oak” boards, With their ability to replicate their quini, London Stone’s showroom red wine spills can be wiped off. A soft- natural counterparts, the new land- In the limelight: manager. wood or hardwood deck needs annual scape materials sit comfortably along- the effect of “If you clean a porcelain terrace once maintenance of pressure washing as side the real thing, and are versatile limed oak, a before summer, it will stay looking well as protecting with a stain or oil; enough to fit into every style of garden, wood more good through to autumn. There are so resin decks need virtually nothing. from traditional to contemporary. The usually reserved many different effects and finishes “I’ve got Millboard at home, which future for them looks promising. for indoors, is available. And because it’s man-made, says it all,” says Garden House Design’s However, says Pasquini: “Wood and achieved with porcelain has a fantastic anti-slip rat- creative director, Rod Winrow, who stone will always be in demand because Millboard’s ing. Price-wise, it works out at maybe chose a charred, “carbonised” finish they have that special character, but composite 10 per cent more expensive than, say, for the deck in The Botanical Studio, what Londoners want is low-mainte- boards a sawn sandstone, but you don’t have his award-winning garden for Crabtree nance. When you are spending a lot to seal it, so the cost ends up similar.” & Evelyn at last week’s Hampton Court of money on your patio or terrace, you Meanwhile, Pasquini reports that Flower Show. “It’s an expensive, high- don’t want to spend a lot of time there is another product London Stone end product but it’s worth the money. cleaning it.” can’t get hold of fast enough to meet demand: synthetic decking, made in the UK. “Many of the big London designers and contractors are coming to us for Millboard. Unlike other com- posite decking on the market, it has no reconstituted timber content at all, so O For outdoor is great for longevity.” events this month, visit homesand This “timber” is made of polyurethane property.co.uk/ resin with glass fibres and is moulded events from real timbers, including 100-year- old reclaimed oak boards for a worn, weathered look. Its appeal is easy to see. It’s stable, unlike wood which Gardening contracts and expands and can splinter problems? and warp; it has one of the highest Brit-

Email our RHS ish Standards anti-slip ratings of all expert at: expert decking products and, as there is no

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Ball games allowed: netball courts on For quality leisure time: the common’s 220 green acres include three ponds, a bandstand, two cafés and a landmark pub Spotlight on Clapham Foodies, families, famous faces and lovers of lively nightlife flock to this buzzing suburb with superb transport links. By Anthea Masey

ITH a lively vibe that love story, The End of the Affair. Today, High Street pit makes it a top attrac- Clapham is once again a prosperous stop: The Black tion for young profes- suburb. Estate agent William Pasquali Lab Coffee House, sionals, Clapham sits from the local branch of Hamptons says one of London’s across the river from the neighbourhood is divided into sev- top 30 coffee WKnightsbridge and Chelsea and eral pockets, each of which has its own houses, above, straddles the boroughs of Lambeth and distinct character. with small-batch Wandsworth. The flats off the High Street are occu- roasting a It is broadly divided into four areas pied by fans of the vibrant local night- speciality — Clapham North, Old Town, Clapham life — university leavers sharing their South and Clapham Junction. The fact first London home, and young profes- that its nearest neighbour is very- sionals. The rest of Clapham is popular trendy Brixton also makes it one of the with families. most popular London locations to live. The Old Town area is where the Famous faces who have called Clapham grandest houses are — there is a French home include Harry Potter author JK enclave clustered around the French Rowling, TV’s Piers Morgan and actress schools on the north side of the com- Vanessa Redgrave. mon. Before the arrival of the railway in the Off Abbeville Road, where the many mid-19th century, this south London Clapham Sect and their legacy lives on smart shops include a branch of suburb was where wealthy merchants in many local street names. upmarket butcher The Ginger Pig, are built themselves large mansions over- Some of these grand houses survive. streets of mainly Victorian terrace looking the green spaces of the com- In Old Town there is a row of Queen houses. mon. In pretty Holy Trinity Church on Anne houses where fashion designer Pinning Clapham to the map. It is Clapham Common, you can still see the Dame Vivienne Westwood has her found four miles from central London table where leading slave trade aboli- home — locals often see her out and with Battersea to the north and west, tionists William Wilberforce, Zachary about on her bicycle — while on Clap- Stockwell and Brixton to the east and Macaulay, father and son Henry and ham Common North Side there is a fine Balham to the south. Shop in a shipping container: Sascha Rothing, owner of John Venn and Henry Thornton would Georgian terrace where the author Sash Flowers, newly opened in Clapham Park Road gather. They became known as the Graham Greene lived and set the tragic Photographs: Daniel Lynch

£850,000 £489,000 £495,950 THIS Victorian cottage full of period features in IN A striking Victorian property in Sumburgh Road, A BRIGHT, two-bedroom Victorian Heath Road has three double bedrooms and a this one-bedroom top-floor flat is near Clapham conversion flat in Mayflower Road. modern kitchen. Knight Frank (020 3858 3167). South Tube. John D Wood & Co (020 8012 1595). Marsh & Parsons (020 8012 4056) £1,249,950 WITHIN easy walking distance of Brixton and Clapham To find a home in Clapham, visit rightmove.co.uk North Tube stations, this modern four-bedroom home is arranged over three floors in Dalyell Road and has a bright For more about Clapham, visit homesandproperty.co.uk/Clapham rear extension and private garden. Foxtons (020 7704 5757). EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 13 JULY 2016 37 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by Property searching | Homes & Property

homesandproperty.co.uk powered by HAVE YOUR SAY: CLAPHAM LOCALS TWEET THEIR TIPS

@TheRianStrauss Fields on the common for great coffee and great avo STATS CHECK & feta on amazing bread. WHAT HOMES COST BUYING IN CLAPHAM @richardgriffo @fieldscafe (Average prices) @TheDairyClapham @culturesnax One-bedroom flat @TheManorClapham @WC_Clapham £483,000 @No32TheOldTown @bobbinsw4 Two-bedroom flat £671,000 Two-bedroom house £803,000 @Edsondoyle The Breakfast Club, Three-bedroom house £910,000 Battersea Rise Four-bedroom house £1.49 million @htalbot10 w/c got to be one of the best for a date/drinks #clapham RENTING IN CLAPHAM @WC_Clapham (Average rates) One-bedroom flat £1,493 a month @laurellefkow The Omnibus Clapham is a brilliant arts venue Two-bedroom flat £1,885 a month Two-bedroom house £2,405 a month @laurellefkow Nardulli Gelato on Three-bedroom house £2,918 a The Pavement #Clapham month Four-bedroom house £3,799 a @TinternStSW4 @Claphamnth month always great for a thought for the day. Source: Rightmove @ClaphamCommon1 fantastic open space enjoyed by all FOR MORE, VISIT homesandproperty.co.uk O Use our School Checker to find TRAVEL catchment areas and inspection reports for local schools

THE PROPERTY SCENE

WITH predominantly Victorian and development is nearly ready to move houses. Two-bedroom flats start at ■ WHO RENTS HERE? Edwardian semi-detached and into and prices start at £665,000 for £585,000, with houses at £925,000. Lettings manager Rachel Hanniquet- terrace houses, Clapham also has a one-bedroom flat and £850,000 for Brooking at Hamptons says Clapham pockets of Georgian houses, in the a two-bedroom flat. Call Galliard ■ AFFORDABLE HOMES renters range from sharers straight Old Town and on the north side of (020 8012 9147). The Yard is a Notting Hill Housing out of uni, to young professional CLAPHAM is served by three London the common. There are some Bentley’s Yard in St Alphonsus association scheme in Clapham Road singles and couples, to families. Underground stations on the purpose-built Victorian maisonettes, Road is a development of six four- which will offer 77 homes in total, “We were sole letting agent on the — known locally as the mansion flats, Twenties houses and bedroom houses, with prices starting with 59 for shared ownership, six for conversion of the home of Sir Charles “misery line” because of its modern flats. from £1,795,000. Through James social rent and 12 live/work homes Barry, the architect of the Houses of overcrowded rush-hour trains. The Pendleton (020 7627 1111). for private sale, plus four shops or Parliament, which belongs to Trinity stations are Clapham South, Clapham ■ NEW-BUILD HOMES King’s Lodge in Kings Avenue is a commercial units. Call 020 3815 1234. Hospice. The hospice did a lovely job Common, above, and Clapham North. Crescent House, on the corner of development of seven flats and two The association has two shared- converting it into six flats and they let Clapham High Street station, close Crescent Lane and Abbeville Road, houses. Flats start at £650,000 and a ownership apartments remaining in in a flash.” to Clapham North station, is on the involves the conversion of a Tudor- three-bedroom house is £1.05 million. the latest phase of the Oval Quarter Her landlords are a mix of overseas Clapham Junction to Dalston Junction style former Post Office HQ, latterly They will be ready in November. Call development off Brixton Road, investors who’ve bought recently built branch of the London Overground. occupied by builders’ union Ucatt, Hamptons (020 7498 8686). Also between The Oval and Brixton, flats, and accidental landlords who All of Clapham’s stations are in into 36 one-, two- and three- through Hamptons, Abberley Mews, available at £133,750 for a 25 per cent moved away for work but want to Travel Zone 2 and an annual bedroom flats and two penthouses off Cedars Road, is a gated mews share of a two-bedroom flat with a keep Clapham homes, which they travelcard costs £1,296. with a communal garden. The development of three flats and four market price of £535,000. deem a good long-term investment. 40 WEDNESDAY 13 JULY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Ask the expert Her feckless ex doesn’t deserve a penny Fiona WHAT’S I WANT to sell a house that I have been letting YOUR to students for the past six years. I inherited McNulty PROBLEM? Q the place with my sister, and I bought her IF YOU have a share in it. Then I refurbished it and lived OUR LAWYER ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS question for there for a year in 2009. Fiona McNulty, The house is in my name only and I am married. please email Would there be any inheritance tax due on a sale? If MY DAUGHTER and her legalsolutions@ so, can I also use my wife’s allowance to combine and slob of an ex-boyfriend standard.co.uk negate any inheritance tax that may be due? Q bought a house 19 years or write to Legal ago. The deposit was a gift Solutions, Homes INHERITANCE tax is payable on the estate — to her from her aunt, my sister. & Property, meaning the assets such as the property, money Soon after moving in, my daughter London Evening A and possessions — of someone who has died. had a baby but the boyfriend Standard, 2 Derry Generally speaking, it is not payable if your couldn’t cope with fatherhood and Street, W8 5EE. estate is worth less than £325,000, or if you leave your scarpered six months later. He has We regret that estate to your spouse. never paid any maintenance and I questions cannot Perhaps you are thinking of capital gains tax, which is had to help my daughter pay the be answered payable on the sale of an asset that has increased in mortgage because he didn’t give a individually, but value. penny towards that, either. we will try to If you sell the house and it has risen in value since you As “the baby” is now nearly 20, feature them inherited it and since you bought out your sister’s share my daughter wants to sell up and here. Fiona in the property, capital gains tax may be payable. move. However, the mortgage was McNulty is a If you occupied the property as your only or main in joint names. Will the ex be legal director residence in 2009, then a proportion of the gain should entitled to a share of the proceeds? in the private qualify for “principal private residence relief”. wealth group of The balance would be subject to capital gains tax at up IF YOUR sister had a loan Foot Anstey to 28 per cent — or 18 per cent if you are a basic rate agreement or any other legal entitled to share in the sale proceeds financial contributions. This (footanstey.com). taxpayer. However, you have an annual exemption of Adocumentation which as a joint owner of the property. “common intention” would need to £11,100. protected the deposit she However, your daughter may be able be assessed by a judge if your You could save some tax by transferring a share of the gave to your daughter, then she to argue successfully that he should daughter’s former partner tried to property to your wife before sale, in which case her should be entitled to the return of the not have a share because he walked contest it. annual exemption and rate of tax would apply to her deposit on a sale. If there is no such away from the property, and at that As your daughter and her ex jointly share of any gain. documentation in place it may be stage there was a “common own the property they will both need difficult for her to recover the intention” that she should have the to be involved in the sale — in that More legal O These answers can only be a very brief commentary on deposit. benefit of the property moving both must sign the transfer deed. So Q&As the issues raised and should not be relied on as legal advice. With regard to your daughter’s ex, forward — particularly given that your daughter should notify him of Visit: homesand No liability is accepted for such reliance. If you have similar the starting point is that he is she, and your family, made all the the fact that she proposes to sell. property.co.uk issues, you should obtain advice from a solicitor.

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MONDAY the advantage of our clients. Mean- Our daily Crayson team meeting is first while, on a flat that’s already under item on the agenda this week, to dis- Diary of offer, we are having issues obtaining cuss what’s going on in the industry. certain documentation from managing Ongoing negotiations on four houses an estate agents, which is holding up the and two apartments dominate the exchange. Claudia in the team goes the briefing, as well as the effects of recent agent extra mile to their offices to secure the political and economic events. The paperwork. sales team’s on the phone by 9am and turns out that the walls and doors are I’ve prepared a market appraisal for viewings are being scheduled. so thick and reinforced that they are, the Kalashnikov house. There are pros My afternoon and evening are spent in fact, Kalashnikov-proof. That’s reas- and cons but I’m uncertain whether the catching up with clients. Our client suring to know… bulletproofing adds any value. relationships are more like joint ven- tures, and always frank and transpar- WEDNESDAY FRIDAY ent. I can always be reached beyond “Mr Big” is getting all my attention An American fund wants us to devise office hours and busy clients really like today. I have something exciting on the an investment strategy, and Peter, who this. cards with him. Our brief is to build a is head of investments at Crayson, has high-value portfolio. This is the result set up a series of early meetings in the TUESDAY of many overseas meetings but came City today. The stock market’s the topic for my originally from a referral via a client of Mr Big likes the house with the football team talk today — I used to work in accountancy giant KPMG. pitch-sized master bedroom and is fly- corporate finance so it’s second nature. First, though, Mr Big is looking for a ing in to see it next week. And it looks At 11am I join a meeting with a buyer. residence for him and his family who like we have won the Kalashnikov house Often my job is to give a fresh view to are moving to London, and it’s a instruction. Although my market buyers in order for them to understand £100 million budget. I’m in one house appraisal is not the highest, we have value. I do my own appraisal based on and I remark to the agent: “Wow, is this provided the best value comparisons the research I did when I set the price. the master bedroom?” to find it’s the and he likes our service and approach. After a short chat I leave Tom in the maid’s room. The master bedroom is Peter gets great offers on a block of team to agree next steps. beyond anything I have ever seen. As flats and a cinema complex, Claudia’s Then I’m off to Knightsbridge to meet my jaw hits the floor I consider the flat sale exchanges and Tom’s buyers a client who has a house he wishes to price and it all makes sense. look like they are about to raise to an be sold discreetly. I arrive at a smartly acceptable level. Having missed the presented front entrance to be greeted THURSDAY morning meeting I suggest convening by a very fashionable lady who I pre- We’re talking currency. The US dollar, at 5.30pm at the Cock & Bottle — and sume is his wife. It turns out to be his the Chinese renminbi and others are there’s a rush for the door. PA. Mr X doesn’t speak a word of Eng- up against the pound over the past lish but thankfully his PA does. The weeks. There is a good buying oppor- O Nick Crayson is founder and client mentions the word “Kalash- tunity for those holding these curren- managing director of estate agent nikov” and I feel some nervousness. It cies. We discuss how we can use this to Crayson (020 7221 1117).

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AKING a bit of extra money by offering your home for short lets to tourists is fine — Listen! I’m on I have done it once or Mtwice myself. But a serious accident at an Airbnb property in Brighton has highlighted some of the risks. Four people were badly injured my health and when an outside balcony at the first- floor flat collapsed and they crashed into the basement below. It seems the balcony was ornamental and not designed for standing on. safety soapbox There’s nothing to suggest that the owner of the flat, who had put the property on Airbnb, had done anything wrong, but the accident Letting your home for a few days seems like shows that there are many things home owners need to consider a nice little earner — but it is not as simple as before taking in paying guests. £440 a week: in Windmill Drive, SW4, surrounded by Clapham Common, a two- When you let your home, even for it sounds, warns Victoria Whitlock bedroom furnished flat is available to rent through Palace Gate (020 8012 5276). just a night or two, you are a “landlord” in the eyes of the law so you are responsible for your guests’ solid fuel-burning appliances, and to taking long-term tenants on landlord and your local council don’t health and safety. However, as there The make certain that all soft furniture is minimum six-month assured prohibit short lets because if they do is no legal requirement to have a fire retardant. Home owners who take shorthold tenancy agreements to and there is an accident on your professional inspection of your the odd paying guest must follow the short-term holiday lets — should also property, you might find your property, it is down to you to spot accidental same rules. Like landlords offering check that their insurance is still valid insurer uses the fact that you’ve let a any potential hazards. permanent accommodation, Airbnb- for holiday lets. My guess is that it property without permission as an If there are risks to health and landlord style hosts must also inspect fixed probably won’t be. excuse not to pay out. safety you need to remove them — or, wiring and all electrical appliances to Several London councils don’t allow if this isn’t possible, you must alert sitting on the sill, which could easily make sure they are safe. HE largest website used by holiday lets for more than 90 days a your guests to the danger. You can’t have crumbled under their weight. It Airbnb advises its hosts to make landlords and home year. Even outside the capital, if you remove a balcony, but you can stick hadn’t occurred to me that anyone sure they are complying with local owners to find short-term let a property as a holiday home you up a notice warning that it is unsafe would do something so idiotic, but health and safety laws, but as it is tenants, Airbnb provides might need planning permission for to stand on. now I warn tenants not to clamber only a marketing platform, it doesn’t “host protection change of use. If in doubt, check with Some hazards might not be out of the window. have an obligation to give any further Tinsurance”, which should cover up to your council, or you risk a hefty fine. obvious, especially to someone who All landlords ought to be aware of advice or to make sure that £600,000 of damage or injury to a isn’t used to health and safety recent legislation that requires them properties on its website are legally guest, but it advises hosts to have O Victoria Whitlock lets four assessments. I once found out that to have at least one working smoke compliant. It does advise hosts to their own insurance, too. Also, it is properties in south London. my tenants were climbing out of the alarm on every floor; carbon install smoke alarms. Home owners important to check that your To contact Victoria with your ideas first-floor living room window and monoxide detectors in rooms with — and landlords who switch from mortgage lender, freeholder, head and views, tweet @vicwhitlock 48 WEDNESDAY 13 JULY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | New homes By David Spittles SmartSmSmamartmarartrt momovmovov

Wander in London’s From £700,000: Royal Wharf is getting 310 family houses Family-friendly Docklands biggest winter garden

LONDON’S biggest batch of squares and parks create a N ORIGINAL Art Deco up, partly due to a backlash against affordably priced new calm, safe environment for warehouse in Camden, the over-corporate atmosphere of family houses since the children. Royal Wharf is now split into 85 loft-style much of the City fringe. It’s one of the Eighties is being built at also getting a primary Want apartments, is said to few places in London where Royal Wharf in school and a DLR station to buy have London’s largest bohemian prosperity and urban Docklands, where that will plug residents into winterA garden. The space, right, at edginess happily coexist. And there developer Ballymore is Crossrail. From £700,000. your Carlow House is indeed vast — an are still canalside factories, cobbled holding a family open day Call 0800 160 1200. internal atrium crowned by a curved- courtyards and mews ripe for this Saturday, with face The wider Royal Docks first glass canopy that forms a spectacular transformation into new homes. painting and a barbecue. area will be transformed lightwell. At Carlow House, gangways, glazed The 310 houses are part of over the next decade, so home? The scheme is just the latest in a balconies and flats with large factory a new 3,385-home this could be a chance to fresh wave of homes aimed at a new windows face on to the awesome neighbourhood where buy early into a district generation of creatives coming to a winter garden adorned with art and nearly half of the 40-acre with upside, certainly one speedily improving area. exotic plants, which is also an area is designated open with an increasing focus on Camden was attracting architects amenity area for residents, while the space for health and fitness family-friendly housing and media firms, including fashion, smart entrance foyer features — activities such as outdoor and amenities. At the film, theatre, music and web design exposed brickwork and industrial yoga classes will be run by moment, values are 30 per companies, long before Clerkenwell light fittings. an on-site leisure centre. As cent cheaper than homes and Shoreditch became hip Homes are priced from £699,999 well as a new riverside around the river bend at addresses. After a few years out of and come with 999-year leases. Call promenade, garden . the spotlight the area is now on the Galliard on 020 3770 6320.

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BOOK YOUR APPOINTMENT TO VIEW: [email protected] CALL 020 3092 2787 WWW.COLINDALEGARDENS.COM SALES AND MARKETING SUITE OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 13 JULY 2016 49 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by New homes | Homes & Property HELP TO BUY HOMES FROM BETHNAL GREEN TO PUTNEY

HELP TO BUY is keeping scheme, but there is no dreams of home ownership central register of available alive for young Londoners developments, so you have including James Woodhall, to do your own legwork. 29, who is a management Barratt is promoting Help consultant at professional to Buy after a pre-EU services firm PwC and a DJ referendum slump in sales, in his spare time. unveiling new phases at James is pictured at Catford Green, Titanium Point, right and Waterside, Olympic Way below, in Bethnal Green, in Wembley, and Putney where he used a 40 per Rise. From £390,000. Call cent Help to Buy loan to 0844 811 4321. Join Medway’s renaissance land a new £450,000 one- Without Help to Buy, a bedroom flat. The first-timer in London KENT’S historic Medway Georgian area, a new 300- development is by social typically would need a towns are an obvious place berth marina and retail housing landlord Guinness deposit of about £90,000. for Docklands-style complex plus leisure Trust, which aims to help Under the scheme, buyers waterfront living. Decline attractions. St Mary’s first-time buyers on to the need just five per cent — set in during the Eighties Island, once a dumping property ladder. Call 0300 typically between £10,000 when the royal dockyard at ground for the naval base, 456 0522. and £25,000 — of the Chatham closed. But new has been transformed into Most well-known house purchase price and only fast rail links and a 150-acre “green” builders offer homes under require a mortgage for 55 ambitious regeneration neighbourhood with the Government’s loan per cent. are beginning to entice boardwalks alongside London commuters two shops, cafés and decades after Eurostar restaurants. Traditional trains first cut a swathe Kentish-style designs are through this region. mixed with contemporary- Medway Renaissance is a style architecture — bold co-ordinated project that colours, timber cladding, aims to transform eight sun decks and steeply miles of riverfront, linking pitched roofs. And there several towns into an are splendid water views. 8,000-home “linear city”. Azure, above, the latest Chatham is at the centre, phase, includes three- with high-rise apartments storey, four-bedroom and family houses being houses from £505,000. built alongside a protected Call 01634 891200.

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