Affordable’ Homes It’S Time to Rewrite the Rules Page 6 4 WEDNESDAY 5 JULY 2017 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | News the Outer Suburbs Give Young Buyers a Chance

Wednesday 5 July 2017 Cushions get Homes& puffed up

Design trends Property Page 14

MAD ABOUT BARKING P8 COMMUTING: HOT HAMPSHIRE P10 NEW DESIGNERS P16 SPOTLIGHT ON CATFORD P28 ‘Affordable’ homes It’s time to rewrite the rules Page 6 4 WEDNESDAY 5 JULY 2017 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | News The outer suburbs give young buyers a chance

HE answer to finding an Trophy affordable London home lies in outlying suburbs, home of from Barking in the far east the week to Colindale way up north. TBoth emerge among the capital’s lead- your kingdom ing future affordable housing hotspots in a new study. and a horse in At Barking Riverside — the huge regeneration of 443 Thames-front acres four Shakespeare miles east of London City airport — 1,100 new homes are under construction to country be sold on a shared-ownership basis. The latest review from Halifax, Brit- ain’s biggest mortgage lender, reveals £4.95 million: everything equestrian facilities include orangery. Six bedrooms span the average deposit for a first-time buyer you could wish for in a bolt 15 stable boxes, a tack room, the upper floors overlooking in the capital has breached the £100,000 hole can be found at this exercise track, paddocks and landscaped gardens, a tennis mark, at just over £106,000, while the compact country estate in the living space for staff in a two- court and a lake, while the cost of a starter home has increased to idyllic village of Kineton, in bedroom coach house. indoor pool and gym provide almost £410,000 — pushing a growing rolling Warwickshire The substantial Cotswold a further retreat. number of would-be buyers into the countryside near Stratford- stone house contains a Space for your guests affordable housing sector. upon-Avon. beautifully finished drawing includes a three-bedroom Today’s study by property consult- This is prime riding country room, bar/games room, a cottage and a two-bedroom ants JLL highlights the 10 key areas and with 47 acres, Tysoe Vale library, and a dining room bungalow. Through Savills where these buyers could find afford- Farm is hot to trot. Extensive with built-in wine storage/ (01295 987034). ALAMY

Happy hunting able homes over the next two or three Editor: ground: 900 years. This is vital information for first- Lifechanger Janice affordable timers considering shared ownership, Morley homes are on the as demand wildly exceeds supply. of the week way as part of a Some 1,000 new shared-ownership a divine way VISIT homesandproperty.co.uk/ regeneration homes are on their way at Canary rules for details of our usual programme in Wharf and Docklands. Meanwhile, the to run a Herts promotion rules. When you the north London little-known Zone 4 outpost of Colin- respond to promotions, offers or suburb of dale will contribute another 900 prop- vineyard competitions, the London Evening Colindale erties to the affordable market. Standard and its sister companies This comfortably exceeds the num- may contact you with relevant bers on site at better-known central offers and services that may be of London regeneration zones such as £1.75 million: if you love to interest. Please give your mobile Nine Elms at Vauxhall and Battersea, wine and dine, a fantastic number and/or email address if where 750 affordable homes are being opportunity awaits in the you would like to receive such built; or Canning Town and the Royal foothills of the Chilterns, in Sauvignon and rosé styles, sits at the entrance to the offers by text or email. Docks, where 730 shared-ownership the beauty spot of Frithsden, with the grapes pressed and vineyard and has four flats are on the way. Hertfordshire. the wine bottled in the on- bedrooms, two bathrooms, a Editorial: 020 3615 2650 Most affordable homes go to buyers Frithsden Vineyard was site winery. dual-aspect sitting room, a Advertisement manager: who already live or work in the local bought by wine enthusiasts They do a roaring trade in vaulted and galleried dining Ann Finan borough — so first-timers would be well in 2006 and planted with the charming vineyard shop room and a spacious Advertising: 020 3615 0266 advised to get to know the key areas in 6,000 vines over five rolling and café, which also hosts kitchen/breakfast room. It’s Homes & Property, Northcliffe today’s study, and consider renting acres — producing popular tastings, foodie evenings and on the market with Knight House, 2 Derry Street, Kensington, locally to meet eligibility criteria. Riesling/Pinot Gris, bespoke parties. The house Frank (01442 738084). London W8 5TT. O Find Ruth Bloomfield’s full story at homesandproperty.co.uk London buy of the week be well connected, well exercised and well fed in Poplar’s new village

£400,000: just a few minutes away from Canary Wharf, in well-connected Poplar, E14, Aberfeldy Village is launching this autumn. The smart new east London development will offer a collection of high-spec luxury flats and has been well thought-out by its award- winning architects. This one-bedroom flat on the second floor has open-plan living/kitchen and dining areas opening to a balcony, plus a separate utility room and large bedroom. There will be an on-site gym, a media lounge, concierge and bicycle storage. The village will have shops and restaurants, healthcare and open spaces, plus excellent transport links, including Crossrail from next year. Through Hamptons International (020 3451 1544). By Faye Greenslade EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 5 JULY 2017 5 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by News | Homes & Property Yulia’s Fulham rental has the advantage

É KAZAKHSTAN’S rising tennis star Yulia Putintseva, left, has made an early Wimbledon exit but at least she has an ace Fulham retreat to recover in for the rest of the summer. Putintseva, 22, found the four- bedroom home for £290 a night on

Under the Doormat (underthe REX doormat.com), a short-letting service Captivated by a Kentish farmhouse: that operates in Zones 1 and 2. She Gregg Wallace and wife Anne-Marie loves the beaches and lifestyle of Florida, where she is based, but says: Gregg will cook up “It’s easy to fall in love with London. Everything is so green. There are so a storm in his new many things to enjoy about Fulham, too, including the coffee shops and farmhouse kitchen Italian and sushi restaurants.” The house has a huge kitchen and a É MASTERCHEF presenter Gregg garden, where Putintseva plans to Wallace has invested in a £1 million

GETTY entertain friends during her stay. farmhouse in Kent. The five-bedroom property, below, close to the Kent Downs, sits in five acres of land and has its own stables and pond. Not surprisingly, the kitchen was a big selling point for greengrocer-turned-foodie TV Homes personality Wallace, 52. The West House, a Michelin-star GETTY GETTY restaurant serving contemporary British food in Biddenden, will be Better be quick, Kim. Jackie O’s handy for the father of two and his gossip Washington mansion is for sale fourth wife, caterer Anne-Marie Sterpini, 31. Peckham-born Wallace is rumoured to be leaving Whitstable By Amira Hashish Got some gossip? Tweet @amiranews É THE childhood home of Jackie mansion covering 23,000sq ft on on the north Kent coast to move into Kennedy Onassis is for sale — and four levels, with nine bedrooms and his new place next month. these walls were made for talking. 13 bathrooms, all of which have Coldplay drummer Will Champion St Lucia’s got just the right mix for Perrie Possibly the highest-priced house in been extensively renovated. The and actress Denise van Outen also Washington DC’s most elite suburb, large master suite has his-and-hers have houses nearby. With trains from É LITTLE MIX Merrywood is a Georgian-style dressing rooms, a private study and Ashford International to St Pancras singer Perrie mansion built in 1919 in 46 acres an exercise room. There is also a taking less than 40 minutes, it’s a Edwards, right, overlooking the Potomac River. climate-controlled wine room and a commuter favourite, too. posted snaps of Now on a more manageable seven lift to all floors. Outside, the her Caribbean acres, the estate has hosted terraces for dining have a full hols with soccer Washington’s power brokers and kitchen, and there’s a tennis court star boyfriend superstars down the decades, from and an outdoor swimming pool. Alex Oxlade- Kirk Douglas to Michael Jackson. It There’s also an indoor pool with Chamberlain to was visited so many times by separate gym and changing rooms. her 6.5 million President John Kennedy and his Apparently, reality TV star Kim Instagram fans. First Lady, above right, in the Sixties Kardashian, above left, is such a The couple stayed that the secret service gave it the Jackie O fan that she splashed out in new over-the- official codename Hamlet. £292,000 on a watch that belonged water bungalows The current owner, America Online to her at a recent Rare Watches and at Sandals Grande co-founder Steve Case, has listed American Icons sale at Christie’s. St Lucian. A week the house for sale for £38 million. She could be the perfect buyer for all-inclusive starts It’s a classic brick and limestone this grand house. at £5,825 per person. Visit O For more celebrity gossip, visit homesandproperty.co.uk/gossip £1 million: the Wallaces will reportedly sandals.co.uk. move to their new home next month 6 WEDNESDAY 5 JULY 2017 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | New homes homesandproperty.co.uk powered by

Left: about a third of homes at Chelsea Creek will fall into the affordable category. For now, full-price three-bedroom homes start at £2.85 million

Right: more than half of homes at 9 Riverside, near Wandsworth Town station, will be aimed at buyers with household incomes of less than £46,000 The affordable homes scheme is in chaos — but some builders are keeping their promises

HE ink is just drying on Lear, chief executive of would shy away from living cheek-by- giving them separate entrances to the Full of good intentions planning permission for developments, says they will maintain jowl with this new form of social same building. yet another new the number of affordable homes on housing. “Historically, there has been Ironically, this attitude persisted (most of the time) but apartment scheme on the offer, honouring their responsibilities a stigma about affordable housing,” even as the profile of shared- so often fraught with banks of the Thames. With to the local community. The says Charles Holland, head of ownership buyers began to change. A Tits steel and glass design, the affordable flats will also be larger than residential development and policy initially set up to assist low- problems, it is time to crescent-shaped building will not originally agreed, to comply with investment at estate agents Marsh & earning key workers is now expensive look dramatically different when it is latest space requirements. Parsons. “There was concern on both enough to be the province of the sort out the affordable completed by 2020 to the dozens of Frasers has balanced the books by sides about integration.” young professional. As Holland says: gleaming new blocks that already increasing the size of 9 Riverside. It These concerns led to some creative “Affordable is a young, middle-class homes mess, says line the river. will have the originally agreed 93 moves. At One Hyde Park in market.” But this project by Singapore-based affordable homes, which will be Knightsbridge, London’s most Then, in 2011, the Government Ruth Bloomfield Frasers Property UK has one allocated by a housing association in a expensive block of flats, affordable threw a curve ball. With the recession important difference. At a time when deal which will not profit Frasers, homes were built at a separate block in full swing and property prices firms regularly slash the proportion of alongside 79 private flats. in Pimlico. Other developers started tumbling, it ordered councils to allow affordable homes in their schemes, These two very different examples making cash payments to local developers to renegotiate their saying they can no longer fund them, of how firms are handling their councils to fund affordable homes affordable housing commitments the developers of this new building commitments illustrate the chaos elsewhere in the borough, while yet downwards if they felt their scheme will be offering 93 flats out of the total which currently reigns in London more introduced the hated system of had become financially unviable. 172 at first-time buyer-friendly prices. when it comes to providing affordable “poor doors” — literally segregating Holland says some firms did find One-bedroom homes and some two- homes on private developments. private and affordable owners by themselves in genuine financial bedroom flats at 9 Riverside, at the junction of the Thames and the River THE MESS WE’RE IN Planning row: Thinking of Wandle, half a mile from Wandsworth In 1995, with prices soaring and the Wandsworth Town station, will be aimed at buyers capital’s housing crisis deepening, the council has moving? with household incomes of less than Government made the inclusion of approved a cut in £46,000. Full prices for homes in the affordable homes on private the number of Start your same building start at £720,000 for a developments compulsory. Most affordable two-bedroom flat. London councils expect about a third homes at the search on The project was granted planning of homes to be built for squeezed Battersea Power consent by Wandsworth council, Londoners who already live or work Station scheme which — to the “fury” of London in their area. Mayor Sadiq Khan — recently allowed Unsurprisingly, developers did not Battersea Power Station developers to immediately welcome the new rules. slash the number of affordable homes Part of their discomfort was financial; there by 250. Nine per cent of the as Dominic Grace, head of London homes on the Battersea site will now residential development at Savills be affordable. points out, developers are businesses Prices have fallen and construction not charities, and affordable homes costs risen since Frasers first struck its eat into their profits. They also feared deal on affordable housing but Simon rich buyers in search of trophy homes EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 5 JULY 2017 7 New homes | Homes & Property

Left: homes with two bedrooms at East Village in Stratford, the former 2012 Olympic athletes’ village, rent for less than £1,500 a month and are aimed at tenants with lower incomes

Left: 9 Riverside is by Frasers Property UK, which promises to stick to its original pledge of making 93 of 172 new ﬂats “affordable”

problems as construction costs rose MORE GOOD GUYS the former to help fund the latter. One and prices fell, particularly as the cost About a third of the homes being built of the largest of these schemes of building on contaminated land or at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park currently on the market is Excalibur renovating a tricky historic property in Stratford will be affordable. in Catford (excaliburse6.co.uk), a can be far higher than on an Some will be sold on a shared- regeneration of the former Excalibur uncomplicated site. However, he ownership basis, with others rented at Estate, where about six in 10 of 371 claims some firms have abused the subsidised levels — a nod to the fact homes will be affordable. The next system, apparently pleading poverty that it is not only first-time buyers tranche of one- and two-bedroom in order to up their profit. who are being priced out of the city flats goes on sale in September, with “The viability process is not a but renters, too. pricing yet to be confirmed. perfect one, there is ambiguity which At East Village, the former athletes’ Private developers are also taking up can be subject to interpretation,” he village, Triathlon Homes is renting the affordable challenge. About a says. “It has been up to local two-bedroom flats for just under third of the homes in Berkeley Homes’ authorities to fight sometimes very £1,500 a month to households with huge Chelsea Creek scheme will be difficult battles to keep affordable in a incomes of between £48,000 and affordable. Young buyers have part- scheme.” £90,000 (triathlonhomes.com). owned small flats at the site alongside The good news is that for every Housing associations, which are some of the wealthiest buyers in the scheme with virtually no affordable becoming increasingly important capital, without any discernible housing there are plenty of genuinely players in London’s property market, problems, for several years — so any mixed, genuinely sustainable are also successfully merging private fears that might persist about social developments. and affordable housebuilding, using friction on mixed developments have proved groundless here. At present, the only homes for sale at the creek are three-bedroom apartments priced at £2.85 million (berkeleygroup.co.uk). But another phase of smaller flats is expected to be launched this year or next. With developers finally getting on board with affordable housing, Savills’ Dominic Grace observes that including low-cost homes in a project can actually add to its appeal. “People talk about ‘place making’ all the time,” he says. “We all know that what makes a great place is a mix of people all living together.” Charles Holland of Marsh & Parsons agrees. “Having a more diverse community makes a development a more vibrant, exciting Six in 10 affordable homes: ﬂats at Excalibur in Catford go on sale in September place to live,” he says. 8 WEDNESDAY 5 JULY 2017 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Regeneration Mad about Barking Locally born Darren Rodwell is on a mission to turn Barking into Barcelona on Thames. The deprived borough of 100 nationalities will be a hotspot with 50,000 new homes in 20 years, he tells David Taylor

ARKING AND Dagenham, jokes locally born, passionate council leader Darren Rodwell, is half the price of Richmond in the Bwest, half the journey time away from the centre, but twice the fun. It has a bold mission to become “Barcelona on Thames”, thanks to its huge Barking Riverside scheme, and a string of other projects in the pipeline, with plans to underpin its success with jobs, not least in attracting artists and makers. The area once enjoyed generations of industrial employment with big players including Ford. Regeneration plans are aimed at attracting new investment with a focus on new affordable homes. “In this borough,

you can get a three-bedroom house, LYNCH DANIEL 100ft garden, two cars on the front, “For every Londoner”: Barking Market, part of the area’s down-to-earth appeal still for under £300,000,” says Rodwell, 47. “There’s nowhere else in rethinking how health and care plus commercial space, restaurants, London that can happen.” services can be delivered. There’s a bars and cafés. Project director of That, and the fact that Barking plan to put the heavily polluting A13 Barking Riverside London, Matthew station is 15 minutes into the city on below ground in a tunnel and build Carpen, says L&Q and London Mayor the Fenchurch line make this an 15,000 new homes on top, linking into Sadiq Khan are involved in a joint the riverside. Another 6,000 homes venture to provide affordable homes. are being built in the town centre. The project is the redevelopment of a former power station site with a rich Rodwell wants people to stay. He has history of buildings, jetties and set up Be First, an arm’s-length wharves, enriched by ecology and the housing company owned by the river. One of Europe’s biggest council with Lord Kerslake at its helm, brownfield regeneration sites, it has a expected to quadruple the borough’s mile-and-a-quarter of south-facing 500-600 homes output per year. Thames-side space and a river The old Ford stamping plant that walkway. A total of 700 homes are inspired the hit musical Made in already built and occupied, including Dagenham will become 2,650 homes three-storey townhouses with gardens as well as a new school and industrial and balconies. A further 400 homes museum of east London on 42 acres. are under construction, of which Rodwell is talking to Legacy, the Bellway is selling one-, two- and three- LUCY YOUNG LUCY Driven: council leader Darren Rodwell affordable housing venture from bedroom units now, ranging from footballers Rio Ferdinand, Mark £249,000 and £351,000, while L&Q attractive proposition. London is Noble and Bobby Zamora, “with has flats for rent from £1,300 a month. moving east, says Rodwell, but he is around 700 homes in the offing in A second phase will start on site next keen to learn from past mistakes on London’s first youth zone, a kind of month with 380 units, with sales from large-scale regeneration. “We’re not leisure centre for young people”. June next year and occupation the looking for gentrification. We’re Then there is the so-called Barcelona following summer. looking for aspirational working-class on Thames itself — Barking Riverside. people. We want to make a place for This will bring 10,800 new homes Elsewhere, 360 Barking is a project to every Londoner.” design 291 homes in a series of The local authority wants to be the cylindrical towers of up to 28 storeys first borough to create an affordable in the town centre, with the ground private rented sector, at the London floor devoted to a creative hub for an Living Wage. It has a goal of building arts organisation. Lymington Mews, 50,000 homes inside 20 years. It meanwhile, comprises 610 homes in already boasts that over 90 per cent of North Dagenham, and its second its schools are rated Ofsted “good” to phase is now being built out, a “outstanding”, and the borough has mixture of two-, three- and four- one of the lowest crime rates around. bedroom houses and one- and two- It is also looking to build one of the bedroom flats. Other projects include largest film studios to be created in 25 redevelopment of the Vicarage Field years, and at new live/work spaces for Shopping Centre site for a major artists with an artist enterprise zone, Quality ﬂat: Alex and his ﬁancée mixed-use scheme by 360 Barking all to attract entrepreneurs. designers Egret West with 900 homes, ALEX SWEETING, 27, bought a third- a primary school, cinema, music The borough has more public green floor, two-bedroom balcony flat at venue and 150-room hotel. space than any other in London, adds Barking Riverside with his now- If you have not got the message Rodwell. And for those who think it is fiancée in 2013. “Elsewhere we already, Rodwell says: “It’s all a schlep, Barking has four train lines couldn’t have got anything like the happening in Barking and Dagenham. including two Tubes and plans a new size or quality of what we bought It’s why I’ve gone grey.” rail link to the riverside by 2021 — it is here,” he says. awaiting the green light from Alex works in the City in email O Barking riverside: register your government imminently, after a marketing and co-chairs the interest in L&Q rental homes at lqgroup. public inquiry — while the Elizabeth residents’ association in Barking. It org.uk/find-a-property/details/191. line will stop on the border of the has set up a shop and community Homes for sale: visit bellway.co.uk/new- borough at Chadwell Heath. garden, organised night walks and homes/essex/caspian-quarter Its approach to housing is innova- social trips to the local cafés. “It’s a tive. Barking Riverside will be the only great place,” adds Alex. O 360 Barking: visit 360Barking.co.uk “healthy new town” in London, or call 020 3675 8554 EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 5 JULY 2017 9 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by Finance | Homes & Property The mortgage doors are opening to older There is a borrowers. Holly Thomas seeks out the helpful lenders money tree

OMEOWNERS in their forties and fifties can easily become trapped with expensive mortgages if they are refused a new Hdeal because of their age. Banks and building societies can be reluctant to approve home loans that may extend beyond retirement age

when incomes are likely to drop. GETTY But there are plenty of borrowers who will earn enough these days — past as more of us live and work for longer the state retirement age — to support a Biggest UK lenders are increasingly accepting an mortgage, either through working lender the anticipated retirement age of 70 where longer or by using income from savings plausible. More lenders are beginning and investments. And there are many Halifax will to stretch the maximum age as they reasons why they might need to borrow lend to 80. recognise it may exclude borrowers much later in life. Here we explore the who are perfectly able to take advantage problem and look at solutions. Nationwide of the low rates currently on offer.” and smaller WHO NEEDS MONEY? societies WHERE YOU CAN GO TO BORROW Long gone are the days when people UP TO AGE 85 — AND BEYOND aimed to pay off their mortgage by the will lend up Skipton edged the maximum age up to time they were 50. People are taking to age 85. 80 to expand the range of options for longer to get on to the property ladder, older borrowers who can afford a mort- while lifestyle changes, including Leek United gage. Others who have relaxed their divorce or the need to remortgage to doesn’t have rules include Nationwide, which will release equity to help grown-up chil- lend to age 85, so up to age 55 you can dren or grandchildren on to the ladder, a maximum still have a 30-year mortgage. Halifax mean more people want to keep their age at all will lend to the age of 80. loan going for longer. L&C’s David Hollingworth says: Some might want to take on a bigger “Smaller building societies are often mortgage for a more expensive house, more flexible and many can consider which may mean extending the term lending up to 85, such as Market Har- of the loan to make monthly repay- borough, Bath Building Society, Mans- ments more affordable. Others are field and even beyond. Leek United sitting on their lenders’ standard vari- doesn’t have a maximum age at all.” able rate, or SVR, to which mortgages Adrian Anderson, director of mort- revert at the end of a fixed-term deal, gage broker Anderson Harris, says the enjoying low repayments. However, challenger bank Metro is more they might want to lock into a fixed-rate switched on than the others. loan to protect against a hike in “If you have unquestionable long- monthly repayments, should interest term ability to service and repay the rates look like they might move loan through income from a buy-to-let upwards. property, investments, a pension or a There is also a group of borrowers trust, then Metro does not have a who have been paying an interest-only maximum age that the mortgage needs mortgage for decades who won’t have to be paid back by.” the money to repay the loan, and will need to take out further borrowing. The loans available to older borrowers are the same deals offered to those of No matter what the reason for wanting any age. There are fees to factor in, and to remortgage, the maximum age limits these can amount to about £1,000, but imposed by lenders can leave borrow- again, these are not dependent on age. ers shut out of the market even when Hollingworth adds: “In some cases they can demonstrate good income. lenders have loans specifically for older Part of the problem is that lenders borrowers which may be more expen- won’t use common sense, says Mark sive. So you need to shop around to Harris, chief executive of mortgage make sure that you get the best rate broker SPF Private Clients. “It is not possible.” inconceivable that a consultant, for You can choose a fixed-rate mortgage, example, could work into their eight- where monthly repayments are set in ies. A common-sense approach is stone for a period, or a tracker loan required, something readily adopted which moves up or down with the Bank by smaller building societies but not so of England base rate. You will also need much by the larger volume players.” to go through affordability checks to With mortgage rates at record lows, ensure you can afford to make the signing up to a new loan can save you monthly repayments. You will need to money. show proof of income and declare all outgoings, including any other debts. FLEXIBILITY IS OUT THERE Some banks and building societies are GET ADVICE FROM becoming more flexible about lending THOSE IN THE to people into retirement. David KNOW Hollingworth at L&C Mort- To find a broker gages says: “Older bor- who might increase rowers have found times your chances of get- tougher as lenders ting the cheapest have imposed limits mortgage, visit unbi- to the maximum age ased.co.uk or that a mortgage can vouchedfor.co.uk be taken to, typi- where previous cli-

GETTY cally to 70 or 75. Yet ents leave reviews. 10 WEDNESDAY 5 JULY 2017 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Commuting

£795,000: REAM of the perfect a six-bedroom market town and it will detached house probably look a lot like in Farnborough. Whitchurch, Hampshire, The perfect Through Romans with its historic charm (01252 915003) Dand lovely location on the River Test — famous for salmon fishing and surrounded by water meadows. A Hampshire wonderful staging point for the North Wessex Downs, Whitchurch was home to author Richard Adams, who set his children’s classic Watership Down in the local countryside. village Whitchurch CofE Primary School is “good” according to Ofsted, while the local secondary, Testbourne Fishing on the Test, cricket on the Community School, is rated “outstanding”. Whitchurch property green. Ruth Bloomfield finds ranges from beamed 15th-century cottages, to brick-and-flint terraces, an idyll just an hour from London to modern executive homes and some rather grand manor houses on the outskirts. This small but busy town has football, cricket and squash clubs, an amateur dramatic society and an annual beer festival. There are useful shops, several pubs — The Red House is very popular — and rush-hour trains to Waterloo take about an hour. An annual season ticket costs £4,448. Whitchurch heads a list of the most successful commuter towns in the county of Hampshire. New research from Savills shows it has seen price growth of 45 per cent over the last five years, to an average of £324,927. “Whitchurch is the best of both worlds,” says David Dobson, sales ALAMY manager at Graham & Co estate associate at Carson & Co estate Historic charm: agents. “It has that rural feel, a lot of agents. About £400,000 buys a two- the town centre heritage, and it is cheap compared to to three-bedroom cottage, with a in Whitchurch, London.” A three-bedroom period four-bedroom, detached executive Hampshire cottage in the town centre would cost home from about £700,000. about £300,000, a four-bedroom detached house in one of the small FARNBOROUGH Eighties/Nineties-built developments For something larger, Farnborough is would be £500,000 to £550,000, not a beauty but it has had price and a five-bedroom house on the growth of 35 per cent in the past five edge of town, with an acre or two, years, to an average of £309,200. would start at about £800,000. There are plenty of shops, some very dull — but an £80 million revamp is WINCHFIELD changing all that. The nearest competitor to Trains to Waterloo take 38 minutes Whitchurch, according to today’s and an annual season ticket costs study, is Winchfield, with five-year £3,760. South Farnborough Junior price growth of 38 per cent bringing School, South Farnborough Infant average prices to £487,129. School, St Mark’s CofE Aided Primary This speck of a village off the M3, so School and North Farnborough easy for shopping at nearby Fleet and Infant School get top Ofsted marks. Hook, has a mainline station with 49- The Wavell School, a local co-ed minute rush-hour trains to Waterloo. secondary school, gets a “good” An annual season ticket costs £3,908. report. There is no shop, although there are According to Greg Rowse, director a couple of pubs, and every other of Greg James estate agents, the hot year locals organise a music festival. spot is Farnborough Park, where It’s a drive to Greenfields Junior leafy streets are lined with four- to School in nearby Hartley Wintney, five-bedroom detached houses from rated “good” by Ofsted. Another red £750,000 to £800,000. A first-time flag is that Hart district council has buyer price tag of £275,000 will buy proposed a major housing you a modern flat within walking development on the village fringes, distance of the town centre. vigorously opposed by locals. “Winchfield is basically a station, two pubs and about 200 houses, HANTS COMMUTER HOTSPOTS barely a village, but there are some Travel Season Average Five-year time ticket second-hand price lovely homes,” says Gavin Myers, Station (mins) price (£) home price * growth (%) Bentley 60 £3,896 £542,114 23 Winchester 58 £4,952 £510,347 33 Winchfield 49 £3,908 £487,129 38 Micheldever 57 £4,484 £467,276 4 Liphook 63 £4,020 £422,779 27 Hook 53 £3,980 £407,405 26 Fleet 44 £3,820 £395,352 23 Whitchurch 61 £4,448 £324,927 45 Overton 55 £4,440 £321,182 21 Farnborough (main) 38 £3,760 £309,200 35 GERAINT LEWIS Inspiration: Watership Down, setting Aldershot 47 £3,720 £262,525 28 for the eponymous children’s novel Basingstoke 44 £4,308 £240,362 32 * 12 months to Oct 2016. Source: Savills Research using Land Registry & National Rail Find a Hampshire commute 12 WEDNESDAY 5 JULY 2017 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Events

PROTOTYPES AND EXPERIMENTS July 13 to August 19. The Aram Gallery, 110 Drury Lane, Covent Garden WC2 (thearamgallery.org) THE Aram family — father Zeev, daughter Ruth and son Daniel — have a gallery in their huge contemporary furniture and lighting store in Covent Garden. Here, in their annual summer show, curated by the dynamic Riya Patel, are models, samples, tests and drawings from 15 designers and five architects that illuminate the process of design. It’s a must-see for career hopefuls PAPER AND CLAY: PAOLA PARONETTO and/or cardboard. This is thin, light in design and architecture. Included July 13 to August 5. Contemporary and rigid, but textured with ridges, are Ineke Hans — whose show models, and Rezzan Hasoglu, who Ceramics Centre, 63 Great Russell folds and creases. On show are shapes Breathing Colour is currently at the uses sand to texture cups and bowls. Street, WC1 (020 7242 9644; evoking tubes, bowls and cacti. Firing Design Museum — Shin Azumi, Sam Shore Rugs, for outdoors, are hand- cpaceramics.com) has given them a final twist. Prices Jacob Studio and Samuel Wilkinson. woven to order in London from IT HAS taken Paola Paronetto nearly from £60 to £850, with bottles from New faces are Leeds College silicone cord. Designers Louie 30 years to perfect her paper clay, 30cm to 100cm tall, and bowls from graduate Theo Riviere, who creates Rigano and Gil Muller made this which is a mix of porcelain and paper 15cm to 45cm in diameter. patterns from experimental 3D one, above, specially for the show. Five things to see in July By Barbara Chandler

WALALA X PLAY July 14 to September 24. NOW Gallery, The Gateway Pavilions, geometric motifs in brilliant hues, Peninsula Square, Greenwich Peninsula SE10 above, on to zig-zagging walls, (nowgallery.co.uk) narrow passageways, open spaces, POP goes the architecture, as east London and “secret” alcoves, enhanced with artist Camille Walala creates a playful maze suspended shapes and amplified in Peninsula Square, putting her trademark with mirrors.

FRANCO GRIGNANI: ART AS DESIGN, 1950-1990 Until September 5. Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art, 39a Canonbury Square, N1 (020 7704 9522; estorickcollection.com) WE ALL know the Woolmark, the black-and-white twisted ball of yarn that signifies a product in “pure new wool”. Recognised worldwide, this logo is a guarantee of a natural quality fibre for furnishings and fashion. Perhaps less well-known is that it was commissioned from artist Franco Grignani in 1964 and typifies a huge body of “futurist” work devoted to similar optical effects, much of it in this JERWOOD MAKERS OPEN 2017 show, Until August 27. Jerwood Space, 171 Union including Street, SE1 (jerwoodvisualarts.org) posters for THE five emerging artist/makers who win Pirelli, left. the annual Jerwood Prize receive £7,500 to O Late realise “significant new projects” — plus opening the chance to exhibit the results. Go along until 9pm to this free show and see what they did each with the money. Juli Bolaños-Durman, Thursday above, has assembled a glowing, opulent this month. installation made of recycled glass. EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 5 JULY 2017 13 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by Homes abroad | Homes & Property

Great train links, city Berlin café culture: with three rivers, the city offers ‘Cutting-edge centre flats for £140k waterfront locations and a new tech culture and the sector — it’s time to outdoor life make buy in the German the perfect mix’ capital, discovers Cathy Hawker

ERLIN is a city on the move. It’s the capital of Europe’s largest economy with blos- soming tech and media sec- tors attracting the brightest internationalB staff, yet its overwhelm- Green space fan: Simon Knockton ingly liberal, youthful population relocated to Berlin from London makes it vibrant and culturally dynamic. SIMON KNOCKTON moved to Berlin Twenty-seven years after the fall of its from London three years ago, infamous wall, Berlin is an exciting setting up his communication place to live. It offers the dual pleasures consultancy nowthen.io to work

of an attractive business environment ALAMY with business leaders on brand and and an affordable cost of living. No sur- digital projects. prise, then, that about 60,000 new “I love the pace of life and culture arrivals move in every year with up to in Berlin,” says Knockton, 32. “It is three-quarters of them aged under 30. Berlin: liberal, youthful such an international city offering a This expanding population has great mix of cutting-edge culture, helped property prices rise by an interesting politics and the annual 12 per cent since 2011 but outdoors. It covers the same area as because of their exceptionally low and culturally dynamic London but has one third of the starting point they still lag well behind population, and green space is Paris and London and are 35 per cent getting around easy.” Recent changes from £107. Also in lively and attractive everywhere. Winter is super-cold lower than in Munich. in Berlin are shown by the newly hip Kreuzberg, Liegnitzer Strasse is a and in summer you are guaranteed areas. Top billing still goes to stately restored 1900s five-storey building hot weather for months. Everyone PICK OF THE DISTRICTS Charlottenburg and on-trend Mitte but with 23 apartments from £140,000 to lives outside and at local lakes.” “Berlin’s 12 areas are each like a differ- Kreuzberg is catching up fast while £261,000, for studios and one-bed- It took him six months to find his ent city,” says Sven Henkes, managing Neukölln, 10 years ago considered a room homes, through Knight Frank. own rental flat in Kreuzberg. director of Knight Frank associates no-go district for international inves- Sven Henkes says these flats, with high “Competition for rentals is fierce but Ziegert. “Architecture, shops and tors, saw a 91 per cent increase in prices ceilings, period features but no lift, once you secure a home you have a atmosphere change dramatically between 2012 and last year. would rent well and the first five lot more security than in the UK. I’ve between them but a good public trans- released for sale were reserved within one of Berlin’s best bakeries on my port system of trams, metro and S-Bahn NEW-BUILD HOMES two days. street, a smart cocktail bar and a [rapid transit railway system] with Cranes are whirring throughout the International developers have also From £256,000: for studios to three- buzzing Saturday farmer’s market.” innovative car-share schemes make city with significant new residential seen the potential in Berlin. Irish com- bedroom ﬂats at No 1 Charlottenburg development in both Mediaspree, the pany Cannon & Cannon is starting telecoms and media hub, and in the construction on an interesting site on Cannon of Cannon & Cannon. “The sold off-plan — start from £268,000 and 100 acres of the Europacity quarter the River Spree in the prime district of apartments are on a bend in the river, range from 667sq ft to 1,895sq ft. This near Berlin Central Station. Charlottenburg. No 1 Charlottenburg three minutes’ walk from Tiergarten newly launched project will eventually Close to Potsdamer Platz and over- will have 272 apartments in 15 hand- [the city’s “green lung” public park] have 578 units in 14 buildings with looking a large, family-friendly park, some buildings grouped around a and close to the shops on Ku’ Damm attractive brick and plaster finishes and Wohnpanorama is a 100-unit devel- central green garden. The studio to [the Kurfürstendamm designer shop- full-height windows. This is a less- opment set to complete by 2020. Good three-bedroom homes of 420sq ft to ping boulevard].” The project is also established area of Charlottenburg, train links connect all of Berlin within 1,625sq ft start off-plan from £256,000, beside the KPM Quarter, the porcelain- two minutes’ walk from handsome 15 minutes and the business district is with parking from £43,000 and maker once owned by the Prussian Versailles-style Schlosspark. nearby. One- to three-bedroom homes monthly service charges from £120. king, now home to cafés and a museum start from £200,000 for 441sq ft to “The location appealed because it in beautiful industrial buildings. O Ziegert: through Knight Frank 2,013sq ft through Knight Frank, most links Berlin’s two most prestigious Larger, more family-focused apart- (knightfrank.com) From £140,000: homes in Liegnitzer with parking and park views. Monthly areas — Mitte and Charlottenburg — and ments at Am Schlosspark — studios O No 1 Charlottenburg: Strasse, a restored period building service charges including heating start is quiet but central,” explains Denise to four-bedroom homes, also being no1charlottenburg.de 14 WEDNESDAY 5 JULY 2017 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Design

HILE homeowners Mix and match: left, The Conran understandably Shop’s Columbia Graphic cushion, agonise over buying £85 (conranshop.co.uk); below a new sofa or dining left, One Nine Eight Five Tassel table, investing in a cushion, £125 (onenineeightﬁve. newW cushion is easy by comparison — co.uk) and a smart move. Cushions are a relatively cheap way Below: swing seat and seat pad, a of changing your room from season collaboration between Lelièvre to season with dramatic bangs of and Mermelada Estudio, price on colour and style, providing a application (mermeladaestudio. snapshot of new trends to bring an es). Cushions to left and far right, interior right up to date. £53.50, middle cushion, £64.50, all To maximise their impact, plump from Lelièvre’s Evasions collection for larger ones. It helps that (lelievre.eu) Out of the blue: Côte d’Azur cushion, designers are literally thinking £48.50 from Sarah Campbell Designs outside the box, eschewing run-of- (sarahcampbelldesigns.com) the-mill square cushions in favour of countless forms and generous rather than paltry sizes. Cushions are the current craze, with some shaped like the objects they depict. Leading the way is hip London firm Silken Favours, with cushions based on founder Vicki Murdoch’s pen-and-ink drawings. These oversize juicy strawberries, plump pineapples, Design trends Statement cushions inject drama, colour and style to lift Tall tail: Monkey Puzzle cushion by Holly Frean from Andrew Martin, £59 a whole room, discovers Dominic Lutyens (andrewmartin.co.uk) ANIMAL MAGIC watermelon wedges, rainbows and plumped arrangements — casually British prisoners in paid needlework, Add a touch of wit and whimsy with even flying pigs are fun (from £95, scattered cushions feel relaxed and combines traditional sewing Scion Living’s elongated Mr Fox silkenfavours.com). inviting,” advises David Harris, design techniques and a nod to Regency (£45, scion.uk.com); Holly Frean’s Other quirkily shaped confections director at Andrew Martin, where a canework (£95, pentreath-hall.com). Monkey Puzzle cushion for Andrew include The Room Alive’s Cairo new range includes the multicoloured Cushions can even spell decadence. Martin featuring hyperactive triangular design (£16, theroomalive. Serengeti design (£49, andrewmartin. One Nine Eight Five’s tassel monkeys (£59, andrewmartin.co.uk) com) and Christien Meindertsma’s co.uk). These are handmade and cushion recalls a Twenties flapper or Arthouse’s Sixties-retro Fun large, huggable Pigeon cushion from stuffed with fire-retardant duck dress (£125, onenineeightfive.co.uk) Circus lion head cushion (£12.99, London’s Design Museum (£175, feathers and down, though some have while Jean-Paul Gaultier’s claret arthouse.com). Emma Shipley’s designmuseumshop.com). synthetic filling for the allergy-prone. Tango cushion for Lelièvre evokes a Neptune cushion has a fantastical “Don’t be afraid to combine patterns Thirties tea dance (£97.50, lelievre. scene of jellyfish and flamingos COMFY CLOUDS — — ikats, florals, geometrics, animal eu). More lavish still is the Nansa scrambling over the seabed (£95, AND DESIGNER TIPS motifs,” adds Harris. “Choose indoor swing with a velvet seat, by emmajshipley.com). The pouffe is a variation on the cushions with piping in a contrasting Lelièvre and Spain’s Mermelada Painterly cushions from Sarah theme. Joshua Ino reinterprets it shade as details like this draw the Estudio (price on application, Campbell Designs include Matisse- with his Stoof — a hybrid of a pouffe eye. Opt for different textures. Velvet mermeladaestudio.es). influenced Côte d’Azur (£48.50, and a stool. Made of chipboard, foam feels luxurious, linen informal.” Salon cushions from Ferm Living sarahcampbelldesigns.com), and and stretch jersey fabric, with heat- Reversible feather cushions from come in rich, contrasting patterns artist Philip Sutton’s cushion, like transferred images of blue or rosy Also Home are velvet on one side, that harmonise (£99, naken.co.uk). one of his impressionistic paintings skies, it’s designed to create a linen on the other (£29, alsohome. And The Conran Shop’s Columbia (£115; shop.royalacademy.org.uk). sensation of floating on clouds when com). Pentreath & Hall’s oblong Graphic cushion is trimmed with you sit on it (price on application, Regency Caning cushion for Fine Cell tangerine piping and pompoms (£85, Spot-on: Silken Favours’ Leopard joshino.com). “Avoid overly formal or Work, a social enterprise that trains conranshop.co.uk). cushion, £130 (silkenfavours.com) 16 WEDNESDAY 5 JULY 2017 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Design Where to buy from the top new designers Hotfoot it to N1 and see work by graduates in architecture, textiles, ceramics, furniture, glass, jewellery and fashion. By Barbara Chandler HE New Designers of 2017 and jewellery to illustration, furniture, are in town, setting up camp ceramics and glass. A special room on at Business Design Centre in the first floor is for “One Year On” Islington until Saturday. In graduates who have made it to market. this important annual show- Their work is for sale, so it’s your caseT for emerging design, more than chance to buy into fresh talent. Here, 3,000 new graduates from 200 British we focus on six of them. colleges display their final work, from architecture, interiors, textiles, fashion O Visit newdesigners.com; tweet #ND17

INSPIRED BY TV SITCOM, A COMPACT SOFA PERFECT FOR SMALL FLATS

MATTHEW POPE, 24, was a product it to New Designers last summer, and is on display at One Year On. “I’m and furniture design student at won a prize to exhibit at 100% Design aiming particularly at people who Nottingham Trent University when he in the autumn. Since then, he’s found a live in small flats,” he says. “My sofa saw an episode of Friends on TV in UK manufacturer and designed another can go with you when you move.” He which Ross was trying to shift a bulky modular sofa, the Topi, which is more loves to solve problems, and more sofa up a flight of stairs. compact and has a choice of distinctive designs are in the pipeline. The Topi Pope’s design for a sofa that could removable covers for each section. sofa starts from about £1,000. be split into parts was born. He took Pope is perched on a Topi, above, which O mattefurniture.com

Elegant GEORGE RIDING, 24, graduated in 3D design at Northumbria University pieces where he is now a designer in residence, though he craves a studio in for London. His pieces include this elegant ESME MAI indoor watering vessel, right, with a FROM MECHANIC TO MUM THE CERAMICIST shiny, long spout for less mess. The parts, CNC cut from brass, are silver-soldered FOR Cisca Collins, above, trading as excluded schoolchildren, practised happy together and the can is then nickel- Cisca Jane, glaze is the magic that sports massage and has three children. homes plated and polished. Riding is also makes her porcelain pieces special, A BA in design crafts from De Montfort showing salt and pepper mills cast whether slip cast or thrown. She uses a University, Leicester, led her to create from silicone with ceramic grinding unique “crystalline” type. the lovely vessels and wall art on show mechanisms, and candle holders cast The ceramic artist’s experiences at One Year On. Prices from £20 to from brass. Prices from £70. include a mechanics apprenticeship £3,000. O georgeriding.info aged 16. She has also worked with O ciscajane.com EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 5 JULY 2017 17 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by Design | Homes & Property

Get all PATRICK KENDAL studied product design in Brighton, hot and where he has launched his Spring Oven, right, priced £84. steamy He started making sourdough about four years ago. Baking if you recipes, explains Kendal, 27, often suggest adding steam to the want oven — but a bowl of water cuts better the oven temperature, which isn’t good for the bread. Slipcast bread from high-quality terracotta and looking like a Moroccan tagine, his Spring Oven has a channel for water that fills the pot with steam while the oven stays fully hot. Kendal is also selling 50- page sourdough recipe books. O thespringoven.com

ARTIST’S CERAMIC ARTIST Lauren Nauman STUNNING has perfected a new way of casting

JULIA UNDERWOOD NEW porcelain. The result is airy WAVE sculptural vessels, left, a captivating London landmarks in prints OF CHIC mass of wavy lines that are light and AND AIRY strong. LAURA ROBINSON, 28, left behind a successful media VESSELS American by birth, Nauman, 27, career to start her printed homeware business. Her trained and worked in Boston, then trademark is a jaunty, personal style of illustration, did a residency in Denmark followed applied to 55 London landmarks. Buildings are reduced by a two-year Masters at the Royal to punchy outlines in neon shades on a black Academy, where she refined her background, or in white on strong colours; more muted techniques. She now works full time versions are also available. The artwork comes as as a ceramicist, sharing studio space framed prints (£45-£50), and homewares including with architecture and design cushions (£55) and mugs (£13). Robinson is launching a collective Assemble, winner of the new website at One Year On — myiconstory.com — for Turner Prize in 2015. which she’s designed over 300 icons about family, Decorative vessels, in sizes from work, love and travel that customers can “drag and 10cm to 30cm, are in porcelain with drop” to create their own artwork life story. brass details, from £380 to £980.

O lauraaliceprints.com DELEU SYLVIAN O laurennauman.com 20 WEDNESDAY 5 JULY 2017 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | My home homesandproperty.co.uk A place where my imagination can soar Philippa Stockley visits silversmith Hal Messel in the dramatic live-work home he created from a former Methodist chapel

HEN silversmith Hal Messel spotted an empty early 18th-century nonconformist chapel for auction sale, Whe knew it had his name on it. He could see it already, a beautiful home and workshop with tall “Gothic” windows, one stained-glass, lime-wash colour walls, exposed roof beams and minstrel’s gallery, its soaring volumes offering Eclectic: the furnishings are a mix of auction ﬁnds and family-designed accessories wonderful light. It is now furnished with a mix of auc- Academy Schools. Both worked from chapel, to be sold at a “silent auction” tion finds, paintings, some furniture their part-Tudor house, Bradley Court, — no guide price, just sealed bids. “I designed by his father, and cushions where Hal grew up. Thomas’s uncle was wrote to the owners saying what I could designed by Hal’s girlfriend. Along with the brilliant stage designer Oliver Messel, afford, and they liked the idea of a crafts- a practical kitchen, the craftsman has who also designed Caribbean island man there.” pulled it all together, apparently effort- houses including Les Jolies Eaux on They sold it to him. There was no heat- lessly. Mustique, the retreat of Princess Marga- ing, electricity or phone, but the roof of Hal, 31, started out doing fine art in ret and her husband, Antony Armstrong- Cotswold stone tiles was sound. The London then turned to silversmithing, Jones, who was Oliver’s nephew. 2,500sq ft building had started life as a studying for years with former Asprey large, high box, which around 1900 was silversmith Steve Wager. He then got an ABANDONED CHAPEL — JUST given “Gothicised” tall pointed windows apprenticeship to world-renowned mas- WAITING FOR A CRAFTSMAN and a big attic schoolroom accessed by ter metalworker Jocelyn Burton. “Joce- Hal set up a silver workshop in his ladder from the gallery. lyn taught me that the only limit to what father’s old studio, “although when it I can do with silver is my imagination.” rained outside it rained inside,” he grins. The building is in a conservation area but He worried at first about not being in not listed, so Hal consulted local archi- But silversmithing is very physical — for London, but then he was commissioned tects Millar Howard Workshop. The example, it can involve a lot of hammer- by the Duke of Edinburgh’s charity, St young practice talked to the planners, ing. One morning Hal, then 26 and rent- George’s House, to create a silver “tree who felt that as long as the exterior was ing in Islington, woke up with one leg of wisdom” now on permanent display faithfully kept, a thoughtful live-work semi-paralysed. No one knew how at St George’s Chapel, Windsor. interior conversion should be fine. After quickly he would recover, though luckily The commissions kept coming. This a year designing everything, work began he did. “I couldn’t even move around May he had a show at Colefax and Fowler in 2015 and finished in spring last year. London easily, so I went home to my in Pimlico. He says: “I realised, this is Hal wanted to keep the main space parents in Gloucestershire for a while,” real, it’s happening, and I don’t have to open-plan. On the lower floor, the archi- he says. be based in London. And besides, it’s an tects suggested raising the central area He cannot praise his parents enough easy drive. I go up and down all the two feet to mark out the living space, for their support for his career. His father time.” with a wood-burning stove and Ikea is classical furniture designer Thomas He began looking in Gloucestershire book dividers. Messel, while his mother, Pepe, is a pro- for somewhere to live and work. One They reused the old floorboards but fessional painter trained at the Royal evening, he saw the abandoned stone added underfloor heating. At one end,

Glittering conversion: right, silversmith Hal Messel restored the stained-glass window and arch with religious script; left, the light, open-plan living space EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 5 JULY 2017 21 powered by My home | Homes & Property

Heritage: right, a depiction of Christ on the cross in Hal’s workspace is a reminder of his home’s past life as a place of worship

jewelled by the big stained-glass window, is the kitchen. A long run of Shaker-style grey cabinets from Wickes sits against an existing bead-and-butt dado, which makes a natural upstand. An Arts & Crafts oak auction cupboard at one end and a very long oak table from Hal’s parents’ home add drama, while a huge lantern that he and his mother brought back from Morocco complements the windows. At the far end, the architects built three rooms beneath the minstrel’s gallery — the hammering room; a hall furnished from Hal’s former home, and a shower room. A solid staircase runs to an office for Hal, then up to a suite of rooms under the timbered eaves, complete with an oeil-de-boeuf window. With bedrooms at either end, each with a simply designed en suite, and a central sitting area, this space has romantic rooftop views.

Furniture from Hal’s parents sits well in the luminous space but he has added modern touches, too. His girlfriend, textile designer Georgina Olley, founded homewares and accessories company Nomad Design, and its hand-blocked cushions are scattered on the modern sofa downstairs. Hal also has a couple of Oliver Messel’s charming paintings, which he loves. But what makes this home unique is the full-sized workshop between the sitting area and minstrel’s gallery. It has a red-painted floor, a huge plywood worktable Hal designed to take six sil- versmiths, plus a furnace, a pickling tank, and a big steel sink. All the kit he needs. “Coming back here turned out to be one of the best things I’ve done,” he says.

OU don’t often see an artist’s studio that makes you wish you lived there: they can be uninviting, messy, cold places. Not this one. Hal has carvedY out a career and a home with the same style he applies to his beautiful, distinctive silver designs. It’s an elegant mix of classical and innovative. Great-uncle Oliver would have been proud.

Inspirational GET THE LOOK space: above, Hal’s full-size Hal Messel: halmessel.com workshop, kitted Architect: Millar Howard Workshop out with all the (mhworkshop.co.uk) tools of his craft; Builder: Kilcot Conservation (01453 left, a bedroom 842364) suite with oeil-de- Dining chairs and credenza boeuf window cupboard: by Thomas Messel beneath the eaves (thomasmessel.com) Sofa cushions: by Georgina Olley at Nomad Design (nomaddesign.co.uk) Kitchen: by Wickes (wickes.co.uk) Antiques: some pieces from Wotton Auction Rooms in Gloucestershire (wottonauctionrooms.co.uk) Pendant industrial lampshades: get a similar look with the Christi 1 pendant by Riley Ave (wayfair.co.uk), or the budget Ranarp (ikea.com) Paint: Pigeon grey-blue from farrow-ball.com; Slaked Lime white from littlegreene.com Photographs:: Juliet Murphy 22 WEDNESDAY 5 JULY 2017 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Outdoors Your rooftop table is ready

Why would you bother to go out when you have four levels of garden to choose from?

Pattie Barron

HIS prize-winning Notting visually open. All the containers — Room with a Hill roof garden, on four roomy rectangular troughs and large view: above, the levels, is a prime example of bowl-shaped planters — are made of entertaining how plants and landscape attractive, rusted Cor-Ten steel, as are space on level materials can be used to safety screens at the parapet edge, three; right, softenT the hard lines of city buildings as intriguingly laser-cut in dot and dash cutouts in the well as create privacy and make a strong patterns that allow light and breeze to steel screens are design statement. pass through. “Cor-Ten steel has warmth a message in “Each level of the garden has a differ- and texture and works very well in an Morse code ent character. The lower levels are more urban setting,” says Wilson. “And the enclosed and private, the upper levels colour has a glow and real depth. It also are light-filled with expansive views,” looks very good with the basalt.” says garden designer Andrew Wilson, who, with studio partner Gavin McWil- The design partners liked the idea of play- liam, was charged by the owners, a ing off the smart city setting with professional couple, to produce an relaxed, countryside planting. “We Gardening problems? outside space that would be a match for decided to use native hedgerow species their contemporary four-storey apart- to give a naturalistic quality to the space, Email our RHS ment, renovated at the same time. as well as bring in wildlife and a seasonal expert at: expert The four spaces comprise the first change,” says Wilson. “The idea was gardeningadvice level outside the kitchen, which was also to take something ordinary, and @gmail.com designated a private dining area for a make it special.” maximum of six people; the small, sec- So the several bowl-shaped planters render fireplace makes a fabulous focal ond level, beyond a guest bedroom; the each hold a hawthorn tree, providing a point. Equally striking are a pair of 7ft- third long, rectangular level, for enter- feast of berries for the birds, but these high privacy screens at the outer bound- taining, and the fourth rooftop space, particular common or garden trees are ary, on either side of the outdoor drinks which is for relaxing and sunbathing. multi-stemmed, which gives them an fridge. These, in keeping with the coun- “They asked us to make the spaces elegant, graceful appearance. tryside planting theme, are field maples, interesting and glamorous. They wanted They grow from a gauzy blend of their branches horizontally trained so a sensory quality so they could sit out grasses and geraniums: emerald-green they create leafy green walls. “In and enjoy being among the plants, and Hakonechloa macra and long-flowering autumn, the foliage takes on incredible they needed a great space for dining and Geranium Rozanne, interplanted with golden colours,” says Wilson. entertaining, too,” explains Wilson. the lozenge-headed stems of Allium The final level — the rooftop — holds sphaerocephalon. Long planters hold another surprise. Beyond the sun loung- The partners’ response was to introduce swishy feather grass Stipa tenuissima, ers on the decking, a meadow of laven- glamour with high-spec urban materials. studded with dark, jewel-like perennials ders, thymes, lilac achilleas, Dark, sleek basalt is the paving stone of such as garnet Knautia macedonica and pink-flowered oregano and other flow- choice for the floor, as well as treads on deep pink Astrantia Roma, that give Pictures: ers is a magnet for bees and butterflies. the connecting steel staircases that have flecks of rich colour to catch the evening MARIANNE At either long edge of the roof are strips glass balustrades to keep the spaces light. On the third level, a polished dark MAJERUS of sedums, to absorb water run-off and to provide further nectar-rich grazing. Keeping it country: multi- LAMOUR, as requested, is stemmed here in spades, in the detail berrying as well as the bigger pic- hawthorns and ture. At night, LED lights espaliered ﬁeld set in the paving illuminate maples mark the Gthe fireplace and the walls, while low- seasons and level uplighters make the tree canopies bring in wildlife glow dramatically. What’s more, that dot-dash cutwork pattern in the steel screens is Morse code, and was the clients’ idea, to say a permanent thank ■ For outdoor you and to acknowledge everyone events this month involved in this exceptional project. visit homesand property.co.uk/ O Commission Andrew Wilson and events Gavin McWilliam at wmstudio.co.uk 24 WEDNESDAY 5 JULY 2017 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Reader promotion

Alison Cork

Snap up this fab garden dining set for half price Count on the storage experts ENJOY luxurious designer alfresco TREAT yourself to everything spaces and maximise dining with a half-price special offer from made-to-measure storage. on Out and Out Original’s Madrid sliding-door and walk-in Quote BLUE7 at eight-seater set, left, down from £999 wardrobes to hinge-door bluefieldwardrobes.co.uk or to £499 with free two-man delivery. styles with Bluefield when calling 0800 610 2020 With elegant rattan armchairs and a Wardrobes. Specialising in by July 31 to get 20 per cent 200cm aluminium dining table, the design solutions for your off. 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Use code BN26717 by July 26 to save an extra five per cent off prices already 30 per cent A new-look kitchen, fitted free less than the high street. TRANSFORM your worktops, and changing kitchen into a functional your sink, taps and and attractive space with appliances if required. Perch on a cool tractor stool the Kitchen Restoration For a free brochure or Company. Offering free design visit, call TRENDY Tractor Stools from Alison at Home will add a retro-chic everything from design 0800 917 7238 or visit touch to any kitchen, bar or garden, being suitable for indoor and to bespoke manufacture kitchen-restoration.com. outdoor use. Reduced from £99.99 to £89.99, the stools are available and fitting, this specialist Readers are offered free in a rustic green, red, black or blue finish. Made from cast iron and ensures your kitchen is fitting on all orders featuring an adjustable seat, they measure H70cm x W50cm x D47cm. fully renovated by received by August 2 Readers are offered free delivery. Quote ESBN57 at alisonathome. replacing your doors, using the code 05/07/ES/ com/marketplace or call 020 7087 2900 before July 11 to claim. drawer fronts and BH. ■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 26 WEDNESDAY 5 JULY 2017 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Ask the expert Freeholder’s plans are going over my head Fiona WHAT’S I BOUGHT a ground-floor flat a couple of YOUR years ago in east London. I have applied for McNulty PROBLEM? Qplanning permission for a single-storey IF YOU have a extension to be built on my garden and the OUR LAWYER ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS question for local council has approved my application. Now my Fiona McNulty, freeholder says he wants a premium from me but has please email not specified the amount. Is he entitled to ask me for a I RECENTLY purchased legalsolutions@ premium as I now have planning permission — and and moved into a standard.co.uk can I challenge it if it is very high? Qleasehold top-floor flat in or write to Legal London, which unusually Solutions, Homes THE lease may restrict use of the garden land to includes the loft in the lease as part & Property, recreation and may prohibit the erection of of my flat. Yesterday I received a London Evening Abuildings or a structure of any description on it. call from the freeholder, wanting Standard, 2 Derry Check the terms of your lease for confirmation of to set up a meeting as he wants to Street, W8 5EE. the use of the land and the requirements for undertaking negotiate with me to buy back the We regret that works. loft space so that he can build questions cannot The prior written consent of the freeholder for any permit- another set of flats above mine. be answered ted structural alterations or additions is likely to be neces- Can I refuse to sell to the individually, but sary and the freeholder’s requirements for granting consent freeholder — and can I object to a we will try to are likely to be included in the lease — for example, sight of planning application by him ? feature them architect’s plans, planning permission, building regulations here. Fiona approval plus any necessary listed building consent. YOU own the loft space, so on McNulty is a There are circumstances where a freeholder may be able the face of it there is little the solicitor to request a premium, eg for change of use if the land is des- Afreeholder can do without specialising ignated garden land, or for certain works, but it may be that your agreement and you in residential the freeholder is not entitled to charge you a premium. could certainly refuse to sell the property. If a premium is payable, it’s a matter for you and the free- space to him. holder to negotiate in the first instance, and the freeholder However, your lease is likely to say that you objecting to any planning applica- well for the meeting, as no doubt he will wish the premium to reflect the likely increase in value any alterations require the prior written tions made by the freeholder in relation will do so. If you are interested in sell- of your flat due to the extension. consent of the freeholder, so if in the to the building or to the freeholder’s ing to him, seek advice from a surveyor The freeholder is likely to require payment of their lawyer’s future you wanted to use the loft space adjoining land. Furthermore, the free- on the value of your asset — and any and surveyor’s fees. You may want to obtain a valuation

— perhaps for a loft conversion — such holder may have the right to build, effect on the value of your flat if you from a surveyor to assist you with the negotiations. consent may not be forthcoming. rebuild or alter the building even if it sell the loft space — and also from a The freeholder could of course offer affects your rights of light and air. lawyer on the legal implications. More legal O These answers can only be a very brief commentary on to buy you out and vary the terms of Before agreeing to any meeting with If you have a mortgage you may need Q&As the issues raised and should not be relied on as legal advice. your lease. Read your lease carefully. the freeholder, you should request the consent of your mortgage pro- Visit: homesand No liability is accepted for such reliance. If you have similar There may be covenants preventing written details of his proposal. Prepare vider. property.co.uk issues, you should obtain advice from a solicitor. 28 WEDNESDAY 5 JULY 2017 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Property searching

Above: Catford Broadway has Spotlight on ... had a face lift and offers a market and street food outlets; above left, assistant Catford manager Emily Marie at Little Families looking for value discover period homes in this south-east Nan’s Broadway Theatre Saloon, a London corner with big plans for the future, says Anthea Masey popular new cocktail bar with HERE are grand plans for tural heritage guardians from The a cabaret theme Catford, though this south Twentieth Century Society. However, east London neighbour- TODAY in Catford just six of the prefabs have been listed hood is not currently a thing Rightmove has by English Heritage and 371 new homes of beauty, and the bottle- will be built by housing association Tneck on the South Circular is a major 447 homes to BUY L&Q on the rest of the site. irritant both to locals and to road users Catford is eight miles south-east of passing through. and 239 homes central London and sits in the shadow The council is consulting on ideas to of its better-known neighbours, Lewi- demolish an eyesore tower block, to RENT sham to the north and Bromley to the replace the tired shopping centre, build south. Its leafy streets of fine Victorian several hundred new homes and pos- and Edwardian houses in the Culverley sibly relocate the council offices sitting Green conservation area south-west of in the middle of the gyratory that sends the town centre, and on the Corbett traffic round the town centre. A mas- Estate in the roads off the South Circu- terplan will be produced next year, for lar close to Hither Green station, are work to start two years later. unfairly ignored by house hunters. More recent developments include However, estate agent Ronke Maye the transformation of the former Cat- linking the South Circular with the from the local branch of Kinleigh Folk- ford greyhound stadium into Catford park. The Excalibur Estate redevelop- ard & Hayward says Catford is going in Green with 635 new homes, and the ment is more controversial. One of the the right direction. regeneration of the Excalibur Estate last major remaining estates of prefabs, “We get families moving here from that will replace post-war prefabs with which were built as a temporary solu- more expensive areas such as Dulwich new homes. Catford Green overlooks tion to the housing crisis after the and Blackheath because they are get- Community art project: top, Trees on the Green at Rushey Ladywell Fields, with a new green Second World War, it was worthy of ting more for their money and Catford Photographs: Green; above, landmark black cat at Catford Centre shops route along the Ravensbourne River preservation, according to architec- is seen as a good investment.” Daniel Lynch

£425,000 FROM £495,000 £725,000 A SMART two-bedroom Edwardian mid-terrace TWO-BEDROOM apartments in Dempsey Court at OVER three floors, a four-bedroom, two-bathroom house in a quiet residential street with great Barratt’s Catford Green scheme in Adenmore Road. house with plenty of entertaining space and a access to local amenities. KFH (020 3858 3415). Visit barrattlondon.com or call 0844 225 0032. landscaped rear garden. Foxtons (020 8012 6721).

£949,950 To find a home in Catford, visit rightmove.co.uk A DETACHED five-bedroom period family house in Honley Road, Rushey Green, with a bright and airy For more about Catford, visit homesandproperty.co.uk/catford feel throughout. Through KFH (as before). EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 5 JULY 2017 29 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by | Homes & Property

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STATS CHECK WHAT HOMES COST BUYING IN CATFORD (Average prices) One-bedroom flat £275,000 Two-bedroom flat £351,000 Two-bedroom house £439,000 Three-bedroom house £512,000 Four-bedroom house £660,000 Source: Rightmove RENTING IN CATFORD (Average rates) One-bedroom flat £974 a month Two-bedroom flat £1,262 a month Two-bedroom house £1,367 a month Three-bedroom house £1,624 a month Four-bedroom house £2,077 a month Source: Rightmove

FOR MORE, VISIT homesandproperty.co.uk THE PROPERTY SCENE O Use our School Checker to find catchment areas and inspection HOUSE HUNTERS in Catford will find reports for local schools a mix of mainly Victorian, Edwardian O The best Catford shops and and later houses, and modern flats. restaurants Three-bedroom Victorian terrace O Arts, leisure and sport in Catford houses built by Archibald Corbett start at about £525,000, while his O Catford’s best roads, and the larger four-bedroom houses can sell lowdown on local green spaces for as much as £850,000. Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward is selling a four- bedroom Corbett house in Ardgowan Road for £825,000. Many of the large detached and semi-detached houses in the Culverley Green conservation area Road in the town centre is being have been converted into flats. KFH developed by Paye Homes into nine is selling a two-bedroom garden flat one- and two-bedroom flats with in Bargery Road for £450,000. commercial premises on the ground Ravensbourne Park property: Catford floor. Call 01959 534446. ■ NEW-BUILD HOMES offers a mix of period family homes Catford Green in Adenmore Road is ■ AFFORDABLE HOMES the largest current development in redevelopment of a prefab estate in Help to Buy is available at Catford Catford. Barratt Homes is now Hazelbank Road by housing Green and the Excalibur Estate (as building the final phase of this 635- association L&Q. It will replace 180 before). homes scheme overlooking Ladywell prefabs with 371 new homes, of Fields and the Ravensbourne River. which 195 will be for affordable rent, ■ HOMES FOR RENT Prices of the two- and three-bedroom 143 for private sale and 33 for shared KFH lettings manager Natalie Smith properties range from £495,000 to ownership. The first phase of 18 one- says families like to rent in Catford, £594,000. A green route through the and two-bedroom flats for private going particularly for houses near the site and improvements to the train sale launches soon off-plan, for popular Torridon state primary station forecourts at Catford and occupation early next year. The school, and within walking distance Catford Bridge are planned. The whole development will take another of St Dunstan’s College, the all- whole development completes next three years to complete. Visit through private school. year. Call 0844 225 0032 for more excaliburse6.com for more. The Catford Green development information. The former Co-op building on the has brought in a new breed of renter The Excalibur Estate is the corner of Brownhill Road and Plassy — young professional commuters.

HAVE YOUR SAY: TRANSPORT CATFORD is not on the Underground CATFORD although the local council is lobbying for an extension to the Bakerloo line. LOCALS TWEET THEIR TIPS There are two Catford train @rosierhymeslond stations, next to each other: Catford The linear park, which runs beside station trains take 22 minutes to River Pool... it’s like being in the Blackfriars, while Catford Bridge has countryside. Definitely one of trains to Charing Cross (25 minutes) Catford’s hidden gems via London Bridge (15 minutes) and Cannon Street (25 minutes) via @EasyLarry Lewisham with connections to the Jerk Scene is a well-loved Docklands Light Railway. takeaway with an authentic Hither Green has trains to BBQ out the back to grill jerk Blackfriars that take 28 minutes, No 171 to Aldwych and the No 185 to chicken Charing Cross (25 minutes) via London Victoria. Most of the buses go to Bridge (14 minutes), and Cannon Lewisham where commuters can @mrsbbp Street (24 minutes) via London Bridge switch to the DLR. All stations are in Forster Memorial Park magnificent (13 minutes). Useful commuter buses Zone 3 and an annual travelcard to and open, Mountsfield Park are the No 47 to London Bridge; the Zone 1 costs £1,520. phenomenal new playground 32 WEDNESDAY 5 JULY 2017 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Inside story Latest must-have Diary of an estate for Notting Hill agent home buyers is scheme of nine impressive family houses is tucked away in an enviable spot just behind Notting Hill Gate. The development features its own a lift for your car secure underground car parking with automated car lift. The feedback is positive and everyone here seems very MONDAY apartment interior designed and it’s impressed with the space on offer. It’s 8.30am sharp and everybody is looking great. We recently hosted a In the afternoon, I head back to the upbeat at our regular start-the-week launch event to kick off sales at the office and on to a viewing in St James’s, meeting to recap on last week and see scheme which has resulted in some where I am showing a lady around a what’s to come. We are all feeling very good offers. lateral apartment. It goes well — but we positive after the brilliant exchange of Victoria SW1 has changed so much will need to wait for other members of a lateral apartment in Kensington — it’s over the past few years and is now a her family to view it, too, in a couple of a superb trophy home. We are also still truly world-class residential and com- weeks’ time, before a decision can be on a high after Strutt & Parker picked mercial location. The area has once made. up this year’s UK sales agency of the year again become a coveted destination in accolade at the Resi Awards, for an prime central London. The recently FRIDAY unprecedented second year running. completed Nova Building by Land A busy day — so it’s a good end to a good This afternoon I meet a Frenchman Securities has been a huge part of this week. I meet first thing with a man who lives in Hong Kong and wants to transformation and the Nova Food who’s buying a family house through invest in the London property market. Quarter is an exciting addition. me in west London, then this afternoon We discuss a variety of options within I am showing a buyer around a great our portfolio before shortlisting the WEDNESDAY lateral apartment in the Cherry Tree most suitable and arranging a viewing Television Centre marketing suite in conservation area in Kensington. The tour for later in the week. White City sets the scene today, where weather is beautiful and the flat looks I’m with the French buyer I met on excellent. On days like today you real- TUESDAY Monday. This really is one of the most ise what a fabulous city we live in. Most of today is spent on viewings at exciting schemes in London, the rede- VI Castle Lane, a brilliant scheme with velopment of the former BBC offices in Gilston Road, Chelsea, to view some THURSDAY 31 properties in an idyllic residential and studios. It’s going to be a truly one-bedroom options. With this loca- It’s straight over to Notting Hill first O Max Warby is a sales negotiator with location, moments away from all that unique place to live. People love the tion, these apartments are particularly thing this morning, as we are holding Strutt & Parker’s London Residential Victoria has to offer. Our client, the history of this landmark building. We popular with pied-à-terre buyers and a launch event in the new show home Development & Investment team (020 developer Sons & Co, has had a show go on from here to a completed scheme investors. at West Village. This contemporary 7318 4677). 34 WEDNESDAY 5 JULY 2017 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Letting on

OOD luck with finding new rented accommodation if you are newly self- employed, unemployed, Sorry Fido, you own a pet or you are a stu- Gdent without a guarantor. Due to new government proposals to cap tenants’ deposits at one month’s rent, I think you’re going to find it even harder, if can’t chew the not nigh on impossible, to find a landlord in future who will accept you. If landlords aren’t allowed to ask for higher deposits from those tenants who present a higher risk, maybe because table in my flat they have failed a credit check or don’t have a steady job, logic dictates that they probably won’t let to them. Victoria Whitlock says capping deposits at That will mean that foreign tenants who haven’t got anyone in the UK to one month could see higher-risk tenants and vouch for them, students, the self- employed and the unemployed might pet owners struggling to find homes to rent all struggle to find homes. £462 per week: less than a mile from Forest Hill station, a four double-bedroom In the past, I’ve accepted foreign tenants for those shoddy, couldn’t-give-a-damn unfurnished ﬂat with a garden is for rent. Call Pickwick Estates (020 3858 3282) without guarantors, self-employed ten- The landlords and letting agents who use ants, unemployed tenants and stu- feeble excuses to deduct chunks of cash dents. I have even taken unemployed accidental from tenants’ deposits, sometimes deposits, but I’m not sure if this will be the law for tenants to be obliged to pay foreign students, but I have always helping themselves to the lot just legal, or if the Government will ban for any kind of insurance. mitigated the risk by taking a six-week because they think they can get away that, too. deposit. Not one tenant has com- landlord with it, and those who sit on the depos- I was recently told of a new insurance LL in all, this deposit cap plained at the size of the bond. its for months after the tenants have scheme to replace tenants’ deposits, feels like yet another obsta- I have taken even higher deposits his hairs all over the furniture. I suppose left, forcing them to beg for it back. but the premium I was quoted was 10 cle flung into the path of from tenants who were unable to pro- it must seem harsh to make all the very per cent of the amount of the bond, landlords to make it even vide sufficient proof of their income, good tenants hand over large deposits, However, if the Government goes ahead which would mean tenants in London harder for them to profit or for various reasons had failed credit just in case they trash the property or and caps deposits, more landlords will paying an average of £150 to £180, plus Afrom letting. But if it makes renting more checks. However, in future, I might run off without paying the rent, but start to insist on guarantors to provide there was an excess of 10 per cent. I affordable and tenants happier, I sup- have to turn these tenants away. landlords insist on this only because the additional security, which will be a think most landlords and tenants pose we’ll have to roll with it, as usual. Pet owners will also struggle to find stakes are so high. It only takes one great shame for tenants who don’t have would prefer to stick with deposits. accommodation if landlords aren’t rogue tenant to completely destroy a a parent or other relative to back them Also, given that the Government is O Victoria Whitlock lets four allowed to ask for higher bonds to cover landlord’s livelihood. up. Alternatively, landlords and letting going to ban letting agents and land- properties in south London. potential damage or additional cleaning That said, I guess all honest landlords agents might try to ask for several lords from charging tenants fees, it’s To contact Victoria with your ideas when Fido chews the table leg or sheds are now being forced to pay the price months’ rent in advance to replace possible that it might also be against and views, tweet @vicwhitlock 36 WEDNESDAY 5 JULY 2017 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | New homes By David Spittles Smart moves Get Help to Buy in cool Deptford

UYING off-plan, before a property is ready to move into, can work out well for first-timers who want more time to save for a deposit. BAdd in low mortgage rates and the From £514,995: two-bedroom apartments at Kent Wharf, a Bellway Homes scheme on the Deptford/Greenwich boundary Government’s Help-to-Buy scheme, and the financial challenge of getting of his own. He looked at properties former industrial waterway that runs than the rent I currently pay,” he on to the property ladder’s first rung north and south of the river and into the Thames. By taking advantage says. “I’m still pinching myself that I suddenly becomes a bit easier. seized an opportunity to buy in SE8 of a 40 per cent Help-to-Buy loan, the have been able to do this. This set of circumstances has at Kent Wharf, on the Greenwich- deposit he has to pay is £20,125 — and “It’s such a cool area. Plus there’s a turned out favourably for Nick Deptford boundary. he has another six months to save big Waitrose store opposite and Kershaw, 32, who relocated to “I queued for four hours to be first before the flat is ready. Greenwich Park is only a short walk London from Manchester five years into the sales centre when they “My monthly outgoings will be away from my new place.” ago for a job in the catering industry. launched the flats,” he says. about £200 per month less when I Two-bedroom apartments at the For most of that time he has rented in He paid £402,500 for a fourth-floor move in, because mortgage development cost from £514,995. Call He who waits: Nick Kershaw queued up Hendon, plotting a way to buy a flat apartment overlooking Creekside, a payments are quite a bit cheaper Bellway on 01689 886400.

From £599,995: high-spec new- CLASSIC HENLEY FAMILY HOMES WITH SUPER-ROOM build ﬂats at 12 Elgin Avenue in HENLEY Royal Regatta is over for Maida Vale, W9 another summer, so the Thames- side town is relaxing again after the shock of the blazer-and-boater crowd descending to drink Pimm’s in the pink-and-white marquees during this highlight of the social calendar. For the rest of the year it is a settled place, home to a prosperous community, many of whom commute to Paddington on the train in just over an hour. Ooh la la! New build in Maida Vale The view from the pretty stone bridge that straddles the river is of PARISIANS would feel at home in level maisonette replaces the house long lawns with boat moorings. Maida Vale, an entirely residential and can be bigger and better than Local planners have resisted flashy district centred on wide avenues of whole houses in other areas, while Docklands-style apartment blocks From £2.7 million: Farnehurst ﬁve-bedroom homes by Millgate in Henley flats, rather than houses, carved purpose-built red-brick mansion overlooking the water, preferring from imposing stucco terraces. blocks have big shared gardens, some reassuringly traditional-looking new designing the spacious and flexible bedrooms plus a formal dining This west London neighbourhood’s with tennis courts and backing on to builds on infill plots ringing the town interiors that modern families crave, room, study, media room and triple intact character is largely due to the the canal. A rare new-build block, centre — such as Farnehurst, a notably a vast open-plan ground- garage. Prices from £2.7 million. Call area’s long-term ownership by the 12 Elgin Avenue, in a main road scheme of three impressive Arts & floor hub — a combined kitchen, 01491 412345. Two new townhouses Church Commissioners. Most flats through Maida Vale, brings 15 smart Crafts-style houses in large plots. dining and relaxation space that at Auton Place are a five-minute used to be rented, but Eighties flats with leafy outlooks, including a Millgate, the developer, has carved opens on to a garden designed by a walk from the train station and river. leasehold reform helped tenants buy three-bedroom duplex with roof a niche for these outwardly Chelsea Flower Show Gold medal From £2.2 million. Call Knight Frank their homes, developers moved in terrace. Prices from £599,995. Call conventional trophy homes by winner. Each house has five on 01491 817830. and prices soared. Here, the garden- Hamptons on 020 3451 1544.

From £565,000: canalside ﬂats, left, Buy a flat, get free boat club membership at The Overdraught in Haggerston, E8 HOME HUNTERS who love waterfront neighbourhood boasting watersports are spoilt for choice in London Regatta Centre, floating a nature reserve with a “trim trail” London. The Overdraught, a new boutique hotels with sun decks, and for joggers. Two-bedroom flats cost block of eight flats priced from an urban beach in summer. Prices from £832,500. Call Berkeley Homes £565,000 is on Regent’s Canal bank from £462,500. Call 020 7718 5202. on 020 8985 9918. in gritty Haggerston, where buyers Stoke Newington’s Woodberry Hendon Waterside in north-west are offered free membership of Down regeneration project brings a London is being built alongside 30- nearby Laburnham Boat Club, which 4,600-home neighbourhood acre Welsh Harp Reservoir, which runs canoeing and kayaking lessons. bordering two giant reservoirs with has a boating club. Wembley and Sea Call developer L&Q on 0333 033780. sailing and canoeing. A former Horse sailing clubs are near. Barratt Royal Docks West, with 105 flats in Victorian pumping station is now a has launched Lakeview flats priced a 19-storey tower, is part of a popular climbing centre, and there’s from £413,000. Call 0844 811 4321. For all the best new-build homes in London and the UK