Wednesday 1 June 2016 When art Homes& becomes furniture Design trends Property Page 14

STREATHAM GETS SOME FIZZ P4 COMMUTING: DESIGNER HOMES P6 AFFORDABLE NINE ELMS P8 MY HOME P24

Learn to love Spotlight: Page 30 DANIEL LYNCH DANIEL London’s best property search news: homesandproperty.co.uk 2 WEDNESDAY 1 JUNE 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | News stop press:

Lifechanger of the week historic Suffolk farmhouse comes with holiday-let barn £365,000: everyone wants a little house with a garden, and this three-bedroom home, in West Street, Bexleyheath, could fly off the market. Call Purple Bricks (0121 396 0867) Trophy home of the week modern How to sell masterpiece in the stockbroker belt £13.95 million: who would have There’s an indoor pool, gym, steam guessed homes could cost this much room, a vast and utterly gorgeous outside London? Millwood House, gadget-stacked kitchen, six however, is a modern masterpiece reception rooms and six huge a home in that deserves its prime location at bedrooms, all with lovely views over super St George’s Hill, Weybridge, in the generous gardens. The staff get the Surrey stockbroker belt. their own flat and the cars get two This stunning home with classical well-appointed double garages. three weeks good looks has 13,400sq ft of space. Through Savills (01932 485079).

ELIA SMITH went and a 35-minute commute £1 million: the first million is to school there, into central London. always the hardest to make, so London buy of the week put down Kate Bush was Abbey Wood, also in south- invest it where you can add to it, born there — and east London, is a close sec- in the village of Walpole close to roots in a smart flat near Kew Gardens buyers wanting ond, benefiting from the the Suffolk heritage coast, and Dto move to Bexleyheath had imminent arrival of the buy this gorgeous, Grade II-listed, £630,000: move-in better sharpen their elbows, Elizabeth line. Homes there 15th-century farmhouse. ready, this refurbished because the far-flung suburb sell in 22 days, and an aver- It comes with a three-bedroom two-bedroom flat in a is now officially the hottest age house costs £326,815. barn conversion that’s a popular prime Kew Village ticket in town. Dartford homes also take 22 holiday let, thanks to its stone spot, enviably close to Research today from Right- days to sell, at an average floors and big log burner in the the Botanic Gardens, is move identifying the parts price of £290,523. lounge. And there’s potential to a blank canvas to of the capital where prop- What all top 10 locations in create further holiday lets from a stamp with your style. erty sells fastest reveals that today’s study have in com- collection of outbuildings in the Light and space are homes in the south-east Lon- mon is value for money. The two-acre grounds. achieved perfectly with don town — where average most expensive, with an aver- Renovation of the farmhouse floor-to-ceiling sash prices stand at £375,259 — go age price of £471,931, is Bex- uncovered original wall paintings, bay windows, white in just three weeks. ley, while the cheapest is while ancient beams and open walls and pale floors in Exposed brick walls fitted wardrobes and Bexleyheath’s recipe for Erith, with a house price of fires have been restored a reception room that add an industrial edge, more large sash success appears to be a £261,433. They are also the throughout four bedrooms and is open-plan to a sleek while the bright, airy windows. Through potent local mix of affordable areas where prices are pre- three reception rooms. Through By Faye kitchen fitted with chic feel continues in both John D Wood (020 homes, grammar schools, dicted to start rising fastest. Abbotts Prestige (01986 875357). Greenslade dove grey cabinetry. bedrooms, each with 8940 6611). O Find Ruth Bloomfield’s full story at homesandproperty.co.uk Facebook: ESHomesAndProperty • Twitter: @HomesProperty • Pinterest: @HomesProperty

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   VISIT homesandproperty.co.uk/rules  % % CAN you really have brunch recipe is quick and simple, yet !+%% % for details of our usual promotion without bubbles? We don’t irresistibly flavoursome.  %% rules. When you respond to think so either, which is why For a chance to win a promotions, offers or competitions, we have teamed up with dozen bottles of Anna the London Evening Standard and its Spanish quality sparkling Blanc de Blancs, plus +% % '%! % ' sister companies may contact you wine producer Codorníu and Codorníu glasses, an with relevant offers and services acclaimed London-based ice bucket, a fizz    +#  +% that may be of interest. Please give Spanish chef José Pizarro to stopper, recipe your mobile number and/or email  % '  %* + & bring you a dream brunch card and address if you would like to receive duo: Anna de Codorníu Blanc all of the %% such offers by text or email. de Blancs and baked eggs with ingredients  , %  *# !% '  !  %*   *% jamón, peas and tomato. needed to With its creamy texture and whip up José’s  $##  *  delicate bubbles, Codorníu’s delicious dish,  ( %  '%  +* + # Editorial: 020 3615 2524 newest-release Cava, Anna visit homes * #* Advertisement manager: Blanc de Blancs, adds a touch andproperty. Ann Finan of elegance to any spread, co.uk (see Advertising: 020 3615 0266 while José Pizarro’s brunch below). (  )"  "  Homes & Property, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, Kensington, London TO ENTER   %*+&!! !  W8 5TT. FOR a chance to win this delicious hamper, visit homesandproperty.co.uk before the end of June 19. Entrants must be 18 or over. Usual rules apply, see homesandproperty.co.uk/rules for full details. EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 1 JUNE 2016 3 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by News | Homes & Property Hello from Adele’s starry new LA ’hood É SINCE her barnstorming return to the stage earlier this year Adele has reclaimed her crown as pop queen. The London singer, right, who grew up in Tottenham, has celebrated her success by splashing out £6.5 million on a Los Angeles home, inset. The 6,600sq ft property has four bedrooms, six bathrooms and a pool house. There are also features which will appeal to her three-year-old son Angelo, including a tree house and outdoor train set. With neighbours includingg Jennifer Lawrence and Cameron Diaz, Adele is in glittering company.

However, the superstar GETTY still loves London. She retains a Notting Hill mews Trump’s de-blinged home is £30m Great penthouse house — and a seaside retreat in Hove, East Sussex.. REX É DONALD TRUMP’S former mansion interiors include a wood-panelled — but £10 million? is on the market. The US Apprentice library, a cinema and two pools. star-turned-American presidential The crisp white exterior creates a Hugh’ll be lucky hopeful bought the 20,000sq ft chic impression and the grounds spread, above, for £2.7 million in 1982. include a tennis court, putting green, É PERHAPS it’s time someone told It was passed on to his first wife, Ivana, guesthouse and dock. Hugh Grant to think about dropping as part of their divorce settlement in Back on the market for £30 million, a the asking price for his one-time Homes 1992 and she sold it to the current big-money buyer is required for this bachelor pad. owners for £9.5 million. palatial estate. Trump of course, has He has been struggling to attract a It seems the property in Connecticut, his eye on a different white house. buyer for the property, below, in New England, has undergone a South Kensington — but then the “makeunder” removing all trace O For more celebrity gossip Bridget Jones’s Diary star is after an gossip of Trump’s signature bling visit homesandproperty. eye-watering £10 million for it. Tweet @amiranews styling. The surprisingly elegant co.uk/gossip The three-bedroom penthouse was By Amira Hashish Got some gossip? a perfect fit for Grant, above, during his About a Boy days. Now 55 and a father of three, the actor first put the Where Dame Joan property on the market in 2014, but it recently resurfaced with first saw Our Gracie several agents. Admittedly, it is É A MODERN three-bedroom exceedingly opulent and apartment in the former Greenwich comes with an outdoor hot tub, Granada Theatre, below right, will along with breathtaking views of the appeal to the luvvie brigade. London Eye, Battersea Power Station The theatre was opened in 1937 by and the Shard.

singer and forces’ favourite “Our REX Gracie” Fields, right, then the highest-paid performer in Britain. Dame Joan Collins, who was a child living in nearby Tyler Street at the time, recalls watching Fields perform on the first night: “The whole building was dark and I was sitting on my father’s shoulder. All of a sudden all of the outside lights went on. Everybody cheered and clapped and then Gracie came and sang. It was very special.” The flat, with a 61ft reception room,

is listed with Savills at £1.55 million. AP  " "   ! " ! !   "    "  "

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 #   4 WEDNESDAY 1 JUNE 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | New homes

ONDON’S young home buyers are bringing a little fizz to the suburbs, where the capital’s population is growing fastest. Latest figures show Zones 3 Zone in on Land 4 are attracting waves of home hunt- ers driven by price, with singles and couples seeking flats from £250,000, while families are after houses under £800,000. These price brackets now Streatham, account for the bulk of London housing demand. Such buyers are being encouraged to put down roots by the arrival of better the darling shops, more schools and local ameni- ties — and by developers offering smart new homes. The more forward-think- ing local councils are giving high streets a facelift, upgrading public spaces and of first-time working with local retailers and resi- dents to foster a sense of neighbour- hood. It’s happening in Charlton, Ladywell, buyers Forest Hill and Sydenham in south-east London, and in , Roehamp- ton, Twickenham and Teddington in the south and west, Hornsey and Walthamstow to the east, and Whet- They demand delis, dance clubs stone to the north. But the biggest and new designer homes. Young transformation, perhaps, is in south London’s Streatham. Londoners are putting some fizz STREATHAM’S STORY back into the capital’s well-priced Shamed a few years back by the allega- tion that Streatham High Road was suburbs, says David Spittles Britain’s scruffiest, the council and businesses have combined to collect rubbish, wash pavements and increase policing. Streatham Green — refur- bished gardens that host a weekend farmers’ market — won a Metropolitan Police award for best public open space in the capital. This initiative, backed by Mary “Queen of Shops” Portas, has resulted in an ongoing renaissance that is reviv- ing the formerly run-down, traffic- clogged town centre and increasing the allure of the wider area. In its post-war heyday, Streatham was posh, a popular place to live and visit, with a department store called Pratts that was part of the John Lewis group, a Locarno ballroom, a theatre, cinema and ice rink, making it the “West End of south London”. The very first Wait- From £775,000: Henry Tate Mews has apartments rose, that badge of middle-class afflu- and Regency-style townhouses in six gated acres ence, opened in Streatham in 1955, alongside the butchers and bakeries, Prices start at £345,000. Call 0333 666 drapers and haberdashery shops. 2131 for more information. Decline set in during the Eighties. Chartered surveyor Akash Bhuwanee, Discount retailers landed and notable 32, spotted Streatham’s up-and-coming buildings languished empty, while the status seven years ago when he paid area’s nightclubs became a flashpoint £238,000 for a three-bedroom garden for crime. However, estate agent John flat that is now worth at least £550,000. D Wood now says: “In the past 18 “Back then the High Road was in poor months Streatham has become the new shape but it has improved immensely,” darling place to move to in south-west he says. “I call it gentle gentrification. London.” Despite rising demand it’s “I feel very connected to central Lon- still good value — cheaper than the don, where I work. Trains to Victoria bordering areas of Clapham, Balham take 17 minutes and to London Bridge In the High Road: Stefano and and Brixton. You get more space for it’s less than 30 minutes. Brixton, and Sandro Costa run I Love Coffee your money and there is more poten- the , is a short bus ride Looking tial for price growth. away.” ‘The commuters for a From £365,000 to £585,000: new-build apartments Streatham Hub, a £1.4 billion regen- GENTLY GENTRIFYING at One Palace Road, through KFH (020 8222 7200) eration project, has brought 250 new are queuing up’ new- A spate of new Streatham developments homes alongside a new leisure centre, build includes 214 flats under way at 142-170 library and the capital’s only Olympic- INDEPENDENT coffee shops, delis home? Streatham Hill, moments from the size ice rink, while One Palace Road and patisseries, new eateries and train station, incorporating the listed is a new-build scheme of 17 apartments watering holes, jazz clubs and Start Art Deco façade of a former cinema. priced from £365,000 to £585,000. Call dance venues continue to sprout up your The London Square development is Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward on 020 along still-bustling Streatham High search a step up for the area, with high-quality 8222 7200. Road, reputedly the longest in detailing and architect-designed inte- Streatham’s population includes a lot Europe. at riors. Many of the flats have a large of young public sector workers, a cat- Brothers Stefano and Sandro balcony or terrace overlooking an egory being targeted by Pocket Living, Costa opened I Love Coffee five inner courtyard garden, and there will which sells no-frills micro flats that cost years ago. “Business was slow at be a concierge, gym, cycle storage and 20 per cent below market value, a dis- first. Now, every morning we have a underground parking. count owners have to pass on when queue of commuters buying coffee A new Streatham Playhouse forms selling in order to keep the homes before they board the train. We’re part of the scheme, while Marks & affordable. also a popular spot for local Spencer is signed up for an on-site food From £256,000: Mountearl Gardens, micro flats by Mountearl Gardens in Streatham freelancers who want a relaxed store and café. A show flat will be ready Pocket Living, sold at 20 per cent below market value has 32 flats by Pocket, modular homes place to sit down with a laptop.” for viewing at next month’s launch. delivered to the site which used to be EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 1 JUNE 2016 5 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by New homes | Homes & Property

Ticking the green space box: part of Streatham Common, left, is designated a Local Nature Reserve, with woodland, grassland and The Rookery formal garden. It is also hosts regular funfairs and open-air events

Ready to serve: the tennis courts at Streatham Hill

THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE The shape of Streatham was defined heart, around St Leonard’s Church, when City merchants established mag- emerged in medieval times. A “golden nificent estates there 200 years ago. triangle” between Kings Avenue, Atkins Henry Tate, the sugar magnate and arts Road and Streatham Hill has big benefactor, lived in a mansion over- Edwardian houses that would be twice looking Streatham Common at Park the price in the best parts of Clapham Hill. Today, Henry Tate Mews is a and Wandsworth. gated estate with flats and Regency- Elsewhere there is a wide range of style townhouses in six acres of cottages, mansion flats, purpose-built grounds. Several homes are for sale, Seventies blocks and Victorian two-up, with prices from £775,000. Call agent two-down terraces. The cheapest part Atkinson McLeod on 020 3463 9594. is Streatham Vale, a pocket of high- Modern Streatham splits into distinct density housing hemmed in by railway neighbourhoods based to a large extent lines. Most of the terraces were built on the old estates. Victorian developers by Wates in the Twenties. occupied by Lambeth council garages. From £345,000: apartments, above, bought up their farmland after the So, incomers are finding a much Prices from £256,000. Call 020 7291 many with large terrace or balcony arrival of the railway and any leftover smarter Streatham these days. Don’t 3683. Pocket Living says it has 30,000 overlooking a central courtyard land was built on between the wars. leave it too long. Prices are rising faster people registered for its dozen London garden, at developer London Square’s Streatham Village dates back to the than the London average, according to projects. new scheme at 142-170 Streatham Hill 19th century while the area’s original date analyst Hometrack.

ARTISAN LIVING AT 1 GOODGE STREET, W1 Thirteen individually crafted 1, 2 & 3 bedroom apartments and penthouses in central London’s cultural heartland. Prices from £995,000 artisanlondon.com

For sales enquiries contact:

+44 (0)20 7323 2277 +44 (0)20 7420 3050 [email protected] [email protected]

A development by 6 WEDNESDAY 1 JUNE 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Commuting

HILE new homes in London increasingly offer flexible living space, inspiring archi- tecture and a high internalW spec, hunting for an imagina- tive new build outside the capital can be depressing. Commuters often face the narrow choice of a flat in a faceless block, with mean-sized rooms and no storage, or an identikit, boxy new house — perhaps with a faux-Georgian flourish to show it’s meant to be posh. James Snell, a director of Snell David Architects, says that beyond the M25, developers often lack the confidence to build and sell contemporary homes. “They don’t think it would sell. “They say buyers like traditional homes. Simple things, such as good storage space, even an entrance with From £440,000: provision for shoes and coats, is never for two-bedroom thought about, and there is no basic flats, with four- flow to many new houses. I’ve seen bedroom houses rooms that are impossible to furnish from £965,000 because of where the windows, radia- at Ninewells in tors, and fireplaces have been put.” Cambridge, Bob Weston, chairman of Weston    above and above Homes, suggests some developers still left, an Evening use “standard house typing” and says     Standard New designing a quality London home which Homes Award will sell for £1,000-plus a square foot is winner easier than trying to achieve a similar result in an area where it will only fetch Luxurious living in the £250 a square foot: “But I do think every site deserves a fresh start and builders need to use more imagination.” So where can you find good design heart of Godalming and a manageable commute? We’ve located some options. Good design travels

OLD MOULSHAM CHELMSFORD, ESSEX Ruth Bloomfield The Radio Factory, the conversion of the historic Marconi HQ into flats, is in goes on a mission to probably the nicest Chelmsford suburb, with great cafés and independent find imaginative new shops. Trains from Chelmsford to Liv- erpool St take about 35 minutes, with homes for urbane an annual season ticket from £4,748. The Grade II-listed former silk works, London commuters a fine brick building, became home to Marconi in 1898, and radio equipment for the Titanic was produced there. High ceilings and magnificent original SNODLAND, KENT windows make for elegant, well- FOR lakeside homes on an affordable ! $  &   $  arranged homes. Two-bedroom flats estate, look at Holborough Lakes by start at £390,000 (williamhbrown. Berkeley Homes, priced from £340,000  "   * $   "  (   $ $ co.uk; 01245 262266). for a three-bedroom house. With a hint of New England style amid CAMBRIDGE the pretty North Downs, the scheme has  #     $ $   " $ THIS beautiful city with trains to King’s its own primary school, a village hall,   )  $    $ Cross in 46 minutes isn’t a housing and an M&S Simply Food. There’s a budget option, and an annual season gym, a watersports centre on freshwater  "& "  $    " $  $  !   ticket costs a hefty £5,012. But com- lakes, and an estate manager. Snodland  ' $   &$"  *$  *  $($"  $ pared with similarly well-resourced station, a couple of miles away, has parts of London it is excellent value. trains to King’s Cross in 45 minutes, with     ( * (*  A new-build choice is Ninewells, 162 an annual season ticket from £4,124. Ten modern, highly energy-efficient homes minutes’ drive away is the cathedral city designed by architects PRP, named best of Rochester, and Gatwick airport is large-scale scheme outside London at nearby (holboroughlakes.co.uk). %$& $ *  * $  * ( *  $ the London Evening Standard New Homes Awards last week. MARGATE, KENT Ninewells has lovely views over the OVERLOOKING Westbrook Bay, The Gog Magog Downs but is only two miles Beach Houses, a modern terrace, is from the station, and most of the homes subtly nostalgic. The larch-clad, glass- overlook a central teardrop-shaped gabled houses, inspired by beach huts lake. They are well spaced with big win- have open-plan, light-filled interiors. dows, plenty of storage, gardens or Eight out of 11 of these very smart homes balconies, and high-speed broadband. by architect Guy Hollaway have sold, Two-bedroom flats are £440,000, with leaving three two-bedroom duplexes at four-bedroom houses at £965,000 (bid- £485,000. Trains from Margate take just wells.co.uk; 01223 841842). under 90 minutes to St Pancras and an Find a home within easy commuting EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 1 JUNE 2016 7 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by Commuting | Homes & Property

From £625,000: two-bedroom beachfront flats at Bay, above, at West Parade, Hythe, offer sea views — and, just as important for many commuters, good storage  # %  £485,000: left, two-bedroom duplexes at The Beach Houses, Westbrook Bay, Margate outside London

annual season ticket is £5,228 arrival of the Elizabeth line in 2019, (struttandparker.com; 01227 451123). plus offices and shops. Once the Lizzie line is running the commute to central HYTHE, KENT London will be less than 40 minutes, ALSO by Guy Hollaway, Bay is a bou- and just under 50 minutes to the City tique development of six flats with (thelandingmaidenhead.com). direct beach access. All have balconies  or terraces and lovely light interiors. RYE, EAST SUSSEX    Two-bedroom flats start at £625,000 ON AN infill site in this medieval town,   with three-bedroom penthouses at Bewick Court, a boutique, timber- From £345,000:    £950,000. Trains to Liverpool Street clad scheme of 10 homes, has scooped two-bedroom    take an hour and 20 minutes and a sea- a RIBA award. The elegant outline is flats at award-     son ticket is £5,908 (crchildandpartners. cleverly designed by architect Jonathan winning Bewick co.uk; 01303 473331). Dunn, with windows positioned to Court, Rye, below catch the best light. It’s 90 minutes to left; below, The MAIDENHEAD, BERKSHIRE St Pancras and an annual season ticket Landing, central IN THE centre of town, The Landing, costs from £5,172. Two-bedroom flats Maidenhead, will a £250 million project, has outline plan- cost from £345,000, three-bedroom be convenient for !' +(! 3+ %)#  5/  033! %) 400!68 ) !6.4%0%3! ning permission for 225 new homes flats from £375,000 (phillipsandstubbs. Elizabeth line +''! 3%+) +" +)!8 35+ ) 3$/!! ! /++( $/ 3!/ ,/3(!)30 that will be available to buy before the co.uk; 01797 227338). trains from 2019 0!3 %) ;<>  /!0 +" 5++ ') %) 3$! $!/3 +" 3$! +43$ +5)0 3%+)' /& 403 >* (%)43!0 7 3/%) 3+ +) +) 3!/'++

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         $  " $            !        $" $    distance of London        " !     8 WEDNESDAY 1 JUNE 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property First-time buyers| homesandproperty.co.uk powered by

F ALL the gleaming spires being built at Nine Elms in SW8, Riverlight is the Be first in at first to approach comple- tion. This complex of just Oover 800 flats was designed by Lord Rogers and its grandest penthouses are Nine Elms currently changing hands for more than £8 million. But first-time buyers can now get a slice of the Riverlight action, too — for just under £150,000. with homes Viridian Housing has 116 one- and two-bedroom flats earmarked for buy- ers priced off the property ladder, in a 10-storey block in the five-acre River- starting from light compound, being developed by St James. They will be ready to move into this summer. “It is just a great opportunity to buy £149,850 Work of a starchitect: Richard Rogers designed the five-acre Riverlight community beside the Thames a home in this regeneration area, and the monthly costs are really reasona- Riverlight will be ready this summer ble,” says James McPhail, the housing association’s senior sales and market- — and just five minutes from a new ing executive. The homes, at the Vaux- hall end of Nine Elms, will be five Tube station. By Ruth Bloomfield minutes’ walk from the new Northern line Tube station when it opens in 2020. For now, the nearest station is Vauxhall, in Zone 1 on the Victoria line, a 10-minute walk away.   MONTHLY COSTS Prices start at £149,850 for a 25 per cent share of a one-bedroom flat with a bal- cony. Once mortgage of £797.42, rent of £93.66 and service charge of £220 are included, the total monthly cost is slightly over £1,111. Two-bedroom flats start at £212,468 for a 25 per cent share, and the total monthly cost for these properties adds up to just under £1,500. As with all blocks, prices rise as you

' (, 1+1*(1 , 3 get higher up the building, reflecting Buy a slice: a CENTRAL LOCATION IS KEY the great views across the Thames. two-bedroom Another concern about buying in a “You would be hard pushed to rent a Viridian Housing regeneration zone, even one as well similar property in this area for those Riverlight flat, connected as Nine Elms, is the prospect prices,” says McPhail. above, starts at of living among building sites for years. The rebirth of Nine Elms, with the new £212,468 for 25 “As regeneration areas go it is reason- US embassy and rebooted Battersea per cent. A ably established,” says McPhail, adding Power Station, is one of the most sig- quarter share of that both Vauxhall and Pimlico are an nificant central London regenerations a one-bedroom easy walk away, while the South Bank of the last decade, but recent reports flat starts at is a pleasant cycle ride along the river. suggest the area is being flooded with £149,850 “Embassy Gardens, the development MARKETING SUITE AND new flats, leading to price drops. across the road, already has people liv- The zone will eventually include ing there, and there is a Waitrose open, SHOW APARTMENT LAUNCHING more than 20,000 new flats, and some and our block at Riverlight will have a of those sold off-plan to buyers keen to Sainsbury’s on the ground floor. There SATURDAY 11TH JUNE “flip” the properties before they are is also the new Nine Elms Tavern — completed have been disappointed, things are opening up. I have done with reports that they are cutting their regeneration areas where you do feel $    "##    resale prices to find a buyer. However, like a bit of a pioneer, as there is nothing taking a longer-term view, experts there. This isn’t like that, and of course  ,!   (+ 0,, ),+4 3  ((4, believe that the site will fill up with it is so central to the rest of London.” buyers over the next three to five years  *(,+ 1 $, ! #- (+ (321/ +1(*, .4  , + and prices will begin to rise again. O viridianhousing.org.uk +,/ + (1! 1*3 +1/ #,) , (2 (+ (1+( "(3,  (,. 33 ,,+ (+,  31,+ ) 13+1/ THE KNOWLEDGE NINE ELMS  (/, ,*3,+ * (+ /(+, Past: Nine Elms was originally fetid Landmarks: the giant new sugar cube- !0*, -3 & marshland, drained in the 15th century shaped American embassy is due to and used as a market garden to grow open next year.  "   (,+(*, 3,(, *(33   .  produce for the city. Eat: something delicious and veggie at  ,4(13 ,) ,2(*,,+ * 1 Future: when regeneration is complete Bonnington Café, Vauxhall. more than 30,000 people will live at Drink: an alfresco glass of rosé — it is ''''#$ %"!  % Nine Elms. summer, after all — at The Magic Trivial pursuit: more than a mile of Garden pub in Battersea Park Road. Thames riverside, currently Buy: window shop for interiors (1,2 20, (33,30/  0 20, impassable, is being opened up as part inspiration at the antiques shops in (1+( "(3, #,) , (2 of the regeneration of Nine Elms and Pimlico Road… then try to find will form an extension to the South something similar on eBay. (++1/41 (2, ,,  - 41 Bank. Walk: wander through the wilds of (3,),  41 1/'&(*(3%41 What it costs: an average property in nearby Battersea Park. SW8 costs £709,231, down 6.9 per cent 1 ,3,,41  .+1* %%41 in the last six months according to £385,000: this Rightmove. large two-double First-time buy: there are no market- bedroom flat price bargains to be had in glitzy Nine with a garden in Elms, but there are good-value older Wandsworth blocks along the Wandsworth Road. Road is for sale Bairstow Eves has a two-bedroom flat, through Bairstow slightly tired but roomy and with a Eves (020 8012 ( ,3 14, 0  (, (**+1/  . garden, for £385,000. 1703) 10 WEDNESDAY 1 JUNE 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Profile

VERY long time ago Tony Pidgley was a Barnardo’s ‘Look after the workers boy. Adopted by travellers, he left schoolA as a largely illiterate 15 year-old. The founder of — especially in London’ Berkeley Homes, today he is worth an estimated £212 million and he is widely considered London’s most influential house builder. Rags-to-riches London house builder Tony Pidgley tells Pidgley began his business career in haulage. He amassed Nick Curtis all large-scale developers should be pressed a fleet of 42 lorries and he made sure that “every Friday to build more affordable homes in the capital, and explains night I took my drivers out for a Chinese meal or a steak. You

why he believes the super-rich should pay more in taxes have to look after your ALEX LENTATI workforce.” “I still love my work”: Berkeley Group boss Tony Pidgley, 69 Looking after its workforce is something that Pidgley, 69, own home is a 16th-century amount of drugs, a lot of single thinks Britain is failing to do, pile set in 100 acres near mothers,” he recalls. “We won   ) especially in London and the Windsor, but he also owns “a the tender by saying we would South-East where affordable flash flat in London, and I pay look after them [problem housing is so rare. “In £4,600 in council tax on it. If tenants and chaotic families], Manchester and Liverpool they someone like me wants a picked up 500 of them, talked may not have as many jobs, but second home they should pay to them, asked them what they there is no lack of housing at more for the services. If I was wanted, built them houses, affordable prices,” he declares. being charged £50,000 a year, gave them garden taps to “The housing crisis is in I would think about it more. I encourage them to make their London. I think London is think we are all agreed the own homes look good.” being left behind.” super-rich should pay.” Though he has expressed He adds: ‘‘You can’t tell the    Pidgley has an answer: “We support for the Tories in the difference between our private should say to the industry that past, Pidgley believes London’s and our affordable units.” 30 per cent of what we build new Mayor, Labour’s Sadiq Those 500 families are now      on each site of more than 1,000 Khan, is a man he can do part of a development of 1,500 units should be affordable business with. He is pro- homes. Pidgley claims that housing,” he says. For Europe: “I think on balance we Berkeley’s customer ratings simplicity’s sake, he breaks should stay in, be part of a are “the best in the industry”, that figure down — 10 per cent bigger market. For security, and suggests that giving people should be social housing at being part of a bigger family social housing they can be affordable rents; another 10, proud of, where “the rich and shared-ownership units the poor are part of the same enabling councils to help ‘I am basically community”, is a way to drive young professionals to get on social improvement and the housing ladder, while the uneducated. Ask me aspiration. final 10 per cent should be to spell 10 words and He is, of course, something of extra care homes — supervised a poster boy for aspiration. He housing enabling the elderly to I will probably spell worked as a teenager for his move out of costly larger parents, chopping down trees, houses — or starter homes sold three. I don’t feel selling logs, saving money to at a market discount. ashamed of that’ buy a lorry, turning that into a This uniform standard should haulage company which he be imposed across all house sold to Crest Nicholson in builders by central feels better, and if we are not 1968, parlaying a job in its government, he says, and part of the common market, building division as part of the should be reflected in a 30 per we will lose a lot of our deal. His adoptive mother cent discount on the cost of manufacturing base. In lived to see him start Berkeley land, which might stop some banking, £4 trillion goes eight years later. Would his local authorities holding out on through our City each day. We parents have been proud of his developers. Like all are the financial capital of the success today? “Of course they developers, he’d like to see a world and I wouldn’t want to would,” he says, “but they reduction in the number of put that under threat.” wouldn’t understand it.” planning conditions imposed He returns to his original He has two adult children on projects after consent is point. “We can’t have the from his first marriage — his   ## +  given, suggesting it would be situation where policemen, fire son Tony Jr once launched a # '    + better to prosecute “the one engine drivers or nurses don’t takeover bid for Berkeley — per cent who break the rules” have a home that’s affordable.” and two daughters with his   *" rather than making “the 99 He says we should all be second wife, who have been who get it right” jump through grateful for the NHS and brought up to do their chores time-consuming hoops. recently had cause to and “don’t answer their father “I’ve owned Southall appreciate it himself. His back”. Gasworks for two years, it’s second wife, Sarah Hill, a been derelict for decades, and passionate dressage rider who Pidgley claims he comes to work I can’t lay a brick on it because he met at a polo match, “fell off for the love of it, not the money. I’m fighting time-consuming a horse, was knocked Well, he would say that, and expensive technicalities,” unconscious, couldn’t wouldn’t he? “Now look,” he he says. For its part, says remember her name or count replies, still smiling but with a Pidgley, the building industry to 10. At emergency outpatients glint of steel in his eyes, “I have  !&$ & (   %"  !&$ & (  %" should invest more in they were absolutely superb. had an amazing life. I have apprenticeships and training to And I was ill about six months built this business from one       combat the lack of skilled before, with internal bleeding house to what it is today.           workers. post-op at 3am. The NHS was “I am basically uneducated.        He thinks the industry will again superb.” Ask me to spell 10 words, I will have to learn to live with the Berkeley Homes has a track probably spell three. I don’t      increase in stamp duty, but record in the kind of mixed feel ashamed of that. Am I that this “transactional tax” development he is proposing. streetwise? Yes. Did my will have to force a further The company has taken over parents teach me common reduction in the price of land. failing council estates, most sense? Yes. Do I have a lot of Personally, he’d have preferred notably in Kidbrooke in south- energy? Yes. Is it fantastic what the Government to adjust east London. “There was some I have done? Yes. Do I love it council tax bands. Pidgley’s violence on the estate, a certain still? Yes. Will I retire? No.” EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 1 JUNE 2016 11 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by Homes abroad | Homes & Property Cathy Hawker finds waterfalls, jungles, mountains and acres of sandy beaches in a tax haven for UK-based house hunters

HEN Christopher Columbus sailed into the Caribbean in 1492 and stumbled upon the Dominican Republic,W he declared it “the most beautiful land in the world” and promptly set up a second home there, in Santo Domingo, which became its capital. Praise indeed A Caribbean dream for £160k from an explorer who had seen more of the planet than most in the 15th century. £881,000: above Today “the DR”, as it is often called, left, a villa with has nine international airports and four bedrooms tourism is well established. About and a pool, north 140,000 Britons visit annually with coast (Sotheby’s overall tourist numbers up 8.5 per International cent in the past year. There are plenty Realty) of cheap-and-cheerful all-inclusive hotels, most clustering around Punta Cana in the east, but there is also an £2 million: above, upmarket crowd who come — wealthy two-bedroom Americans and well-connected villas for sale at Europeans including Prime Minister Amanera, Playa David Cameron’s mother-in-law Lady Grande (aman Astor, a regular visitor for many years. villaspg.com) Along with a delightful Spanish heritage the DR is indeed beautiful, a leader in eco-tourism with 250 miles of beaches, mountains, jungles and Island paradise: waterfalls. It is the Caribbean’s left, fine sand second-largest country, twice the size beach at the of Wales, and more than a fifth of the pretty fishing land is protected and wonderfully village of Mano natural. Yet it also has the largest Juan on Saona marinas in the Caribbean, fantastic Island, in the surfing beaches and a stellar Dominican reputation as a golfing destination Republic’s with 18 courses. National Park of the East GOLF — AND SOME OF THE WORLD’S BEST BEACHES Exclusive hotelier Aman Resorts is capitalising on this by opening Amanera on Playa Grande, on the

undeveloped green north coast. This GETTY is Aman’s first integrated golf resort worldwide, and along with an intimate 25-suite hotel, the company Italia, in the individual casitas, or international resort with impeccable private villas in gated developments apartments on the north coast is offering the chance to follow guest rooms. service and top facilities. The golf in the hills with panoramic views. beaches from £175,000. Columbus’s example and buy an Homes for sale include six two- course, for example, is private — only Penthouse condos directly on the island home. bedroom villas of 2,500sq ft priced at for members, villa owners and hotel beach start from £140 a square foot.” CONTACTS Playa Grande has everything you £2 million. These must be put in a guests.” Direct BA flights from On the north coast in Puerto Plata, O Sotheby’s International Realty: would expect from a Caribbean rental pool for 46 weeks of the year London land at Punta Cana but British a substantial four-bedroom detached sothebysrealty.com getaway. There are 2,000 acres of with revenue split equally between buyers at Amanera will probably villa and pool in grounds with mature O Amanera: amanvillaspg.com high cliffs, green mountains, dense owners and the hotel. Also for sale choose to transfer through Miami to trees and plants is £899,000, through O Dominican Republic Tourism: vegetation and exquisite deep, fine are the final three of seven founders arrive at Puerto Plata, within 80 Sotheby’s. Meanwhile, Century 21 godominicanrepublic.com sand beaches, truly some of the best villas on one-and-a-half-acre plots minutes of the resort. has a selection of small two-bedroom O Century 21: juanperdomo.com in the world. with direct beach access, priced from The government built a coastal golf £5 million. This is very high end. THE GLOBAL APPEAL course there 25 years ago to The Aman brief is shown in OF A SOLID INVESTMENT £160,000: encourage tourism to this less-visited Amanera’s strong design element The Dominican Republic attracts a two-bedroom, spot and after a recent upgrade it is with spacious communal areas, yet buyers from the US, Canada, Europe two-bathroom 370 acres of waterfront perfection. also possessing an intimate, and Russia, says William Holden of resort apartment Amanera sits at one end of a understated elegance. Developer Sotheby’s International Realty, on the coveted crescent-shaped, mile-long beach, a Dolphin Capital has worked with thanks to its low taxes, good north coast at newly built ultra-contemporary Aman before at Amanzoe in Greece, Caribbean location and excellent Ocean One resort set among tropical plants and also a hotel with homes for sale. flight access. Cabarete, Puerto trees. London-based architect and “The opportunity for an exclusive “While many countries have seen Plata, with a designer John Heah came up with home is what buyers at Aman resorts property prices drop in value shared pool. every aspect, from the soaring, like,” says Cameron Kimball of substantially since 2008, those on Through asymmetrical glass, wood and Amanera. “The brand is crucial. the north coast of the DR have Sotheby’s concrete lines of the main building to Buyers know with Aman that it will remained steady since 2008,” he International the furniture, constructed by B&B be a stress-free purchase on an adds. “The most coveted homes are Realty Search more than 230,000 properties for sale overseas at 14 WEDNESDAY 1 JUNE 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property Design| Furniture as art is the modern way to display sculpture in city homes, reports Jenny Dalton

ARC MEIRÉ, co- founder of German creative firm Meiré and Meiré, buys furniture for its sculpturalM looks. In his living room, a wooden Faye Toogood Spade chair has a back like a garden spade handle, while in the garden itself are angular Medici chairs by Konstantin Grcic for Italian brand Mattiazzi. Furniture-as-art pieces increasingly permeate modern design. Milan’s furniture fair in April was a study in furniture as sculpture, including ▲ It stacks up: Milà stackable armchair in ▲ Dress for dinner: Mass table by chairs, by Oki Sato’s design studio polypropylene, by Jaime Hayón for Magis, Alain Gilles references 19th-century Nendo, based on the speech bubbles £160, references the buildings of Catalan ▲ Timber: Nest armchair by Markus crinoline dresses and 3D design wire and gridlines of Manga comics. architect Gaudi. From www.magisdesign. Johansson for Mogg, from £1,690 at frames. From £2,655 at Go Modern London-based UK/Italian duo com and madeindesign.co.uk Go Modern (gomodern.co.uk) (as before) Oeuffice showed sculpted marble stools resembling elegant chess- pieces, and Kartell launched a Nendo sculptural child’s rocking chair. The realisation that most of us don’t need any more furniture, so it has to offer something extra is at the crux of the trend. Go Modern in Fulham Better shape up stocks the Nest armchair from Mogg, made of leaning upright timber rods, along with Bonaldo’s Amond dining ► Rock me baby: table with a “hollow” folded metal a rocking chair base. The store’s owner, Tina Mahony, for children, by says new tech lets designers create the Nendo design pieces that “sit comfortably between studio for Kartell the worlds of art and furniture”. (kartell.com/gb; Brodie Neill of Made In Ratio cimmermann. created his wavy Cowrie chair, based co.uk) on the geometry of a shell, using 3D scanning technology, having studied the science of a comfy seat to incorporate real usability. Lamberti Décor’s Fluid Ribbon Chair, made of a bent, curved strip of metal or laminated bamboo, is influenced by biomechanics. London-based Bodo Sperlein’s Contour collection, designed to show wood’s flexibility as a sculptural material, is meant to last a lifetime and be well used. He says: “Friends are surprised to see me using these pieces in an everyday setting, but that for me is important.”

A secluded, gated development in a tranquil setting, attheheartof Brackenbury Village, W6 0LQ

            Saturday 11th June Join us for brunch at Brackenbury Grove from 11am to 4pm Computer generated image Actual showhome photography 0344 809 2016 Apartments from £590,000 www.BrackenburyGrove.co.uk Houses from £1,075,000 Details correct at time of going to press. www.site-sales.co.uk EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 1 JUNE 2016 15 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by Design| Homes & Property

▼ Wonderful wood: Contour chair and desk by Bodo Sperlein, starting from £7,000 at Bodo Sperlein London, Oxo Tower Wharf, SE1 (020 7633 9413; bodosperlein.com)

▲ Food for thought: Amond dining table by Gino Carollo Bonaldo in copper, brass or pickled metal from £3,950 at Go Modern in King’s Road SW6 (as before)

◄ To the point: Mini Clay table by Desalto at Staffan Tollgard, starting from £1,140 (tollgard. ▼ Shell we sit?: co.uk) Cowrie chair, in moulded plywood with moulded leather seat pad, by Brodie Neill at Made In Ratio, 70 Paul Street, EC2 (020 7033 3434; madein ratio.com) Thebestseat in the house

► A different angle: chair, from £817, and    " table, £499, from  the Medici series "   by Konstantin    Grcic for Mattiazzi. In natural or          coloured Douglas     fir, or waxed     "  American walnut (mattiazzi.eu; nest.co.uk; twentytwenty  !    ! !  one.com)     "    "    18 WEDNESDAY 1 JUNE 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Events homesandproperty.co.uk powered by

1 2 3

4 Five things to see in June By Barbara Chandler 1 THE HOUSE FAIR 5 THE +  , ' June 22-25, Olympia, Hammersmith SPITALFIELDS 3 CONNAUGHT VILLAGE Road, W14 (0844 412 4623; JOURNEY SUMMER FESTIVAL #  #" $ * % $ thehousefair.co.uk) June 7, 11, 14, June 22, 2pm to 8pm, Connaught Street MEET retailers and explore their 18, 21 and 25, and adjacent area, W2 (connaught- furniture, flooring, kitchens, lighting, noon and 1pm village.co.uk) wallcoverings and more at this House at Dennis THIS free fun day and evening is for & Garden magazine event which sits Severs’ House, everyone, in a central location full of alongside the Spirit of Summer fair below, in upmarket specialist shops and for fashion/home accessories and Folgate St, E1, restaurants, five minutes from gifts. A total of 350 exhibitors and the Marble Arch station. Try special includes the Stone & Ceramic Museum of menus, street food and free ice Warehouse and Amy Kent bespoke Immigration, cream, cakes and Pimm’s. See the rugs. Talks and demos include colour Princelet St, E1 vintage fire engine and meet the advice from Joa Studholme of Farrow (dennissevers firemen, play crazy golf and enjoy & Ball. Take tea at Wedgwood Home house.co.uk; candy floss, arts and crafts, popcorn Café, or sip a glass at the Louis 19princelet and a treasure hunt. Workshops Roederer Champagne Bar. Tickets: street.org.uk) include cheese-and-wine pairings at £16 online, £20 on the door. SEE two magical Buchanan’s Cheesemonger — 18th-century pictured is owner Rhuaridh 2 CRAFT + MANUFACTURE: homes of Buchanan — and pottery demos at INDUSTRIAL DESIGN BY Huguenot silk Mud Australia, both in Porchester FOSTER + PARTNERS weavers. The Place. Make flower crowns, attend a Now until July 2 at the Aram Gallery, tour, £25, taking cocktail masterclass, and there’s face 110 Drury Lane, WC2 (020 7557 7526; in both houses, painting for the kids. Fashion thearamgallery.org lasts an hour boutiques will be hosting soirées and STARCHITECT Sir Norman Foster is and 45 minutes talks, and the highlight is the dog  ) $  $   ,   possibly most famous for the Gherkin and includes a show, which will be judged this year in the City. Less known are his designs Victorian garden by broadcaster Angela Rippon. "  !"$$# 0 "  for interior furnishings and fittings. synagogue %!)#  (( "$& %#$  $# David Nelson, practice head of design, rarely opened to 4 SURREY ARTISTS’ says: “We bring to products our the public. Dan OPEN STUDIOS "  !$  #$& +  , special skills in engineering and Cruickshank, the June 4-19 (surreyopenstudios.org.uk) mathematics, plus our detailed art historian and MORE than 300 artists are putting on studies of how people live.” Results TV presenter, is shows and sales of their work, along !" # "  0,& on show include door handles, taps, a local, and calls with demonstrations and workshops. lighting and furniture, such as the the museum At the age of 92, Mary Wondrausch is Tecno Nomos table, pictured. “exquisite”. the oldest exhibitor. She’s known for her slipware, with delicate “trailed” decoration — visit studiopottery.com. !#    0 "  5 Glassmaker Adam Aaronson has a ##"'" "# % $ table full of bargain glassware, with pieces from £5. He’s also doing hot   !! $$ $ '#$ $ glass demos, or you can book a "$ #%$  # (   “taster” glassmaking course, £40, at adamaaronson.com. Newcomers include Sarah Louise Dix whose ((("'""# % fanciful chairs wear “clothing” —

 .//12/ - such as laced corsets, pictured. Visit sarahlouisedix.co.uk. '(# * !! $$ * More London summer open studios include Pullens Yard in south London, June 10-12 (pullensyards. co.uk), and Cockpit Arts (cockpit arts.com), June 2-5 (Holborn) and June 10-12 (Deptford). 20 WEDNESDAY 1 JUNE 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Reader promotion Alison Cork

Bargain news

Period-style windows AYRTON BESPOKE can with double glazing accurately replace period Commute down the garden windows and doors with the to your cosy, smart new office added security and energy and CREATE a garden sanctuary with sound insulation Smart Garden Offices’ Ultra range. of double glazing. These stylish modern studios have Get 10 per cent double-glazed windows and full off your order thermal insulation. when you visit Manufactured in the UK and ayrtonbespoke. professionally installed, the Ultra is com, call 020 the perfect office or retreat. Available 8877 8920 or in seven sizes and individually visit Ayrton’s specified, the range starts from £8,652 showrooms in including VAT. For a free site survey, Crouch End and visit smartgardenoffices.co.uk or call Wandsworth An elegant way to display your TV 0800 242 5559. and use the code Readers receive a free mini library AYRES0106 THE Thierry TV stand in a classic large central open unit for your DVD with up to three bookcases in white, before June 30. French design from Within Home is player. Usually £345, readers can buy beech or walnut. Use code SMART-ES A guarantee of hand-carved in mango wood and Thierry for £315 with code FLIX30. before the end of July 1. up to 30 years is measures H45cm x W128cm x D40cm. Visit withinhome.com/flix30 or call included There are two roomy drawers, plus a 020 7087 2900 by June 15 to order.

Sit pretty and save £440 Go Gothic outdoors BRIGHTEN a dark corner of your GENTLE curves, deep cushions and garden with this Church St Martin rattan weave combine in the Tuscany mirror from One Regent Place. Washington Sofa Set, right, from Reduced from £69.99 to just £34.99, Maze Living. This super-stylish it’s manufactured in recycled wood modern garden set is made up of two with an aged, Gothic-style finish and armchairs, a two-seater sofa, a coffee gives the illusion of an intriguing table and a cushioned footstool. garden beyond. Sturdy and durable, it It’s reduced from £1,249 to just will look wonderful in an alcove or on £809, with a five-year guarantee and a garden wall, or even indoors in a free delivery included. Also available hallway or bedroom. are two-, four-, six- and eight-seater To order, visit oneregentplace.co.uk/ outdoor dining sets. Visit mazeliving. holy5 or call 020 3504 1532. Available co.uk or call 01440 710673 to order. only while stocks last.

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.

          

         

                 !                   22 WEDNESDAY 1 JUNE 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Outdoors

HE brightest garden on the block at Chelsea Flower Show was surely this colour- Spreading ful celebration of flowers and foliage, the RHS Greening TGrey Britain Garden for Health, Happi- ness and Horticulture. A collaboration between the RHS, the Evening Standard a little and Angell Town, Brixton, much of the garden will be recreated in Little Angel’s Park on the Angell Town estate for resi- dents, some of whom helped in the happiness build at Chelsea, to enjoy. This is a garden we can all take home — packed with fun and ideas to encour- It’s next stop Brixton for the RHS age all of us to convert patches of grey in our city to green and help the envi- Chelsea garden that shows how ronment in the process. Most of the Veil of violet: vanda orchids on a garden is paved, explains the designer, string hang from the potting shed to green up London’s grey bits Ann-Marie Powell, to show you can still have a great garden, balcony or court- yard just by planting a few containers. It’s a rough template of how front gar- dens used to be, says Powell, with a central path bordered by flower beds and a garage alongside, which is repre- sented by a potting shed. Rusted steel troughs holding Hidcote lavender and flanked by lollipop yew trees frame the paths of durable porcelain, and an over- hanging pergola has the swish look of Cor-ten steel but is in fact a series of

rusty scaffolding poles. “We wanted to MARRIANNE MAJERUS PICTURES BY use reclaimed materials in a new way,” Meeting place: hawthorn trees mark the central seating area Pattie Barron SETTLE IN FOR

says Powell. “Everything is inexpensive SUMMER and easy to do. We used a shipping crate for our potting shed, painting it bright orange, and used apple crates, bought * EXCLUSIVE OFFERS AVAILABLE cheaply online, as cubbyholes in the interior to hold ferns and greenery.” WHEN YOU RESERVE BEFORE 30th JUNE The metal hoops and bamboo canes that support the container plants are painted orange and purple, and horti- culture apprentices at Wisley made TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR about 30 bug hotels from waste materi- EXCITING SUMMER OFFERS als on the outside walls. MAKING EVERY INCH WORK LUXURY APARTMENTS IN STOCKWELL SW9 Planting, too, is deliberately simple with readily available plants so that the same MOVE IN NOW effects can be achieved. In fact the per- gola holds just one climber, the striking and richly perfumed orange rose, West- erland. The front of the garden has a waterlily pool on one side and a peren- nial mini meadow on the other — here are orange geums, pink ragged robin, purple alliums and aquilegias dotted among grasses — for attracting pollinat- ing insects, but it also serves as a rain garden, absorbing water rather than letting it run off. Large rooftop terrace with stunning panoramic views of the London skyline Two oak benches on either side of the path, one with orange painted legs, the Spacious apartments with private outdoor space, some with dual balconies other with purple, are underplanted beneath four hawthorn trees, under- Insects’ refuge: with long-flowering Geranium Rozanne planted with shade-loving Geranium top, bug hotels of 7-9minute walk to Stockwell station and behind are borders with the same phaeum Samobor and ferns. pine cones and plant groups repeated over and over, waste materials Perfectly located between Stockwell and Brixton notably crimson lupin Beefeater, blue ACH tree is encircled with are scattered 24hr concierge Salvia Violette de Loire, Rosa Big Purple smooth white fibreglass seat- through the and green Euphorbia polychroma. ing. Nicest touch of all, how- garden Every surface is used, although con- ever, is the detail in the path’s £635,000 15TH -19TH FLOOR APARTMENTS tainers are clustered in corners to keep paving. Inscribed here and Bright touches: the walkway clear. The potting shed roof Ethere, in the top 10 languages spoken a metal hoop is packed with colourful containers of in the UK, from English to Urdu, are the painted orange cactii and California poppies, trailing words health, happiness and horticul- supports a 0344 809 2026 tomatoes and even runner beans on a ture, to greet visitors and remind them geranium, above www.ParkHeightsSW9.co.uk wigwam. A curtain of violet orchids veils how these three elements are so won- the doorway at the back of the shed. Ian derfully intertwined. Visit us at Park Heights, 25 Robsart Street, Stockwell SW9 OFA Drummond of Indoor Garden Design, who installed them, assures that vanda O For a complete planting list of the Gardening * Terms and conditions apply. Your home may be repossessed orchids hang from trees in the wild, so garden, as well as suppliers, see problems? if you do not keep up payments on your mortgage. are happy dangling from a string if they homesandproperty.co.uk CONSTRUCTION Price and details correct at time of going to press. Email our RHS AWARDS 2015 are misted daily and the roots sub- WINNER Actual photography of Park Heights. www.google.co.uk/maps expert at: expert merged in water weekly. The long paved O For outdoor events this month, visit gardeningadvice path leads to a central meeting place homesandproperty.co.uk/events @gmail.com 24 WEDNESDAY 1 JUNE 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | My home homesandproperty.co.uk

New inside and out: the Sixties townhouse, one in a row of Challenge: architects Margaret Bursa and Johan Hybschmann, founders of Archmongers in Hoxton, transformed the run-down five set in a gap in a traditional Victorian terrace N1 townhouse Bursa bought as a family home for £395,000, adding over £550,000 to its value in a project to test their ideas Sex up the Sixties *+.4.,6 The boxy townhouse was a horror show but a young London architect ( needed a home. She and her business partner seized the chance to " make it fabulous and added £550k to its value. By Philippa Stockley  RCHITECT Margaret Bursa 990sq ft. “Ben would only agree to buy it of the old, poky rooms, the ground floor  and her civil servant hus- if I put a roof terrace on top,” Bursa says. flows through as one space. A large and band, Ben, thought that Luckily for Ben, such houses are rarely welcoming lobby has a smart, marble- unless they compromised listed, and this one wasn’t in a conserva- clad bathroom off it, while the kitchen on location, they were tion area, so that was a possibility. area has a sleek, reclaimed marble work- trappedA in the rental loop. They were After buying the place in February 2013, top and lots of storage above. The green- living in a flat in King’s Cross — but then the couple, both 32, lived in it for a year painted stair adds colour, beyond which Margaret spotted a Sixties brick town- while Bursa and Hybschmann created is the big, sunny living area, leading on house in Finsbury Park that was being models and drawings to submit to Isling- to the patio garden. offered online as a probate sale. ton council planners. They wanted to rip “We weren’t looking to move,” she out the garage, gut the house, replace a FROM TERRIBLE TO TERRIFIC says. “I thought it would be impossible relocate the staircase, open everything Windows inserted in internal walls let the to find anywhere we could afford in this up, add an extension at the back, change light flow. The extension has a sedum part of London, near transport, with a the cladding at the front, change the hor- roof, and the roof terrace is a triumph — a garden.” rible thick uPVC windows, and add that garden, created inexpensively, where It was winter 2012 and Czech-born roof terrace. In short, they wanted to there was nothing. Light pours down the Bursa had just set up Archmongers archi- keep the side walls and blitz the rest, stairwell through its glass access door. tecture and design studio in Hoxton with optimising the lovely east-west light. The façade now has glass bricks where Danish architect Johan Hybschmann, 33. the garage door was — Ben’s idea — and They’d met at UCL’s Bartlett School of nasty fake-wood cladding has given way Architecture and like many young Lon- HE extensive plans for what to beautiful, handmade soft pink tiles. don architects they refurbished a lot of is now called the Clock House The couple lived on site throughout the     brick Victorian houses and flats. sailed through in eight weeks, year-long project. There was no staircase But, says Hybschmann: “We wanted to with no local objections. The for a fortnight, and they had to climb a try out new ideas, so we looked for a Six- planners’ only requirement ladder to bed. “Living on the bed with a      ties or Seventies townhouse to buy, which wasT that the roof terrace should be set microwave and fridge... we would NOT we could use as a test bed, but which back to make it invisible from the road. do that again,” says Bursa, who became     could become Margaret’s family home.” The builders started with the new roof pregnant while the work went on. Daugh- The north London house she found was structure, which meant doubling all floor ter Wendy is now a year old. “terrible”, he adds.“It had textured wall- joists to support the extra weight. To Today, this gorgeous modern family     paper, velvet curtains, and an overgrown reach the terrace, the architects designed house feels much wider than it is, and is garden. It was very run down, tired, and a steep, laser-cut plywood stair. To fence flooded with light. And because the archi- the layout was all wrong.” off the top, Bursa found a job lot of steel tects and Ben did a lot of work them- poles and fencing for £80 on eBay. selves, they kept the budget super-low. *55   / 0 (" 00 -. FIVE LITTLE BOXES The garage was taken out, leaving a gap- 5*,.- +  . 2  . '#() One of five identical houses set in a gap ing access hole that had to be closed each WHAT IT COST in an early Victorian terrace, the house day. The foundation slab was lowered six Price of house in 2013: £395,000  33   2 6 * 1 . was only 11½ft wide. The ground floor inches to allow underfloor heating, plus Money spent: £150,000 (no architects’ !*-% #&(   *- (   $.2*6 offered a narrow corridor, garage, poky a floor of Danish bricks, which retain fees — and doing a lot of work themselves) *.%  ,2 -%  / bedroom and the chaotic garden. The heat. Out went the old staircase and a new Value now: £950,000 first floor had a kitchen, bedroom and steel one was constructed, in two sec- bathroom and on the upper floor were tions, and welded on site. The extension, Going out: extended living space leads to two bedrooms. The space totalled clad in softwood, was built. Now, instead the patio, and there’s a roof terrace, too  EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 1 JUNE 2016 25 powered by My home | Homes & Property

Opened up: out of the poky ground- floor hallway, bedroom, garage and messy garden came generous living space and a smart patio

Violet vibe: Calacatta Viola Marble is a show-stopping touch in the bathroom

Scandi-chic brick: shoe storage space and Danish heat-retaining floor bricks Get the look Architects: Margaret Bursa and Johan Hybschmann at archmongers.com Windows: from velfac.co.uk Calacatta Viola Marble in bathroom: mandarinstone.com Barbican combined wall sink and splashback: twyfordsbathrooms.com Kitchen: by Danish company Svane (svane.com) Radiators: homebase.co.uk Danish floor bricks: from gantrupbyggemarked.dk Ketley blue structural bricks used on patio: from builders merchants such as buildbase.co.uk Kee Klamp railing system used for roof terrace: from ebay.co.uk Handmade exterior “brain pink” tiles: tilesofstow.co.uk

MARGARET BURSA’S TOP TIPS FOR TRANSFORMING A SIXTIES HOME O THOUGH it’s natural to want to change things straight away, don’t rush. Live in your new home, think about how the house works, and let ideas come. The house will tell you what it needs. O Having all internal walls non- structural is an architect’s dream. You can rip everything out back to the joists and start again. They are better- designed for modern living O Putting windows into interior walls at strategic points not only draws light through the house in interesting ways but also makes spaces seem larger. O For white paint, I recommend you use Dulux. O When doing your garden, look for bargains — most of the big garden centres have cheap plants for sale.

Bright and funky: retro colour blocking hints at Sixties styling Custom-built: the steel stairway was welded together on site Photographs David Butler  28 WEDNESDAY 1 JUNE 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property Seeking approval| homesandproperty.co.uk powered by

Step outside: right and below, the Velux Cabrio window system, designed for loft rooms, usually requires no planning permission as the balcony floor is within the room

Safe option: a Juliet balcony, above, brings in light and air and should meet permitted development rules as long as it is at the rear of the property, and you don’t live in a conservation area

Let it all hang out   Question: My flat on the second floor has no outside space, so I would like to put a small balcony at the back, just outside my bedroom window. Do you think that would be okay with my local council? Answer: OU should definitely look Selwyn into installing a balcony as it would provide your home Atkinson with a degree of usable out- OUR PLANNING EXPERT door floor space and this ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS Ycould, potentially, add five or 10 per cent to the value of the property. 205 Holland Park Avenue A cantilevered balcony measuring, the amount of light that comes in and say, one-and-a-half metres by 1.2 metres will give the room a more airy, spacious is likely to cost you between £3,000 feel. Expect to pay between £250 and and £3,800. You should certainly be £850 to have the balcony made, plus the able to recover that when you sell. French doors. If your property is not in You will need to apply for planning a conservation area, a Juliet balcony permission and the success of your would fall under permitted develop- application will depend largely upon ment legislation but only as long as you where you live. The council’s planners locate it at the rear of your property. will consider the visual impact of the Another option to consider is the balcony on the character of the area Velux Cabrio window system which and this is especially important if you has been specifically designed for loft NEW RELEASE OF 1 BEDROOM live in a conservation area. rooms. When closed, these give the The extent to which you overlook appearance of a standard roof light but your neighbours will also be important when opened they create what is essen- APARTMENTS NOW AVAILABLE — but you can usually reduce the tially a small balcony within the slope impact by adding obscured glazing or of the roof. !  $   #''   '"' " '"  ) &   '$  some form of permanently fixed bal- The makers appear to have found a . cony screening to ensure that next “loophole” within the legislation. This     ' -"-  ' '$   '    door’s privacy is maintained. is because the system does not require the construction of a raised platform,  "'$  -' $'  '   % +- ) '+  (-'' REMEMBER — NOISE ANNOYS as the existing attic floor can be used   '   '")"  Larger balconies able to accommodate to stand on. A standard balcony would  ,"''    &  ' )  % $  '' $  ' more than a couple of people have the inevitably protrude past the plane of potential to create noise disturbance, the front or rear roof slope and would )  + (  which is much harder to design against, fail to comply with the legislation. so try to keep it as small as possible if "' )  *& you think your neighbours might object HE question of whether the to your application. Cabrio system met these TO BOOK A VIEWING PLEASE CALL 020 3538 1891 If you still think that noise, overlook- requirements was raised last ing or loss of privacy to neighbouring year when Richmond upon properties would result in a refusal, Thames council refused an consider installing a Juliet balcony, O You can email Tapplication for a lawful development which is made up of French windows your questions for certificate. The applicant appealed and with an externally attached railing our planning the inspector concluded that the system across the lower part. consultant Selwyn would in fact fall under Class C of that Named after Shakespeare’s Romeo Atkinson to year’s General Permitted Development          and Juliet, a balcony like this will give selwyn@blackbox Order. It meant the windows were

             you no extra floor space because it consultancy. deemed lawful, so planning permission doesn’t protrude, but it will increase co.uk wasn’t required. 30 WEDNESDAY 1 JUNE 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Property searching Spotlight on Vauxhall The US embassy is leading the stampede south of the river where thousands of new homes are part of the transformation, says Anthea Masey

F ALL the places you might have expected the grand US embassy to move to when it marched out of Mayfair, grimy, Otraffic-clogged Vauxhall wasn’t one of them. However, the decision has proved a game changer for this district south of the river. The Americans’ announcement was the starting gun for the dazzling transformation of a largely overlooked inner-London neighbourhood that is an easy walk find your happy from the Palace of Westminster. From the ugly Vauxhall gyratory Transport central: Vauxhall rail, Tube and bus interchange on the gyratory with its relentless roar of traffic, to the four chimneys of Battersea Power to play the longer game will benefit Sainsbury’s stores, a pair of new projects have been put in place to join Station, huge swathes of industrial from a 20-year plan for Vauxhall and Tube stations and two new schools. the new and old communities in this buildings have fallen under the Nine Elms. The Netherlands embassy Estate agent Justin Bhoday, of Opportunity Area, as identified under wrecking ball, to be replaced with is following the American lead to Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward, says the London Plan. The magnitude of high-end pieces of architecture move there, while 20,000 new Vauxhall still manages to retain some development, with so many absentee overlooking the Thames. homes are under way, with a linear of its period charm. “There has buyers, has not added to Vauxhall’s Many of the new residential towers park lined with cafés and always been a strong community in charm, but it’s early days. Knitting may stand largely unlived in, restaurants, flagship Waitrose and Vauxhall and we are finding many together areas to create a new pattern snapped up off-plan by foreign buyers are migrating from north of is an organic process that doesn’t investors, but Londoners prepared Photographs: Daniel Lynch the river to join them.” A number of happen overnight.

£750,000 £450,000 £675,000 £1 MILLION A TWO-BEDROOM apartment in Cornell Square, THIS smart ground-floor studio flat in Lawn Lane A THREE-BEDROOM apartment in Rita Road, just A ONE-BEDROOM flat in City Tower, Nine Elms, with with 180-degree views across south London has a warehouse conversion feel and is an easy walk moments from the centre of Vauxhall, is for sale access to a cinema, crèche, gym and roof terrace. from a private balcony. Foxtons (020 7801 1111). from . Field & Sons (020 7234 9633). through Dexters (020 8675 2224). Henry Wiltshire International (020 3324 9145). !&. ,' $ + /&(  +>;, 4 6AA; ;?:; ?6A7?8@7 ?A:?=7?=!6>6 6 A;A? ?= .6 >6AA#)  :;:7668; < A6:86;: =;; 68; 6: < ?= =; >; 6:? ?6A B6 ;?6A ? > 68 ?=;:=;8 ; -6AA66 B;  <<;68>?8;< >;;;; A8;6 ;::;?=6A; ;-;68> ? >6:? ?8 - B:; 6; >; ?8#

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                                       EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 1 JUNE 2016 31 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by Property searching | Homes & Property

homesandproperty.co.uk Landmark view: the Palace of powered by HAVE YOUR SAY: Westminster from Tamesis Dock VAUXHALL floating pub, moored between Lambeth and Vauxhall Bridges LOCALS TWEET THEIR TIPS

@VauxhAllOne STATS CHECK So many great places, @eatatcounter WHAT HOMES COST @BrunswickHse @theblackdogse11 BUYING IN VAUXHALL @BeaconsfieldArt @TeaHouse Theatre @VauxhallStFood @thervt (Average prices) One-bedroom flat £645,952 @antiquemark Two-bedroom flat £1,065,572 Places to recommend? Yes. Counter Two-bedroom house £932,786 brasserie under the station. Amazing food and service and our regular :) Three-bedroom house £956,359 Four-bedroom house £1,263,182 @VauxhallStFood We’re reopening the Vauxhall street Strolling in the city: a leafy stretch of Albert Embankment RENTING IN VAUXHALL food garden on June 6 — not to be (Average rates) missed One-bedroom flat £1,926 a month Two-bedroom flat £3,032 a month @JessLSKing Try Bonnington Café — Bonnington Two-bedroom house £2,819 a month cafe.co.uk Three-bedroom house £2,978 a month Four-bedroom house £3,158 a month Source: Rightmove TRAVEL VAUXHALL station has trains to FOR MORE, VISIT Waterloo and its Tube station is on homesandproperty.co.uk the Victoria line. Seven buses — the No 2, 36, 87, 88, 185, 360 and 436 — O Use our School Checker to find stop at Vauxhall bus station with its catchment areas and inspection landmark ski jump canopy, and cross reports for local schools to destinations all over central London including Trafalgar Square, Marylebone, Marble Arch, Paddington and Sloane Square. The extension to the Northern line will bring two new Tube

A taste of Italy in Vauxhall: Jake McLellan, manager of Charlie Boxer’s Italo café & deli in Bonnington Square THE PROPERTY SCENE

■ NEW-BUILD HOMES ready to move into next year. Call next year (keybridgelondon.com; 020 Nine Elms Point is a Barratt scheme 0845 548 8035. Sky Gardens is a 7205 4152). Atlas offers 553 student of 645 studios and one- to four- Strawberry Star scheme of one- and flats in a 35-storey block in South bedroom flats in Wandsworth Road, two-bedroom flats in two blocks with Lambeth Road opposite Vauxhall with 52 affordable. The first residents roof gardens in Wandsworth Road. Park. Call 0151 707 2666. move in this summer. Next to the Prices from £614,000. Call 020 3072 new Nine Elms Tube station, it will be 0040 (skygardensnineelms.com). ■ AFFORDABLE HOMES arranged in seven buildings including Keybridge, by Mount Anvil and Affinity Sutton has 29 shared- two towers. Prices from £642,000. Fabrica, includes the conversion of ownership flats at Nine Elms Point. Call 0844 2250032. the BT building in South Lambeth Prices start at £455,000 and shares of stations, in Wandsworth Road at Nine The Residence, by Bellway, has Road into 37-storey Keybridge Lofts, between 25 and 75 per cent are Elms, and at Battersea Power Station. 510 one- to four-bedroom flats, with the UK’s tallest brick tower. The 441 available. Call 0300 100 0303. Vauxhall City Farm: education The two stations are scheduled to 190 affordable, in Ponton Road. It homes in four buildings, priced from Fabrica has 13 shared-ownership manager Laura McMahon and pal open in 2020. launches in September and will be £645,000 will be move-in ready from flats at Keybridge (020 7205 4152). 36 WEDNESDAY 1 JUNE 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Letting on

£425 a week: in Taybridge Road, off Lavender Hill in SW11, an attractive, bright, two double-bedroom apartment, inset, comes with this pleasant, low- maintenance private garden, right, including an easy-vacuum artificial lawn. It is available to rent through Douglas & Gordon (020 8012 3785). Give me grass I can vacuum The buy-to-let boom is blamed for neglected front gardens, but busy owner-occupiers want easy-care plots, too, says Victoria Whitlock

ANDLORDS get blamed for everything from rising house prices — though that The one’s probably true — to increasing pollution levels, accidental Lglobal warming and the nation’s declining health levels... all tosh. landlord Most recently the director-general of the Royal Horticultural Society, Sue Biggs, reportedly blamed the buy-to-let boom for the fact that one in three front gardens has no plants, children and dogs along the way. As a while the number of front gardens landlord, if your rental property has paved over has trebled in a decade. outside space, I think you should She said this was “damaging for the make it as appealing as possible. nation’s health linked to increasing Most will want it to be fairly pollution and increasing maintenance-free but that needn’t temperatures during heatwaves”. mean concreting it over. But hang on. Almost everyone in At the risk of incurring Sue Biggs’s my street has paved over their front wrath, I recommend laying an garden and the vast majority of them artificial lawn, which looks great are owner-occupiers, not landlords. year-round and requires no more Pretty much all of my neighbours maintenance than a quick run over have ripped up the turf in their back with the vacuum cleaner every now gardens, too, and replaced it with and then. slate tiles or artificial grass. These Artificial grass at least allows aren’t landlords, they are busy young rainwater to drain away, and, if you professionals and parents who don’t provide some plants in easy-care want their toddlers tramping around borders, you’ll still be doing your bit on muddy lawns for six months of for the local birds and bees. the year. Busy people — whether tenants or T IS also important to include the home owners — want stylish, low- garden and any balconies in your maintenance gardens where nothing inventory. None of the inventory much sheds, nothing rots and clerks I’ve used have included the everything stays looking neat and outside space as standard, but if tidy. Iyou want your tenants to take care of Ms Biggs also reportedly blamed your garden you should make sure landlords who don’t go as far as there’s a record of what it looks like and concreting over front gardens, but what’s in it. O Victoria who don’t maintain them for their Unless you intend to provide a gar- Whitlock lets four tenants. But I think outside space is dener or pop round yourself to weed properties in actually becoming more important in and prune the bushes once in a while, south London. To the relationship between landlords make sure you state in your tenancy contact Victoria and their tenants. As those tenants agreement that the tenant must main- with your ideas rent for longer — and many do — so a tain the garden. and views, tweet bit of garden will become more The RHS will thank you for it — and @vicwhitlock essential, especially as they acquire so will your neighbours. 38 WEDNESDAY 1 JUNE 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Inside story homesandproperty.co.uk powered by

MONDAY After seven years in the lettings market Diary of in Marylebone, I love the vibrancy of the area, so I am looking forward to an estate the start of another working week. Today I am meeting up with a familiar client of ours who is looking to re-let agent property through us. Getting to know clients well is one of the best things about being in an area for a long an on-site restaurant. However, the star time. attraction is the private cinema room. Residents can book the cinema for TUESDAY friends and family and request their I check in with one of the large property favourite film to be shown. I am estates that we handle lettings for tempted to hang around to put in a locally. These estates have done a fan- request for The Revenant. The three- tastic job in improving the area in recent bedroom apartment we are dealing years, both in the quality of rental prop- with here has great interiors. erty and the shops. Our applicants usu- ally want to be close to Marylebone High FRIDAY Street and Chiltern Street. Customers who refer someone to us We recently began work with an are being offered a £100 Selfridges estate which is well established in the voucher, in an initiative we are launch- West End. We’re marketing a wonder- ing today as a way of attracting new ful top-floor flat in Carlos Place for clients. The first happy recipient of this them, and today we take a family to gift is a recently placed tenant who was view it who are moving from Singa- delighted with our service and intro- pore. But first we give them a marathon duced a colleague who was also moving tour of central London, so they can get to the area, for whom we were quickly a sense of where they will be living. able to find a suitable one-bedroom By the time we reach Carlos Place apartment. everyone is ready for a sit down. For- Stay in and go to the flicks At the end of a successful week, it’s tunately, they fall in love with the apart- time now for the long-established ritual ment and make an offer. We are all of 5pm Friday drinks. An applicant pleased and hope that this is the start when Hollywood star Dustin Hoffman across the Carter Jonas network in THURSDAY walks in, initially surprised to see the of a fruitful long-term relationship. emerges from our basement looking London, in a friendly match against a Fitzrovia’s new Pearson Square devel- staff having white wine, but once we very confused. It turns out he has got firm of surveyors. opment is a really fabulous addition to offer him a glass he gratefully accepts WEDNESDAY lost on his way back from the loo to the These regular games are great for the W1 rental market, and I’m meeting and we book him in for a viewing tour We experience a surreal encounter optician. The irony is not lost on us. We networking and I enjoy the opportu- a landlord who recently bought a great tomorrow. today with an Oscar-winning actor. Our show him next door and suggest that nity they provide of getting together unit there. The scheme offers an office shares lavatory facilities with the he gets a stronger prescription… with colleagues from across the com- impressive array of facilities including O Andrew Walker is head of residential neighbouring optician, and everyone After work I head to Islington to play pany’s residential, commercial and a state-of-the-art gym, 24-hour con- lettings at Carter Jonas in Marylebone is getting on with their work as usual football with team members from planning divisions. cierge, social and business spaces and and Regent’s Park (020 7486 8866).

Introducing Beechcroft’s collection of new and beautifully converted houses and apartments

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0* ,0(,(0 (,#.(,+ *33 0 -,( 0. ),( 0- 222(+*(,+ (12(+  /, )(1 - /, 0 , "/(3, (+ ( *22,*0 - ,2,.(   (+ /,, ),+3 * ,,+ / , (+ ((3, (2. 0/ 2 0  , 2 ) 02 ((3, Prices from £650,000 to £1,050,000

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0 (, 0*/3+ (+ 2+ 2, / "%  40 WEDNESDAY 1 JUNE 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property Ask the expert| homesandproperty.co.uk powered by We want to buy the house, not the tenants Fiona WHAT’S I OWN an apartment, which I am currently YOUR letting to tenants. I recently received a letter McNulty PROBLEM? Qfrom my landlord telling me that I needed IF YOU have a their consent before renting out the flat. OUR LAWYER ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS question for They have asked me to pay fees and have also told me Fiona McNulty, that I must sign a licence. It all seems very odd. It is my please email apartment, after all, so surely I can do what I want WE ARE buying a house legalsolutions@ with it? that’s currently let to standard.co.uk Qthree people. We do not or write to Legal WHETHER your landlord can require you to enter want to take on these Solutions, Homes into a licence to sublet and pay associated fees tenants and wish to buy the & Property, A depends on the terms of your lease. property without them in it. How London Evening It is not unusual in a long residential lease for can we be sure they will leave, and Standard, 2 Derry there to be a clause stating that you cannot sublet without that the property will be empty Street, W8 5EE. the landlord’s consent — though such consent is not to be when we complete the purchase? We regret that unreasonably withheld. It is really important that the place questions cannot Check your lease carefully to see whether it contains is empty when we buy it because be answered any provision requiring consent to sublet; whether it we want to renovate it. Is there individually, but allows your landlord to charge a fee for granting you anything we can do to make sure we will try to consent, and also whether a licence to assign is actually the tenants actually go? feature them needed. here. Fiona You may be able to dispute or query the fee being THE contract for the sale of McNulty is a demanded by your landlord. the property should provide legal director If you have a mortgage, check the terms of your A for vacant possession on in the private agreement as often the mortgagee’s consent is required completion. Your solicitor wealth group of for subletting. should check that the appropriate agreement, which is likely to be an He or she should check these Foot Anstey It does sound in this case as though your landlord is notice requiring possession has been assured shorthold tenancy documents carefully. Sometimes (footanstey.com). prepared to allow you to let out your flat. However, do served on the tenants requesting agreement, and for confirmation buyers will not exchange contracts check the lease because if, under its terms, your them to vacate the property. that any deposit is held in a tenancy until the tenants have gone. landlord’s consent is not required for subletting, then The seller’s replies to the property deposit scheme. If the tenants are still in occupation they cannot insist on a licence — or indeed demand any information form should provide Your solicitor should also request a following completion, it may be fees from you. details about the occupiers of the copy of the relevant deposit necessary for possession property, and may also confirm that certificate, along with confirmation proceedings to be taken against them the occupiers/tenants will sign the that the prescribed information was in order to remove them. More legal O These answers can only be a very brief commentary on contract and will vacate the house served on the tenant prior to the You could request a retention in the Q&As the issues raised and should not be relied on as legal advice. on completion. Your solicitor should notice being served, and also for contract to cover your costs should Visit: homesand No liability is accepted for such reliance. If you have similar ask for a copy of the tenancy details of how the notice was served. this be necessary. property.co.uk issues, you should obtain advice from a solicitor.

                                          

        "   !  "       " !   !       "          A development by    44 WEDNESDAY 1 JUNE 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property New homes|

By David Spittles SmartSmartmoSmaSmmartmarartrt moo New neighbourhoods enjoy ‘secret’ rivers

Start HE WESTBOURNE, one of Vauxhall are being built above rivers London’s lost rivers, was that once flowed openly through your celebrated at last week’s London. RHS Chelsea Flower Show. The Walbrook offers a novel way to property Running under the site of reach the Bank of England, as it runs Tthe show, its silent ebb and flow was through a tunnel directly under the search the inspiration for a gorgeous garden Bank’s vaults before reaching the at designed by Jo Thompson, while part Thames in east London. In the Middle of its invisible route into the Thames Ages, Goodman’s Fields, Aldgate, will be traced by an overground path was a farm bordering a tributary of and water sculptures at nearby the Walbrook and supplying the City’s Chelsea Barracks, being transformed food needs. Now the land is being into a posh quarter with 448 homes. transformed into a new Other hidden rivers are being neighbourhood with more than 1,000 opened up as part of new housing homes, a hotel, shops, restaurants, projects. The Ravensbourne, which bars and a spectacular water feature runs through Lewisham, frames a new of stampeding horses, right, marking town centre park and blocks of flats, its river-dependent past. while large developments at King’s Prices from £708,000. Call 020 3217 Cross, Earl’s Court, Aldgate and 1000.

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                            !         EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 1 JUNE 2016 45 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by New homes | Homes & Property

From £640,000: new homes at Keybridge in Vauxhall TUNE IN TO FUNKY FLATS ABOVE A MUSIC SCHOOL IN SE1 WATERWAY REVIVAL brick buildings including KIA OVAL cricket ground is Keybridge Lofts, which IF YOU are after a smart home in SE1, developer Taylor Wimpey is offering line has given Wapping a fillip, and that shape because it was will be Britain’s tallest brick The Music Box, above, may strike a incentives to buy-to-let investors, the revamp of a historic wharf next to built into a bend of the tower block at 37 storeys. chord. This funky scheme of 55 flats, including a five per cent rental the station brings 31 stylish, open- River Effra in Vauxhall. An acre of landscaped above new premises for London guarantee, £1,000 legal costs and the plan flats with full-height windows, The waterway was filled open space is a nod to the Centre of Contemporary Music in first year’s ground rent and service exposed brick walls and oak floors. in during the 19th century, nearby historic Vauxhall Borough, has a glazed brick base and charges. Call 020 3857 3792. There’s a grand entrance foyer, when industry in south Pleasure Gardens that a geometric form of slender vertical Should east London be more your residents’ roof terrace and street- London flourished. With brought crowds to the blades reminiscent of piano keys. thing, Wapping retains charm and level commercial space. Prices start Keybridge, a new scheme riverbank from the mid-17th It rises elegantly on a compact site, authenticity, with Georgian St at £1.3 million for big two-bedroom of 441 homes, architects century until the Victorian with splendid views of the Shard Katharine Docks, the cobbled high apartments with Thames-facing are reviving that industrial era. Prices from £640,000. across low-rise Southwark rooftops. street and listed warehouses. Even balconies. The 1,905sq ft penthouse legacy with traditional Call 020 7205 4152. Duplexes come with a private the gallows gibbet at Execution Dock is £2.5 million. Call Galliard on 020 terrace. Prices from £737,500, and remains. The upgraded East London 770 2136.



                These spacious 3 bedroom duplex apartments offer flexible open plan living accommodation spilt over two floors with a total of 1,183 sq ft* makes these apartments ideal for family living.

These duplex apartments feature additional ceiling height on the ground floor, private terrace and access from street level. Contemporary living at its finest. Prices from £610,000**

Register your interest at Lumire-London.co.uk or call 020 7758 8481 to book an appointment at the Marketing Suite *Dimensions are approximate and are for guidance only    **Prices correct at time of going to print Developers: Marketing Agent: