A Clever Box of Tricks Transforming an Ex-Council Flat: Page 28 CHARLES HOSEA

Wednesday 10 June 2015 Made in Homes& Chelsea 700 homes along London’s new waterfront Property Page 6

CROYDON FLATS FROM £220,000 P9 BASQUE COUNTRY P10 TINY GARDENS P30 SPOTLIGHT ON ABBEY WOOD P34

A clever box of tricks Transforming an ex-council flat: Page 28 CHARLES HOSEA

NEW WEBSITE THE SUMMER SALE CPHART.CO.UK NOW ON

WATERLOO CHELSEA CHISWICK FULHAM NOTTING HILL MUSWELL HILL WIMBLEDON PRIMROSE HILL REGENTS PARK ROAD DARTFORD BRIDGE GUILDFORD MANCHESTER ST ALBANS TUNBRIDGE WELLS 4 WEDNESDAY 10 JUNE 2015 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property Online homesandproperty.co.uk with This week: homesandproperty.co.uk news: rents in central London Trophy buy of the week now top £1,000 a week conquer your own castle Table for one, please: this £2.15 million: an Englishman’s home may always be his one-bedroom ﬂat castle — but to eliminate any doubt, this one in Brentwood in Adams Row, comes with a moat and 22 acres of grounds that include Mayfair, costs landscaped gardens, a croquet lawn, a mature orchard, £4,225 a month six stables, paddocks and a swimming pool. The period to rent, typical “castle” has five bedrooms, a hot tub spa and a workshop for the W1K with a vaulted roof that could be turned back to its original postcode (go use — as a brewhouse. Through Hetheringtons. online for details) O homesandproperty.co.uk/trophy IT NOW costs nearly £50,000 a year to rent even a tiny flat in central London, new figures show. Unsurprisingly, west Mayfair tops the rental stakes, where every square London buy of the week spacious foot of a modest two-bedroom flat earns nearly £80 a Property year in rent. Renters must find £1,000 a week to have garden apartment has bags of charm any hope of being a tenant in Mayfair’s Grosvenor Square search hinterland, the W1K postcode. The research, compiled by Lonres and Dataloft, £600,000: you get solid proportions highlights the 20 most expensive postcodes to rent a with this garden flat in a quiet street home in the capital. It shows that, for those without just off Brixton Hill in south London. seven-figure salaries, homes in Zone 1 and much of A recent makeover has created Zone 2 are now out of bounds, and comes amid calls for a bright, spacious property that the Government to introduce rent caps in the capital. incorporates two generous bedrooms and a 17ft reception room showcasing O Read Ruth Bloomfield’s full story at homesandproperty.co.uk exposed brick walls, wood floors and an open-plan kitchen that’s perfect for entertaining. There is also a conservatory/dining space leading out to a garden with patio and lawn areas. Through Hamptons International. O homesandproperty.co.uk/botw Life changer cottage can’t fail to impress your guests Visit our online £575,000: in beautiful Blakeney, a short stroll from luxury section the breathtaking beaches of the North Norfolk coast, you’ll find Thorpe Cloud, a lovely brick and flint cottage. HomesAndProperty.co.uk/luxury It comes with a self-contained holiday flat set in a pretty garden that paying visitors will love, while the main house has three bedrooms — one with an en suite dressing room — plus two reception rooms and a spacious kitchen/diner. By Through Abbotts. Faye O homesandproperty.co.uk/lifechanger Greenslade

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Editor: Ready for your next step? Janice Morley MANY first-time buyers in London who were VISIT homesandproperty.co. trapped in negative uk/rules for details of our equity by the recession usual promotion rules. When can now afford to trade you respond to promotions, up thanks to an offers or competitions, the improvement in the London Evening Standard and economy, according its sister companies may to a new report by contact you with relevant Lloyds Bank. offers and services that may So-called second be of interest. Please give steppers in the capital your mobile number and/or are now in their making it possible to email address if you would strongest position for sell up and move on. like to receive such offers by more than five years, text or email. says the report. JOIN US online for The price of a typical the full story and for Editorial: 020 3615 2524 London starter home is a gallery of carefully Advertisement manager: 51 per cent higher than chosen London Jamie McCabe in 2009, meaning that properties ideal for £579,950: a detached Advertising: 020 3615 0266 second steppers who first-timers ready family home with three Homes & Property, Northcliffe bought while prices to move up to a bedrooms and a garden House, 2 Derry Street, were still falling could family home. in Ruislip, west London Kensington, London W8 5TT. now be sitting on a profit of £190,000, O Visit homesandproperty.co.uk/secondsteppers EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 10 JUNE 2015 5 homesandproperty.co.uk with News Homes & Property

Enjoy Allegra’s style É DESIGNER Allegra Hicks decorated this glamorous three-bedroom flat in Notting Hill. Reflecting her chic style, statement walls and floors give each room a different vibe. The master Taylor-made… Nicole decides the bedroom opens on to a sunny terrace, ideal for summer breakfasts. ÉGRAMMY award-winning Taylor sun’s setting on her It’s available to rent for £1,295 a week Swift is house hunting in Berkshire. from Mountgrange Heritage. The American pop princess, pictured pad near the Strip with British DJ Calvin Harris, who she

O homesandproperty.co.uk/allegra REX is reportedly dating, counts ÉNICOLE RICHIE is selling her home Londoners Cara Delevingne and Ellie near Hollywood’s Sunset Strip. Goulding among her best friends, and TV personality Nicole — the adopted it’s believed this Grade II-listed house daughter of singer Lionel Richie — and on the Thames has caught her eye. her musician husband Joel Madden, If it is the Arts & Crafts property we below, have listed the five-bedroom, suspect has attracted her, she will be five-bathroom home for £2.28 million. pleased to know that Sotheby’s The buyer gets a lagoon-style pool, Homes dropped the price from £9 million to large patio area and a guesthouse in £8.5 million a few days ago. the grounds. Designed in the 1890s by architect The couple bought the property, William West Neve, who lived there for above, for £1.2 million in 2009, so

GETTY many years, the nine-bedroom home they should make a decent profit. gossip has been revamped to incorporate state-of-the-art technology, swish interiors and a swimming pool.

By Amira Hashish Got some gossip? Tweet @amiranews O homesandproperty.co.uk/swift

Could ÉMARY BERRY’S favourite pub, The Red Lion, at Penn, Buckinghamshire, Mary is for sale. The Great British Bake Off star, left, and her husband, Paul, are cook up regulars in the cosy village hostelry, which is close to their home. a deal to The two-storey 17th-century pub, far left, has two bars, a function room buy her and a garden for customers and local? comes with a three-bedroom flat on site for the owner or their staff. Listed with Fleurets, the leasehold guide price is £175,000. The cookery queen recently listed her four-bedroom Devon holiday home for sale at £800,000, so could this be the ideal investment

REX opportunity? REX 6 WEDNESDAY 10 JUNE 2015 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property New homes homesandproperty.co.uk with

OTS ROAD Power Station is to become the centrepiece of a fashionable new waterfront neighbourhood, in the biggest change for Chelsea in livingL memory. Ed Lewis, of estate agents Savills, says: “This is an opportunity for people to live in Chelsea without having a busy road, such as Chelsea Embankment, between their homes and the river.” The listed power station sits on an eight-acre site that was blocked off from the Thames for more than a century as part of an industrial zone hidden by a high wall. Next week the site will be unveiled as a glamorous new quarter, Chelsea Waterfront, with 706 homes in its first phase. It will be accompanied by water gardens, three pedestrian bridges Plain sailing: Thames river buses are a hit with commuters across tidal Chelsea Creek and a 660-yard riverside promenade. Apart- ments will have a starting price of £1.7 million. Coming later will be apartments in a pair of slender skyscrapers, while the power station itself, a prized industrial relic with vast arched windows and tall twin chimneys, is being opened to yield 260 flats and a covered “high street” with restaurants, cafés and shops. In total, there will be 10 new build- Rebirth: Chelsea Waterfront is growing up around the old Lots Road Power Station ings. Residents will enjoy a spa and gym, underground parking and 24-hour concierge service. Completion is due in 2019. Visit the marketing suite or call 020 7352 8852. Converted Lots Road Power Station is at the Built in 1904 to supply electricity to the Tube system, the power station heart of a buzzing new waterfront quarter with closed 13 years ago and is the last sig- Free spirits: houseboats by Cheyne Walk add a boho feel nificant development site along this hundreds of new homes. By David Spittles Made in Chelsea gets a central stretch of the Thames. Redevel- where the Profumo scandal model opens next week. Prices from £914,950 opment will give a shot in the arm to a Christine Keeler was once a tenant — to £16.95 million. Call 020 7610 9693. corner of south-west London that has and Chelsea Harbour. The power The absence of the Tube in this part struggled to command cachet. station land straddles two boroughs: of London, historically a weakness, Beset by busy roads, this part of Chel- Kensington & Chelsea, which initially has been partly remedied by a new sea is the furthest away from the quaint opposed the project, and Hammer- Overground station at Imperial Wharf, garden square heartland either side of smith & Fulham, which embraced it. a giant complex west of Chelsea King’s Road. It languished despite the So residents one side of the boundary Harbour. The harbour’s river bus Bliss: the design boutique World’s End area of King’s Road rise of the chic gated neighbouring will have a different council tax pay- service is a boon for Canary Wharf estate of Chelsea Harbour, with its glit- master to those on the other side of the and City bankers living in waterfront tering marina, sleek yachts and fine- Photographs : line, though enjoying the same SW10 apartments. dining harbourside, plus the birth of Daniel Lynch postcode. The cycle superhighway along Chel- Lots Road Design Quarter with its seri- Early home searchers spotted the sea Embankment is another transport ously smart interior shops taking over From traditional terrace houses in these improvement. And we are reminded old warehouses and lining the streets £1.7 million: side streets. These homes have now how close this area is to the centre leading up to the harbour. the interior of been joined by boutique properties on when we read the 1834 testimony of In Victorian times, this territory was flats in the first small sites. Hob Mews is a scheme of writer Thomas Carlyle, who lived in dominated by a huge flour mill, a brew- phase of Chelsea five houses priced from £2.8 million. Cheyne Row, telling us that it “took ery and bottling plant, plus countless Waterfront, Call estate agents Lurot Brand on 32 minutes of my walking to Bucking- small factories and warehouses. below; and 020 7950 9955. ham Gate”. Blitz bombardment paved the way five homes An established houseboat colony Cheung Kong Property Holdings, the for post-war redevelopment, which at Hob Mews moored on the river adds a bohemian power station developer, is at the helm reached a peak in the Eighties with the start from flavour. At Chelsea Creek, new homes of the project. Farrells, the scheme’s building of World’s End council estate £2.8 million, are being built alongside new navigable architects, say the two new towers have — a cluster of orange-brick towers below right canals and moorings, the first of which been designed to unobtrusively frame

Style central: the Furniture & Arts Building in Lots Road EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 10 JUNE 2015 7 homesandproperty.co.uk with New homes Homes & Property

Getting Hot properties: together: open-market sale, The Imperial pub shared-ownership in King’s Road is and key worker ﬂats a magnet in are coming, some Chelsea’s new within the former Design Quarter power station itself powerful new cast the power station and are “elegantly the power station itself. The prospect provide a link to the fashionable west- poised like a dancing couple”. The of a swish new neighbourhood in Lots ern end of King’s Road, where flats are architecture also aims to promote a Road is spurring on the locals, says Jo selling for more than £2,000 per mixed community — a place for families Webster, whose estate agency special- square foot.” as well as singles and couples. Some ises in new waterfront developments. The TV reality series Made in Chelsea flats will have four or five bedrooms. “People in Chelsea Harbour are upgrad- has sparked the interest of a new gen- As well as flats for sale on the open ing apartments in expectation of an eration, and while this area’s enduring market, there are 275 “affordable” uplift in prices,” she adds. charm is its history as an aristocratic homes, a mix of market-discount rentals “A new community is being created retreat, bohemian hangout and urban costing from £250 a week, shared-own- in a quiet and relatively unknown village, its smart new quarter will add ership and key worker flats, some within quarter of Chelsea and it will help to an appeal that’s bang up to date. Onwards and skywards: the ﬁrst Chelsea Waterfront phase offers 706 new homes 8 WEDNESDAY 10 JUNE 2015 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property Commuting homesandproperty.co.uk with Win at Epsom The arrival of Oyster could give Epsom a clear lead in the race to attract commuters. ALAMY REX Epsom: easier commuting and a lively high street, with all the main chain stores — it’s a winning mix By Ruth Bloomfield Victory: Frankie Dettori on Golden Horn winning the Derby

ESIDENTS of Epsom will near the centre of the village, but stock have something to celebrate is in short supply. Aston Mead’s Robert in September, with the Muat says buyers would need to budget arrival of the Oyster card. £300,000 to £350,000 for a two-bed- Presently, commuters who room cottage, or £600,000 to Rlive in the affluent Surrey town are just £650,000 for a four-bedroom detached outside the Oyster network, and their Victorian house. weekly travelcard costs £62.10. Both areas saw price rises of 12.7 per Neighbouring Ewell, which is just a cent last year, and about 2.5 per cent mile-and-a-half up the road, is within in the first quarter of this year. the network, which means commuters travelling five days a week pay between SCHOOLS £31 and £51, depending on the time of £1,645,000: Epsom has a triple crown of primary day, an annual saving of up to a ﬁve-bedroom schools that are rated “outstanding” £1,617.20. detached house by the Ofsted education watchdog — So now they are going to be equal as in Langley Vale Southfield Park, Nonsuch and Stam- commuter spots, will Epsom pip Ewell Road, Epsom ford Green. Its main senior schools, at the post in the desirability stakes? (Hamptons) Rosebery School and Blenheim High School, both get a “good” rating. Ewell has a clutch of “good” primary schools, plus Wallace Fields Junior School, rated “outstanding”. For seniors, the “outstanding” Glyn School is technically in Ewell, but its catch- ment area includes parts of Epsom. “What parents really want is the KT17 postcode so they can get the best schools,” says Julia Dajani, owner of Elizabeth Scott estate agents. GREEN SPACE Both locations score well on green space. Ewell is bordered by the O Visit homesandproperty.co.uk/langvale for details 250 acres of Nonsuch Park, once one of Henry VIII’s hunting grounds. Today, TRANSPORT it has a BMX course and running tracks. Trains to Victoria from Epsom’s single A smaller, but lovely patch of open station take an average of 42 minutes, space is the garden at Bourne Hall — according to estate agents Savills. Ewell commuters skim four minutes off that journey, with a 38-minute commute. Trains from Epsom to Waterloo take 38 minutes, but from Ewell, they take 35 minutes. However, different services run to and from Ewell’s two stations. Robert Muat, sales manager at Aston Mead, believes Epsom’s entry into the Oyster network will have a positive impact on prices. “I’m not saying we will see 20 per cent rises, but it will make it a bit more attractive,” he says. “Longer-term there is the possibility of Crossrail 2 terminating at Epsom, albeit not for 10 or 15 years.” O Visit homesandproperty.co.uk/churchewell for details

PROPERTY £1 million: where John Everett Millais is supposed The average property price in Epsom an impressive to have painted Ophelia. is £455,808 — in Ewell, it is £452,516. four-bedroom Epsom has its racecourse and is “Ewell has predominantly Thirties Grade II-listed on the fringe of Epsom Common — housing stock,” says Jeremy Richard- house with 436 acres dotted with ponds and son, manager of Christies estate agents. elegant rooms wetland habitats, heathland and wood- He adds that a four-bedroom semi- and a walled land, and meadows grazed by cattle. detached house in the area would cost garden in Church about £500,000 to £700,000. Street, Ewell SHOPPING “Epsom has something for everyone, Village (Fine & Epsom has The Ashley Centre, full of from two-bedroom Victorian cottages Country) chain stores that spill out on to the high at £350,000 to £400,000, right up to street. There is a twice-weekly market 6,000-7,000sq ft houses with swim- with fruit and veg, and a monthly farm- ming pools. Ewell is cheaper all round, ers’ market, plus regular antiques fairs but Epsom houses go all the way up to at Epsom Downs Racecourse. £5 million around the Royal Automo- Ewell’s selection of shops is smaller bile Club estate,” says Richardson. and useful rather than stunning, but it Ewell does have some older housing is still a pretty area to stroll about. EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 10 JUNE 2015 9 First-time buyers Homes & Property

Converted: a former office block at Sutton Court in Sutton now offers 73 apartments from £221,000. Call Inspired Homes on 0207 495 0523

Croydon’s ahead with deals for young buyers New initiatives cut the need for a big deposit, says David Spittles

IRST-TIME buyers are now a top priority, claims the Gov- ernment. The Queen’s Speech promised starter homes at 20 per cent less Fthan market value and even a “Right to Build” for resourceful young London- ers who want to embark on a self-build project. Stamp duty has been reduced, more lenders are offering 95 per cent loans, fresh shared-ownership deals are being unveiled and incomes are rising mod- estly. At the same time, interest rates are set to stay at record low levels for On the ladder: Carla Rosser bought her Tooting ﬂat, above, with shared ownership the foreseeable future. The hope is that, together, these drop-off points, while bike hire and workplace at St George’s Hospital in factors do not spark another house repairs are provided by an outsourced Tooting, but prices were too high. price spiral upwards. company. Call DTZ on 020 3296 2222. Shared ownership came to the rescue. Help to Buy, the low-deposit scheme Morello is an entire new “quarter”, She paid £171,000 for a 45 per cent for homes valued up to £600,000, with 900 apartments, a hotel, shops share of a two-bedroom flat at a scheme continues to be a lifeline. Buyers put and leisure facilities being built adja- named XVII, close to the high street down five per cent and get another 20 cent to East Croydon train station, with and Tube station. per cent in the form of an interest-free 27 trains an hour to the centre and a “Including service charge, my equity loan guaranteed by the Govern- through-the-night service to Gatwick monthly outgoings are £1,101, which is ment, meaning they need to borrow airport. Prices from £259,995. Call about £100 less than the rent I was only 75 per cent. Redrow on 020 3305 5057. paying,” says Rosser. “The bonus is I Take-up has been highest in outer have an extra bedroom and I’m on the London boroughs such as Havering, GREENWICH property ladder, with the option of Croydon and Bromley, where prices Inner-city areas as well as outer travel buying one per cent more equity each are lower, according to research by zones are within the budget of some year without having to pay legal fees website Totally Money. first-time buyers, with properties in or for the property to be revalued.” the £250,000 to £400,000 price This special deal is offered by Thames CROYDON bracket, and part shares starting at less Valley Housing Association. Call The town has got a spring in its step than £70,000. 020 8607 0550. with several central projects, including First-timers are being given priority the £1 billion Westfield shopping mall, to buy at a “pre-launch” of 64 flats at CANARY WHARF which has finally been given the green Greenwich Peninsula, a 15,500-home Shared-ownership apartments at New light to build. neighbourhood being built alongside Providence Wharf offer the chance Developer Inspired Homes focuses the O2 arena. Half the flats are being to buy into a luxury Canary Wharf on Croydon and Sutton and is selling allocated to first-time buyers ahead address at a reduced price. The water- flats at several office-to-residential of the official launch on June 20. front development occupies a dramatic conversions, with prices from £219,950. Prices start from £295,000. Call 020 position on a bend in the river directly The small, quality flats have good social 3713 6153. opposite the O2. It has a private health space as residents can share a lounge spa and gym, plus bars and a glamor- with a pool, table tennis and bar, a TOOTING ous high-rise hotel. pilates and yoga studio, communal roof Clinical scientist Carla Rosser, 31, was Prices start at £93,688 for a 25 per gardens and an all-weather barbecue. desperate to escape paying an escalat- cent share. Full price is £374,750. Call There is fast broadband and laundry ing rent and wanted to live close to her Genesis on 0800 954 0115. 10 WEDNESDAY 10 JUNE 2015 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property Abroad

Swell views: the sandy beach and close proximity to skiing in the Pyrénées bring families back to St-Jean year after year

£771,600: left, a ﬁve-bedroom contemporary house with a pool outside St-Jean (Christie’s)

£474,000: right, a four-bedroom townhouse in a quiet area close to the shops and beach (Laffontan) Sunbathe, swim, shop or ski — then feast like a king Basque gem Saint-Jean-de-Luz has got the lot, says Cathy Hawker

OME 355 years ago in the small lifestyle of Cannes or Nice.” St-Jean many properties follow authentic French Basque fishing port of certainly punches above its weight. Its Basque architecture — half-timbered Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Louis XIV, year-round population of 13,000 colombage under a steep pitched roof France’s Sun King, married enjoys Michelin-star restaurants — try with chunky, deep red wooden the Infanta Maria Theresa of one-star Zoko Moko, where a three- shutters. Forty fishing boats still oper- SSpain. The union marked the end of course lunch is a bargain £19 — a ate from the harbour, but the pirates Franco-Spanish hostilities and the start covered market and narrow streets who once legally patrolled the seas of a golden era for local citizens who, filled with small boutiques, along with bringing great wealth to the town are as a thank you for hosting the nuptials, leisure choices that include golf, long gone. were exempted from paying income cycling, horse riding and swimming in “St-Jean is safe, chic, friendly and tax for 30 years. the protected soft sand bay. typically Basque,” says Caroline Today, the residents of St-Jean enjoy Strict planning regulations have kept Laffontan of estate agents Laffontan no special fiscal benefits, but are still the coast relatively undeveloped and Immobilier. “Families return for their blessed to live in an exceptional loca- holiday year after year and we have tion. This low-key royal town on the many expat French owners from Lon- Atlantic coast, 10 miles from Biarritz A PLACE TO STAY don.” About 42 per cent of properties and the Spanish border, is a stylish in St-Jean are holiday homes with an mix of French, Spanish and Basque average price of £331,220, according influences. to online agency EffiCity. Christie’s Nearby there are tapas bars and art figures show that sales of luxury prop- galleries in San Sebastian, skiing in the erties in St-Jean grew by 43 per cent last Pyrénées and traditional Basque vil- year, helped no doubt by price falls lages such as Ainhoa and Sare, both since 2008. ranked highly for their beauty and his- Christie’s has an 818sq ft two- tory. St-Jean is easy to reach via airports bedroom apartment, just 300 feet from at Biarritz and Bordeaux, or by high- the beach, for £392,450. Even closer to speed train direct from Paris, yet it is La Réserve: overlooking the Atlantic the water, it is marketing a 1,216sq ft off-radar for mass tourism. and less than 10 minutes’ walk from apartment for £578,000. “St-Jean attracts predominantly the sandy beach in Saint-Jean-de- In neighbouring Ciboure, across the French buyers, though it is also popu- Luz, La Réserve is a four-star hotel river that divides the beach, a loft-style lar with affluent Spanish buyers,” says with the relaxed friendliness of a open-plan apartment with two bed- Joachim Wrang-Widen of Christie’s favourite weekend retreat. rooms is £217,500, through Laffontan. International Real Estate. “I call it a O Prices from £80 a night. Visit ‘jewel box market’, exclusive and hotel-lareserve.com/en or call O Christie’s: christiesrealestate.com highly attractive to discerning buyers 00 33 559 51 3200 O Laffontan Immobilier: laffontan keen to avoid the more ostentatious -immobilier.com 12 WEDNESDAY 10 JUNE 2015 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property Garden squares homesandproperty.co.uk with

£2.65 million: a ﬁve-bedroom OPEN GARDEN SQUARES WEEKEND house with double reception room in Grafton Square, Clapham Old Opening the Town. Through Hamptons (020 3542 2753) gates to the city’s best-kept secrets The homes cost £2 million, but 200 of London’s loveliest private gardens are open to everyone this weekend, says

GODALMING Ruth Bloomfield

HE average price of a home in a central London garden Buyers pay a premium for square has breached the a garden square home TANNER HOUSE £2 million mark for the first time, such is the cachet of because they want privacy, Taccess to a private green space, kitted exclusivity and a green view An exclusive collection of luxurious 1, 2 & 3 out with everything from tennis courts to barbecue pits. bedroom apartments, situated in a prime Prices of garden square homes are expensive option with an average position within Godalming town centre now 25 per cent higher than similar apartment topping £6.25 million, homes in surrounding streets, accord- followed by Eaton Square, Belgravia, ing to research by Hamptons Interna- with an average price of almost tional. This weekend, Londoners have £5.8 million. an opportunity to savour the land- Alex Newall, managing director at scaped world behind the wrought-iron Hanover Private Office, believes %+ ( %* gates during the annual Open Garden Chester Square is worth its price of Squares Weekend. about £3,200 a square foot. “Not only " %+$$+"&%< These secret gardens are the preserve are you surrounded by beautiful stucco of the key holders who live about the homes, but you have Elizabeth Street squares. More than 200 gardens will with its lovely cafés and boutique shops be open to the public across the capital around the corner. (opensquares.org). Noel de Keyser, a “This leafy garden square has been director of property agent Savills, says home to some of the world’s most buyers pay a premium for a garden famous people, including Chelsea square home because they want Football Club owner Roman Abram- privacy, exclusivity and a green view. ovich, the late Baroness Thatcher and Ironically, as De Keyser says, busy celebrity chef Nigella Lawson.” Londoners hardly ever find time to use The favourite of Harry Buchanan, the gardens. director of Jackson-Stops & Staff, is Warwick Square in Pimlico. “It’s a CELEBRITY SQUARES slice of romantic countryside in the city +1=-+;7 75+-+7+ 1+.1 thanks to its beautifully planted Hamptons’ research is based on analy- gardens and tennis court. Most of the +";+4+=7 1+.+-7++)-1; sis of sale prices of properties in 64 homes surrounding this square are central London garden squares, and split into flats, at about £1.6 million for + 7;030+8 + +=7;1+.+/-++1-+-//1++ !++ shows the value of this type of home two bedrooms,” he says. +7/;-+;/-;+-=1771++ +01 has increased seven per cent in the past 12 months, to an average of £2,040,713. AFFORDABLE CHOICE Homes within 220 yards of a square sell at an average of £1,643,907. Luke Bishop, of Wooster & Stock estate Report author Johnny Morris, head agents, says the affordable option, -;;+ +3+- -7;-.7;7+-0+3+=1+73=-7: of research at Hamptons International, Choumert Square in Peckham, offers says there is more to it than garden two-bedroom cottages for between ,4!+! ,+2!! 1076-=7:/= square living. The homes have classic, £400,000 and £450,000. “Choumert #7=1+#;-/1+0-;=75'+;-=.-0+)-'+0-;=75'+$ 1+&+,# fine British architecture, and addresses Square is a perfectly enchanting such as Eaton Square or Chester Square enclave of mid-Victorian cottages,” :7=1;-/1:/: 9 are recognised the world over. says Bishop. London’s most expensive square in “Two things make it delightful — there which to buy a house is Wilton Cres- are no cars, and the gardens are at the Sole selling agents cent, Belgravia, where an average front of the houses. It’s not often you find property tops £16 million. A spacious such a pretty, charming set-up. The home in Chester Square, Belgravia, square has held its own Christmas carols Collingham Gardens, Kensington, or by lamplight since 1983. It is a unique Beyond your expectations Kensington Square will all cost square with a perfect village-like feel. upwards of £10 million. When it comes Demand for a Choumert Square cottage to flats, Chester Square is the most is always increasing.”

For more details and pictures of the homes featured here, and for other garden square homes for sale, visit homesandproperty.co.uk/gardensquares EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 10 JUNE 2015 13 homesandproperty.co.uk with Garden squares Homes & Property

£10.5 million: a three-bedroom apartment overlooking Ennismore Gardens, SW7, left (Savills)

£4.65 million: a four-bedroom ﬂat in a fully refurbished block in Courtﬁeld Gardens, SW5, right (Hamptons International)

£4.5 million: LONDON’S MOST EXPENSIVE SQUARES a two-bedroom, two-bathroom HOUSES ﬂat with views SQUARE AND BOROUGH AVERAGE PRICE over Eaton Wilton Crescent, SW1 (Kensington & Chelsea) £16,119,045 $ !! Square, Chester Square, SW1 (Kensington & Chelsea) £15,267,295 Belgravia, above Collingham Gardens, SW5 (Kensington & Chelsea) £14,978,726 (Savills, 020 Kensington Square, W8 (Kensington & Chelsea) £12,014,978 7730 0822) Gainsborough Gardens, NW3 (Camden) £9,118,802 % # Thurloe Square, SW7 (Kensington & Chelsea) £8,710,864 £4.65 million: Earls Court Square, SW5 (Kensington & Chelsea) £8,403,224 a four-bedroom Hereford Square, SW7 (Kensington & Chelsea) £8,070,005 apartment, Bedford Square, WC1 (Camden) £7,626,559 above left, Norland Square, W11 (Kensington & Chelsea) £6,865,015 overlooking Courtﬁeld FLATS Gardens, Chester Square, SW1 (Kensington & Chelsea) £6,251,567 Kensington Eaton Square, SW1 (Kensington & Chelsea) £5,764,586 (Hamptons) Wilton Crescent, SW1 (Kensington & Chelsea) £3,509,278 Markham Square, SW3 (Kensington & Chelsea) £2,717,461 Ennismore Gardens SW7 (Kensington & Chelsea) £2,558,077 £4.5 million: Belgrave Square, SW1 (Kensington & Chelsea) £2,371,995 a three-bedroom Queen’s Gate Gardens, SW7 (Kensington & Chelsea) £2,281,137 cottage, left, Pembridge Square, W2 (Kensington & Chelsea) £2,195,106 in Edwardes Montagu Square, W1 (Westminster) £2,147,471 Square, W8 Hereford Square, SW7 (Kensington & Chelsea) £2,085,938 (John D Wood) 16 WEDNESDAY 10 JUNE 2015 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property Design homesandproperty.co.uk with

By Liz Hoggard CHARLES SAUMAREZ SMITH CHIEF EXECUTIVE, ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS

RT historian and museum director Charles Saumarez Smith CBE, 61, is chief executive of the Royal Academy of Arts. BeforeA that, he was director of the National Gallery from 2002 to 2007, and as director of the National Portrait Gallery from 1994 to 2002, he redoubled visitor figures by staging exhibitions by contemporary photographers including Annie Leibovitz, Bruce Weber and Mario Testino. WHERE I LIVE My wife Romilly and I moved to our current house in Stepney in June 2000. When I was at the V&A in my

REBECCA REID REBECCA late twenties, we bought an My design London 18th-century terrace house in Small and pay his bill, so that’s in our sitting Limehouse, and lived there for 16 personal: room. The dining room has bits and years. But then in 1998, as our sons Dulwich pieces that I inherited. were getting older, I met [gardener Picture Gallery and historian] Todd Longstaffe- in Gallery Road, MY DREAM PROPERTY Gowan at a Christmas party. He told SE21, is a Now we have a larger 18th-century me he had bought one of two favourite house, I don’t hanker to move. Our properties in Mile End Road from the place to while house, even though it’s on Mile End Spitalfields Trust, which was away a weekend Road, is equivalent to houses in restoring them to save them from Smith Square. Occasionally, I look at demolition, and he encouraged us to houses up in Hampstead and think get involved. One was an old exhaust how nice it would be to live in pipe garage, built to drive straight Downshire Hill. through it. It was a complete wreck. The top floor was restored and the MOST COVETED OBJECT house knitted back together. I have a very nice small wooden goblet which my wife gave me for MY HOME my birthday from M Jones Antiques SALE FOR The interior work was mainly done in Beaumaris, Anglesey. by my wife, who is a jewellery designer. She wanted to retain the FAVOURITE OBJECT historic fabric, which we did with the The thing I’m most pleased to own is NEPAL Spitalfields Trust and the advice of one of Grayson Perry’s prints, which their surveyor. But we’ve not I bought from Victoria Miro. When furnished it authentically — firstly, Grayson won the Turner Prize, he because we don’t have 18th-century created a pot decorated with images furniture and secondly, because my of all the people who were sitting wife’s style is to use historical alongside him at the table that day, features, but in an imaginative and and we happened to be among them. UP TO 40% OFF inventive way. Not surprisingly, the pot wasn’t affordable, but I am pleased I bought COLOURS AND TEXTURES one of his prints instead. I’m a great ESHomesAndProperty

Yes, we do colour. We have a admirer of Grayson and I think doing Friday 12th June miscellaneous collection of the Reith Lectures was very good. essentially inherited furniture. Romilly’s grandfather worked for a MY ESCAPE 11am to 8pm firm of interior decorators in the I’m very keen on the Regent’s Canal Thirties and he acquired some of the and Victoria Park/Broadway Market, CHELSEA OLD TOWN HALL – LONDON furniture from a client who did not and walking both alongside the canal towards Islington and then back down to Home House. I’ve also been exploring a bit more up to London Fields, Hoxton and Haggerston. Previously, I used to regard Victoria Park as the boundary, but I’ve now PROCEEDS realised there’s a whole life beyond. We have friends who lived in Balls GOING TO: Pond Road in the Eighties, and I thought it was like outer space, but now, thanks to the Overground line — IN SUPPORT OF OUR WEAVERS, THEIR Work of art: which is unbelievably good at Charles admires connecting all these boroughs — I FAMILIES AND THE PEOPLE OF NEPAL. Find us on Grayson Perry know you can go up to Dalston, and facebook and bought one that Dalston and Stoke Newington Registered charity no. 1092236 in England & Wales & of his prints after are rather wonderful. SC038107 in Scotland sitting on his table the night AMAZING ARCHITECTURE he won the I wrote my PhD on Castle Howard, Turner Prize and it probably inspired my interest EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 10 JUNE 2015 17 homesandproperty.co.uk with Design Homes & Property

Concrete hit: Charles Saumarez Smith has developed an interest in brutalist architecture, typiﬁed by the Barbican arts centre and ﬂats, right in English baroque architecture. But I have acquired a greater interest in post-war buildings, which I was taught to detest as a student. My son writes about Sixties architecture and he’s converted me to the glories of brutalism. The Barbican is incredibly impressive as a building. FAVOURITE RESTAURANT St John Bread & Wine in Spitalfields. CULTURAL HOTSPOT In terms of the dynamics of London, I think Redchurch Street in Shoreditch is a sort-of hotspot, because that is an area where you can feel the changes of the past 10 or 15 years of the East End, from being fairly run-down and seedy with a Sunday market. I enjoy walking along the street, which has a new, incredibly smart, special pasta shop. In terms of the art market, it’s odd. The smaller galleries had to move out of Cork Street when their leases ended and it’s not quite Dine in: Keeper’s House restaurant at the Royal Academy clear what the effect will be in the longer term, except that you can feel that a lot of the art market is moving back from the East End because they need to be near their clients. I feel that Mayfair is now beginning to recover its authority as the centre of the art market. TECHNOLOGY I’m very keen on my Samsung mobile phone, mainly because I’ve discovered it takes very good photographs. And I’ve become a

very enthusiastic blogger because of ROGERIO DAVID

the ability both to write and take ARCAID Sweet stuff: Broadway Market, a favourite weekend haunt pictures easily on that single small piece of technology. SECRET SHOP FAVOURITE GALLERY TYPICAL SATURDAY Market. I have an aspiration to FAVOURITE MUSEUM My current favourite is a shop called I love both Tate Britain and Tate Until recently, I’ve gone running every complete the house by putting the I like the Fitzwilliam in Cambridge J Glinert (jglinert.com) in Wilton Modern, the British Museum, the Saturday morning, but I’m going to library on the top. and the Ashmolean in Oxford, as Way, E8. I bought an outsize National Gallery and Hayward. Then, make it Sunday, partly because I like well as Sir John Soane’s Museum Jamaican cheese grater from there. in terms of the commercial galleries, to use Saturday to explore. We’ll often O The Royal Academy Summer and the Dulwich Picture Gallery in Near where we live, in Wilton Way I generally go to what’s on at White go to an exhibition. I like to catch up Exhibition runs until August 16, and London — I like the smaller, more and Columbia Road, there are Cube and Victoria Miro fairly on my reading. I used Heywood Hill Joseph Cornell: Wanderlust opens on personal ones. The arts Lottery and these very nice shops which just consistently. [bookshop] all the time, because my July 4. (Royal Academy, Burlington Heritage Lottery Fund have been stock things that are selected very Cork Street is relatively convenient brother ran it, and now I like House, Piccadilly W1; visit fantastic for museums. arbitrarily. for us, too. Broadway Bookshop in Broadway royalacademy.org.uk). 22 WEDNESDAY 10 JUNE 2015 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property Reader promotion homesandproperty.co.uk with

O The companies OLD-SCHOOL CHARMER WITH A MODERN TWIST listed here GENTLEMEN’S club meets stiletto legs. The Oldschool are wholly 21st-century chic with sofa bed is reduced from independent of the this Oldschool sofa bed £980 to £882 when Evening Standard. by Onedeko. quoting ALISONATHOME Care is taken to Choose from vintage at onedeko.co.uk, or by establish that they faux leather or soft pacific calling 020 7377 5900 are bona fide, but pearl fabric with turned or before June 21. we recommend that you carry out your own checks prior to purchases and use a credit card where possible. To offer Bistro set’s less than half price feedback on any of these companies, THIS rattan bistro set the set comprises two email homesand is made with quality contoured, bucket-style property@ materials for One Regent seats and a table that standard.co.uk Place. Reduced from features a tempered with “Bargain £249.99 to £119.99, it glass waterwave top News” in the features a strong, offset by woven rattan subject line. weather-resistant, edging. For more powder-coated steel To snap up this deal, bargains, visit and aluminium frame. visit oneregentplace. alisonathome.com Finished with co.uk or call 020 7087 or homesand premium-quality, 2900 (Monday to Friday) property.co.uk/ woven PE round rattan, before June 15. offers.

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For one day only BEAUTIFULLY hand-carved — get 25 per cent in solid mango wood with off fabulous tiles period detailing, the Amelie side California-cool seating SURFACE TILES, a premium brand table, at £175, for homes and top hotels, is holding comes with a PREPARE for summer is made from high- an exclusive one-day 25 per cent drawer with entertaining with a quality UV stabilised discount sale on all tiles, mosaics a brass handle, luxury lounge set from resin for year-round and engineered oak flooring at its and is large British furniture designer outside use. Readers are showrooms in Battersea, Islington enough to hold Out & Out Original. offered a £150 discount, and West Molesey this Saturday. an iPad. The first prices to £87.50 This wicker-look reducing the price from The company offers a wide variety 10 customers and £97.50 California taupe set, also £699 to £549. of designs and styles, including the can claim 50 per respectively. available in graphite, To claim your offer for U-Color, right. Now £66 per square cent off Within’s Visit includes two large free delivery, which takes metre, it usually costs from £88. Amelie and withinhome. armchairs and a three- three to seven weeks, Customers must pre-register at Elodie side com/amelie or seater sofa with contrast visit outandoutoriginal. surfacetiles.com/flashsale and tables, available call 020 7087 cushions, plus a coffee com or call 0344 417 download the shopping voucher. in natural 2900 and use table. It comes with a 1419 and use code Design consultants will be on hand (pictured), or voucher code three-year warranty and NEWS150 before June 30. to assist throughout the sale day, grey wash, AMELIE before from 9am until 6pm. reducing the June 24.

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26 WEDNESDAY 10 JUNE 2015 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property Design homesandproperty.co.uk with

ONE-POT WONDER WE’RE used to one-pot slow cookers, but a new gadget can prepare and cook food in a single container. The Kenwood kCook is a food processor that peels, chops, stirs and steam cooks all in the same bowl, using pre-set programmes for foolproof cooking. Instructions/recipes feature in its accompanying app. Get it for £329.99. Call 0239 239 2392 or visit kenwoodworld.com/uk. The kCook will also arrive shortly at John Lewis, Oxford Street, W1 (johnlewis.com). DesignDesigntrDesigntreDesesignign ttrere science of appliances By Barbara Chandler

INDUCTION INDUCTION hobs heat the pans anywhere you HOB WITH pan and its contents rather want and the hob will SUPER than the cooking surface, automatically start cooking SENSORS but the pan must be cast the contents. There’s also iron or stainless steel. an energy-saving timer that DISHING OUT ENERGY SAVINGS These hobs are not new, turns off the hob early so THE V-ZUG Adora SL dishwasher is but the latest versions are that heat left in the pan quick and quiet, and features the super-efficient, such as this finishes the cooking. world’s first high-efficiency heat AEG MaxiSense Combi, See top chefs show off pump, which reduces power £1,399, which has accurate AEG’s latest models in their consumption by almost half to sensors and controls. “theatre” at Taste of give an energy efficiency rating An outstanding feature is London in Regent’s Park of A+++. It costs from £2,370. Call the large FreeZone cooking from June 17 to 21. Visit 0843 289 5759 or visit vzug.co.uk. area. Place up to three london.tastefestivals.com.

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TAP INTO NEW GET IT ON A BIG SCREEN TECHNOLOGY THE newest kitchens are multi- SIMPLY touch media affairs, where you can this tap with browse the internet, consult a your wrist, bank of recipes, watch TV/DVDs forearm or the or even look up the weather. back of your Leading the field is German hand to control brand SieMatic, which has won a the flow of Microsoft award for technology. water. In chrome Its Pure S1 kitchen cabinets or steel finishes, feature a screen with touch the Grohe controls for a complete multi- Minta Touch media system. costs from Prices start at about £50,000 £476.90 at from Nicholas Anthony, Brompton grohe.com/uk, Road, SW3 (020 7838 0588; or call 0871 nicholas-anthony.co.uk), or from 200 3414. Urban Interior, Bethnal Green Road, E1 (urbaninterior.co.uk). Call 0161 246 6010 for more stockists. Visit siematic.co.uk. A FRESH WAY TO CHILL OUT SHUSH! THE WINE’S COOLING... THE latest fridges have advanced THE sleek glass doors of this technology that keeps food fresh, convenient, quiet-running, under- thus reducing waste. However, it can counter Liebherr wine cabinet be tricky to compare models as every can be opened with a single tap, manufacturer has a different brand so the unit blends in perfectly with a name for the way their system works. contemporary, handleless kitchen. The patented Air Purification It can store up to 34 bottles in system from Sub-Zero is based on two independently controlled Nasa technology to remove odours, compartments fitted with wooden bacteria and ethylene gas, to vastly racks. Controls on an LED panel extend the life of fresh food. are easy to use, while internal LEDs Sub-Zero integrated refrigerator and door insulation protect against drawers, above, fit neatly below UV light. It costs from £1,699 at the work surface and cost from Woodall Refrigeration, Finchley £5,520 at subzero-wolf.co.uk — or Road, NW11. Call 01767 60 2221 call 0845 250 0010. for more stockists (liebherr.co.uk).

.+-22('"3'("-3("." $' - "" ("*"'#"+((("% +-0 ! """"%('"$$3( Launching Today 10 June .&("*3",

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Sunny outlook: Trevelyan House’s butterﬂy shape gives each ﬂat lots of natural light Bethnal butterfly An architect’s bold ‘kitchen cube’ vision has transformed an ex-council flat in a listed block shaped like a butterfly. By Philippa Stockley

ENOVATING his Fifties flat in design talent to France and invited him Bethnal Green was no easy to take part. After that, for six months, feat for architect Ewald van they commuted across town to see der Straeten. “We had to flush each other, but it took an hour-and-a- the loo with a bucket and quarter each way, so Van der Straeten Rthere was so much dust — anything you started house hunting. left out got smothered,” he says. “I had a set of requirements,” he says. But the hard work paid off, and now “I wanted purpose-built, nothing the maisonette in the Grade II-listed Victorian, and a view over rooftops. tower block Trevelyan House, which he I’m not scared of having a council shares with his French girlfriend Agathe freeholder, either. They get a bad rap, Barbier, is super-stylish. but they can be good value. To save money on an already tight “I started looking in east London and budget, the couple stayed in the flat as saw this flat on Keatons’ website at 11pm much as possible while building was going one night. So I took the earliest booking on, only camping at friends’ and relatives’ the next morning.” It was the only flat he homes when it all got too much. looked at, and he made an offer on the Trevelyan House was built in 1958 by spot. It was run-down and divided into stellar architect Denys Lasdun. It was small rooms. The electrics were surface- intended to be a pioneering form of mounted in cheap plastic conduits and housing to replace slums and bomb dam- pipes ran all over the place. age, with a butterfly shape around a All of that is like a red rag to a bull to an central core, eight storeys high and made architect, so Van der Straeten spent the of reinforced concrete and brick. next few months plotting alterations. Impressively, Lasdun fitted in 24 mai- Everything had to be stripped right back, sonettes, each 800sq ft with a balcony. but as the flat was listed, all the altera- Its attractive layout means that the block tions had to go not only to the planners, sits among nearby terraces, and the flats but also to the conservation officer. get light from several sides — in Van der A square deal: dark grey MDF, Straeten’s case, from three directions, UCKILY for Van der Straeten, and perforations over hidden which makes his flat bright and sunny. he met a progressive planner radiators, make an economical Over the years, however, the interiors who liked his bold idea of tak- and smart ﬁnish got tired and the original metal windows ing out the tired kitchen-sitting were replaced with clumsy uPVC ones, room arrangement and drop- leaving the flat in need of a revamp. Lping a futuristic kitchen cube into the with Plyboo doors, while the floor is In the Nineties, when people first new living area. It has been created bamboo. Van der Straeten had a bespoke WHAT IT COST Plyboo: from CF Anderson (cfanderson. started buying this type of flat from sensitively, almost as if one could just steel work surface made, which had to Maisonette in 2012: £250,000 co.uk) councils, mortgage lenders were either lift it out again. be grappled in with enormous difficulty. Money spent, excluding fees and VAT: Kitchen units: from DIY Kitchens cautious or flatly refused, worried about The inset kitchen also has a slightly “Luckily,” he says, “I’d made a pattern £80,000 (diy-kitchens.com) so-called “concrete rot”. dropped ceiling, hiding all the services. and checked all the measurements, so I Value now: £465,000 (estimate) Dark grey MDF: from Winwood Products But attitudes have changed, and this Its interior is faced with a new material knew it would go in.” (winwood-products.com) flat was just what Belgian Van der called Plyboo — a type of plywood made The outside of the box is made from Get the look Ironmongery: from Hafele (hafele.co.uk) Straeten wanted. In 2011, the architect of bamboo that, like bamboo itself, is stylish dark grey MDF. Vertical radiators Architect: Ewald van der Straeten at and Franchi (franchi.co.uk) met Barbier at a picnic. They got on incredibly light and strong. It has a good are concealed behind smart perforated Bradley Van Der Straeten (b-vds.co.uk) Oak-veneered doors: from well, but didn’t pursue a relationship colour and good acoustic properties, panels that the builder made. The big Builder: Robert Kiersztyn via Morgan Builders Merchants until months later, when Barbier and is also green, prepared with few window opening in the kitchen not only [email protected] (morganbuildersmerchants.co.uk) was organising a trip of British-based chemicals. All the cupboards are faced makes the room an integral part of the EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 10 JUNE 2015 29 y.co.uk with Our home Homes & Property

Retro fans: the couple love buying mid-century modern furnishings at special fairs

Green appeal: the kitchen units are faced with eco-friendly, durable bamboo ply

Statement colour: petrol blue paint and groovy second-hand pendant lamp add style

living area, but creates an almost theat- boards with bright colours. The upstairs Steel sink: from Franke Kitchen quite expensive, and attractive undervalued, though that attitude is rical atmosphere — and the worktop is bathroom and toilet were ripped out and Systems UK (franke.com) switchplates, which cost more but look changing fast. Some are better than good for sitting on, too. As well as being re-done with clean-lined grey slate, glass Steel bespoke worktop: from Iron Metal great and last. Quality repays itself not others, but well-designed ones like these functional and neat, the cube transforms and modern white fittings, while the Works (ironmetalworks.co.uk) only when you sell, but in your daily life. — or the Barbican, of course — are good.” the whole flat. master bedroom has been given an Slate: from The Natural Slate Company “Your environment has a huge The other changes throughout Van der upgrade and some petrol blue paint. (theslatecompany.co.uk) psychological impact. I don’t want to O The flat will be open to the public Straeten’s home are practical and cost- The new flat makes a perfect back- live with nasty fixtures and fittings. for Open House London on Sunday, effective. The pipes and conduits have ground for Van der Straeten and Barbi- Ewald van der Straeten’s tips: “Invest in light and space — it is crucial September 20. For information or to been concealed, and switch-plates are er’s mid-century modern furniture, “People in the UK don’t always think as to your wellbeing, so make it as good as book, visit openhouselondon.org.uk flush, creating an illusion of a bigger which they buy from antiques fairs. long-term as in Europe. Use durable you can. Council flats, particularly ones space. Created in the spirit of Lasdun, it’s materials, such as Plyboo, even if it is like this, are still underappreciated and Photographs: Charles Hosea He designed purpose-built, modern easy to imagine that he would enjoy storage, painting the insides of cup- this flat. 30 WEDNESDAY 10 JUNE 2015 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property Outdoors homesandproperty.co.uk with Having it large makes a small garden grow Think big and bright when choosing plants, pots, pavers and pergolas to create an illusion of space

OW CAN you make the Pattie most of a small outdoor space? Think big, that’s Barron how. Audacious moves Paint it pink: vibrant colour highlights pay off, as every garden garden steps and ﬂatters plants designerH will tell you. Putting large statement plants into a compact courtyard, or installing a corner. Keep landscape materials focal-point fireplace on a patio, will simple, using no more than three dif- make that small space appear far larger. ferent types in similar shades to create A pergola is the last thing you would a sense of harmony. think of placing in a hanky-sized gar- Larger pavers will, contrarily, make den, but angled from one corner to the the space appear larger. Unite dispa- other, it will visually stretch the space. rate surfaces and patchy brickwork by Be daring and your outdoor space will rendering and painting in one pale, be dynamic. light-reflecting colour — white gives a Blue-sky thinking is essential, too, contemporary edge. especially if your garden is all on one Make every inch count. Extend gar- dull, flat plane, so use the air — it’s free. den walls or fences to the permitted By taking plants to a higher level, you 6ft 6in by adding trellis panels so you raise the interest level as well. Several can use clematis, roses and passion- silver birches in the corner of a flower to fudge the boundaries — train small urban patch take up little space, them horizontally and buds will break yet they bring in nature and set an all along the stems, giving you more atmosphere. bloom for your buck. Raised beds can Painted obelisks will give a slim double as sitting perches, and built-in border presence as well as add struc- benches as storage with lift-up lids.

ture in winter, and you could use them Use patio walls to pin up a mirror and AND MARIANNE MAJERUS HEIDI HOWCROFT BEAZLEY) BY PICTURES FROM GARDEN DESIGN (MITCHELL Statement pots: galvanised steel to grow runner beans or sweet peas. reflect the space, fooling the eye, or Higher plane: smart design can turn a small courtyard from dull to dynamic dustbins make stylish containers Just one arch frames the view beyond, install wall planting for a vertical green makes a climbing frame for year-round garden. The back of the garden fre- or small tree, such as olive or bay. Ban of choice for the small-space garden GROW London, Hampstead Heath jasmine and you can use the apex of quently fades into an apology. Give it a dolly mixture effect in borders and because it looks lovely through the (June 19-21). For more details and to the arch for hanging birdhouses or a great full stop with a seating area or block plant with a limited range of year. No space is no excuse — even a buy tickets for £8 instead of £16 at the baskets of herbs. a fake door on the back wall that plants and reduced colour palette, balcony can support a columnar apple door, visit growlondon.com and enter Create a journey, so you lead the eye suggests a further space beyond. which will deliver more impact. tree, giving you the twin pleasures of code HP2015. gradually rather than whizzing it down Don’t be mean with containers. However small your outdoor space, blossom and fruit. the garden. Make paths wind and Several significant planters will have make sure you can see, and savour, the O Garden queries? Email our RHS expert borders curve. Screens of trellis or more impact than many small pots. change of the seasons, so avoid the Meet Pattie Barron at GROW London at [email protected] shrubs create pockets so that you don’t Half a dozen galvanised dustbins, holes route of never-changing evergreens. Hear Pattie talk about small-space see everything at a glance, but are drilled into the bases, will lend an The snowy mespilus, Amelanchier gardening on Saturday, June 20, 2pm, O For outdoor events this month, visit encouraged to see what is around the urban edge and each can hold a shrub lamarckii, is the garden designers’ tree at this year’s contemporary garden fair, homesandproperty.co.uk/events

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✳This offer entitles you to an extra 15% off sale prices. Cannot be used on existing orders or in conjunction with any other offer. Cannot be used on bedding, Tempur or clearance and ex – display items. For more details please visit our website 34 WEDNESDAY 10 JUNE 2015 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property Property searching homesandproperty.co.uk with Spotlight Abbey Wood Super-fast trains from Clockwork Orange land Former ‘film set’ is making way for thousands of new homes with

Forging ahead: building the futuristic, two-level 12 Crossrail trains an hour to central Abbey Wood station, ready for Crossrail in 2018 London, says Anthea Masey

HEN Crossrail opens the love-it-or-loathe-it brutalist estate in December 2018, of tower blocks and maisonettes built Abbey Wood will have around a large lake that became the up to 12 fast trains an dystopian home of nihilistic Alex and hour, taking commut- his droogs in Stanley Kubrick’s contro- ersW into central London in just 25 min- versial film from 1971, A Clockwork utes and to Heathrow in 51 minutes. Orange. The prospect has sent the district into Parts of the estate close to the lake a spin with a raft of regeneration plans. have now been demolished and Mayor Boris Johnson has promised an Peabody housing association is consult- £80 million financial package for two ing residents on the future of the other new housing zones. The two governing blocks. Nothing has been ruled in or councils, Greenwich and Bexley, are out at this stage, although Peabody working with housing association Pea- hopes to create a new shopping street body to launch 3,000 new homes to be along bleak Harrow Manor Way and a built over the next 10 years, many of new lateral park through the estate which will be “affordable”. connecting Lesnes Abbey Woods with Abbey Wood takes its name from Crossness on the Thames. Lesnes Abbey Woods that once Photographs:: belonged to the monks of Lesnes Daniel Lynch WHAT THERE IS TO BUY Abbey, founded in 1178, and lies 13 Abbey Wood has a mix of homes, from miles south-east of central London with the popular Victorian terrace houses Woolwich to the west, Thamesmead Chip in: Frank in the grid of streets south of the train and the Thames to the north, Erith to Joseph, owner of station — on the site of a former Co- the east and Welling to the south. Frank’s Fish Bar. operative farm and known locally as It has rows of Victorian terrace The takeaway in the Co-op Estate — to semi-detached houses, Thirties semis and more mod- McLeod Road, Thirties houses further south of the ern two- and three-bedroom houses. Abbey Wood, town centre, which estate agents now It is also home to Thamesmead South, featured in last call Upper Abbey Wood. year’s violent There are also modern former coun- gangland thriller cil terrace houses in the area north of CHECK THE STATS The Guvnors the train station and west of Harrow ■WHAT HOMES COST IN ABBEY WOOD

BUYING IN ABBEY WOOD (Average prices) Two-bedroom flat £248,000 Two-bedroom house £250,000 Three-bedroom house £326,000 Source: Zoopla RENTING IN ABBEY WOOD (Average rates) One-bedroom flat £832 per month Two-bedroom flat £1,425 per month Three-bedroom house £1,026 per month Source: Zoopla

".. ' $.",/ !+ (( %& ."$&% # &% ( & & - ,, *& * / " GO ONLINE FOR MORE ) & "% % ! Visit homesandproperty.co.uk/spotlightabbeywood EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 10 JUNE 2015 35 homesandproperty.co.uk with Property searching Homes & Property

£400,000 A CHAIN-FREE four-bedroom family house in Lansdowne Avenue, Bexleyheath, with plenty of parking and close to popular schools. Through Robinson Jackson. O homesandproperty.co.uk/lans

Cheers m’dears: Donna Dillon at work in The Birchwood pub £340,000 Manor Way, with modern flats in gated houses on the Co-op Estate sell for Crossrail is attracting buyers from out- A cut above the rest: owner Halil THIS semi-detached house is in developments near the station. about £300,000 and three-bedroom side the area who are looking for afford- Ersungur and barber Sam Sasmaz pleasant Wickham Lane, Abbey South Thamesmead has spacious houses for about £350,000. A two-bed- able period houses close to the station. at Halil’s Barbers in Wilton Road Wood SE2. It has three bedrooms, right-to-buy flats and maisonettes in room former council house is about A rental yield of about five per cent is three reception rooms, plenty of imposing concrete blocks that attract £270,000 and one with three bed- attracting buy-to-let investors. between a three-bedroom Victorian family space and a courtyard cash buyers, as they are difficult to rooms will cost up to £300,000. Staying power: families like to move terrace house in Abbey Wood and a garden. Through Your Move. mortgage. Lee Ingram, of estate agents The area attracts: Abbey Wood has a up the hill towards Bexleyheath. three-bedroom Thirties house in Upper O homesandproperty.co.uk/wick Hunters, says two-bedroom Victorian strong local market, but the arrival of Ingram says the price difference Abbey Wood used to be about £100,000, which was a leap too far for many families. Now the gap has nar- HAVE YOUR SAY ABBEY WOOD rowed to almost nothing and families can stay in the area. Travel: Abbey Wood is getting a futur- @joertmclark The ancient ruins of @RebeccaErol Lesnes Abbey + fossil istic new two-level station, with access Lesnes Abbey are a must-see. Good pit, Bostall Woods + bowling green, from Wilton Road and from the flyover sense of community thanks to events Southmere Lake + water sports in Harrow Manor Way, where there will at the Crafty Café be a new public square. @BenCBrooks Can’t beat a walk At the moment, Abbey Wood has a @joertmclark The Birchwood pub is around the beautiful Lesnes Abbey, frequent train service to London Bridge £399,000 another good place founded in 1178. And there’s a new (30 minutes) and Cannon Street (33 A GOOD investment option is this Sainsbury’s minutes). The station is in Zone 4 and two-bedroom, two-bathroom @joertmclark ... and Abbey Arms an annual travelcard to Zone 1 costs apartment with a large balcony at beer garden TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE £1,844. the new Cross Quarter scheme in Council: Abbey Wood is divided Abbey Wood. Through Fraser & Co. @RebeccaErol Lesnes Abbey woods + NEXT WEEK: Herne Hill. Do Who will link Abbey Wood with the between Conservative-controlled O homesandproperty.co.uk/cross rare wild daffodils, few places left in UK you live there? Tell us what party island of Ibiza this summer? Bexley, with Band D council tax of where they’re found you think @HomesProperty Find the answer at £1,445.53, and Labour-controlled To find a home in Abbey Wood, visit homesandproperty.co.uk/spotlightabbeywood Greenwich, with Band D council tax of homesandproperty.co.uk/abbeywood £1,275.91.

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)" ' ) &! !(( !% &%$ ! 40 WEDNESDAY 10 JUNE 2015 EVENING STANDARD if you’re in the market Homes & Property Inside story for a London property, we’re

MONDAY The team sits down to discuss what is likely to be another busy week for us. Wellies at I’ve worked in this industry for many years and have had my fair share of memorable vendors and demanding the ready, I’m buyers. In the past week we have received several enquiries from potential buyers off to view for homes in the heart of Newbury and its surrounding villages — Burghclere, Highclere and Woolton Hill being the farm cottages most popular. We think these areas will continue to have strengthening prices because of low stock. As it’s around a 70-minute commute Diary of an into London, buyers see Newbury — and Berkshire in general — as a more estate agent affordable option than commuter des- tinations in Kent and Surrey. Interest in Newbury at the moment and, since in the area has increased since New- there is a shortage of them, competi- bury’s new shopping centre opened, tion is strong. with attractive names such as John Lewis, Côte Brasserie, Jack Wills and a THURSDAY PAUL patisserie moving in. This regen- A welly boot day. I head out to advise eration has attracted commuters, who on the sale of a pair of former farm would have previously considered only workers’ cottages. These homes are Oxford and Winchester, where prices situated in a rural spot just west of are higher. Newbury and, although fairly rustic, do have lovely large gardens. Cottages TUESDAY like these are popular with buyers who I meet up with a client who specialises love a renovation project. There is a in building large, impressive, neo- strong contingent of city dwellers seek- Georgian-style country houses. His ing such opportunities, particularly projects are extremely popular with weekenders who are after a rural London buyers who prefer an energy- retreat. efficient, light-filled home with all the We receive a good deal of interest in mod cons of a townhouse, over a Exmoor House, a property we have just draughty country property with slow- launched in Burghclere, which has an running hot water. amazing one-and-a-half-acre garden. We decide to launch his latest We delayed marketing the house to OnTheMarket.com is the new simple property, Ambley Manor, near the take full advantage of the improving village of Tangley between Newbury weather. At this time of year, a beautiful way to search hundreds of thousands and Andover, at a guide price some- garden really makes a difference to of properties. where north of £5 million in a couple viewings. Exmoor House’s outside of weeks’ time. As is usually the case space is full of rhododendrons and More and more estate and letting with some of our most impressive azaleas, which are now in full bloom. agents are moving all their properties instructions, we are arranging for Sure enough, we quickly receive a from other sites to OnTheMarket.com drone photography to capture Ambley number of offers for the property. and are advertising them exclusively Manor. with us ﬁrst. FRIDAY WEDNESDAY With clients wanting to fix up property So, for a head start in the hunt for We are preparing to launch two new viewings for the weekend, it’s a typi- properties you won’t ﬁnd anywhere schemes in villages outside of Newbury cally busy Friday as we perform our else, search OnTheMarket.com. — Arlington Grange in Burghclere and usual juggling act of arranging and then Stonebridge Close in Curridge. re-arranging our diary. I cast my mind These are small developments of new back to a recent weekend that was homes that we are confident will sell more challenging than usual due to the quickly, due to the speed at which a fact that our main artery of the junction recent new development we were with the A34 and M4 was closed. marketing in Newbury — Hillview Place Appointments sorted out, we finish — sold off-plan. the day with a welcome glass of wine Buyers at Hillview Place were down- to wind down. '" " "#"" !" "!" %" !"$"(&)%" "" " " %" %" " " sizers looking to enjoy all the benefits "" " " "" '" " % of the market town on foot. There is a O Rupert Reeves is a partner and head of residential at ! " growing appetite for new-build homes Carter Jonas in Newbury (01635 263001; carterjonas.co.uk) 42 WEDNESDAY 10 JUNE 2015 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property Letting on homesandproperty.co.uk with

HINKING of investing in a buy-to-let property? Are you crazy? It’s mayhem out there. Everyone and Gird your loins: their dog seems to have theT same idea. It’s hard even to get to see properties for sale these days. Appointments for viewings must be made days in advance, then you and only the brave a dozen or so other potential buyers will be herded around the property like hungry cattle. You will then get just five minutes to decide if you want to shell out several hundred can buy to let thousand pounds for it and, when you’ve made up your mind that you do, it will be too late, the place will Put your broker on speed-dial and sharpen your already have been sold. I have been looking for a rental in elbows. Victoria Whitlock gives her checklist £500 a week: in Lonsdale Road, Notting Hill W11, John D Wood has this light, south London for a couple of weeks, bright, wood-ﬂoored, two-double bedroom ﬂat with a private balcony to rent. and all I’ve got to show for it are for landing a rental flat in today’s red-hot market O Visit homesandproperty.co.uk/alrent for more details and pictures sore feet and bruised elbows from all the jostling with other would-be investors. The able to get a buy-to-let mortgage on getting carried away — most of the gazumped, but given that you Do you really want to get out there the property before you put in an time, anyhow. Agents often won’t put will be spending several hundred and try your luck? If that’s a yes, offer. Properties that might be forward your offer to the vendor thousand pounds, you need one you aside from a large wad of cash for accidental difficult or more expensive to until they have verified that you are can trust, not a “money-saving” your deposit, you will need: mortgage include freehold good for the money, which is another cheap conveyancer. This is false landlord apartments; flats in council-built reason for having a “Martin” in your economy. O A comfortable pair of slip-on tower blocks; homes on large, corner. You also need plenty of stamina — shoes. You are going to do a lot of property has gone over the asking run-down council estates; those with O A really top-notch, thoroughly and lots and lots of patience. I wish walking, and you need to get your price “but if you offer this now you short leases; premises above cafés, recommended, tried and tested you the very best of luck. shoes on and off quickly. If you faff could bag it”. restaurants or takeaways, or those solicitor — preferably local as they around, someone else could have It’s easy to get carried away and bid that don’t have working kitchens will know the territory, its O Victoria Whitlock lets three had their offer accepted. more than you were intending to and bathrooms so they can’t be let downsides and the council. properties in south London. O A calculator. Unless you are some when put under pressure, but if you immediately. Solicitors need to act fast in this To contact Victoria with your ideas sort of maths freak, you will need one haven’t got a large enough deposit, or I email links to properties on market to make sure you are not and views, tweet @vicwhitlock so that you can quickly work out the the rent won’t cover your mortgage agents’ websites to my broker, Martin deposit you will need and your interest payments, you are stuffed. Stewart, at London Money for his Find many more homes to rent at potential rental yield when an agent O A good mortgage broker on speed- opinion before making offers. His whispers in your ear that the dial, so you can check that you are sensible number-crunching stops me homesandproperty.co.uk/lettings

Brought to you by 44 WEDNESDAY 10 JUNE 2015 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property Ask the expert homesandproperty.co.uk with A new house… but where’s my driveway? Fiona WHAT’S WE ARE recent first-time buyers of a YOUR first-floor maisonette in Ealing. The property McNulty PROBLEM? Q is in need of substantial renovation and we IF YOU have a have had planning approval to make OUR LAWYER ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS question for significant improvements throughout. We also have Fiona McNulty, permission to add two dormer windows into the loft — please email which is demised to us — one for a staircase, the other I HAVE just bought a legalsolutions@ for an en suite bathroom. house on a new standard.co.uk It is a leasehold property with 115 years left. We Q development of 150 or write to Legal recently applied to our freeholder for a licence to homes. My problem is Solutions, Homes make alterations and they have come back with a that although I paid the same as & Property, huge “premium” of £30,000 to allow us to amend all the other buyers, my house, London Evening the roof. along with seven others, does not Standard, 2 Derry What rights do we have as a leaseholder? We were have a driveway where I can park Street, W8 5EE. informed by our solicitor at the time of purchase that my car. All the other houses on We regret that the freeholder cannot hold us to ransom over the loft the scheme do. questions cannot conversion because they cannot “unreasonably I used the solicitor recommended be answered withhold consent”. by the developer, who said my individually, but house would be the same as all we will try to EVEN though you say the loft space has been the others. But it isn’t, as I don’t feature them demised to you, it is unlikely that the roof have a driveway. What can I do? here. Fiona A structure has been, so that will remain part of the McNulty is legal freehold title. Check the terms of your lease. If IT WOULD be unusual for director in the you do not own the roof structure then it is entirely up to all the properties on a real estate your freeholder whether to allow you to install dormer A development of 150 houses team of Foot windows into the roof and whether to charge a premium. to cost the same. A Anstey LLP The amount of the premium is a matter for negotiation four-bedroom house is likely to (footanstey.com) between you and the freeholder and is sometimes based cost more than a two-bedroom You should have been asked to the layout or the build of the on the enhanced value of the flat. Accordingly, the property, a detached house more confirm that the boundaries shown property, but such changes must not freeholder may ask for a current valuation of the flat and than a semi-detached, and so on. on the plan accurately represented materially affect the value of the its likely value with a roof conversion. When you were buying your house the boundaries of the property you property. your solicitor should have read your were buying. Ask your solicitor for an More legal O These answers can only be a very brief commentary on contract papers carefully, explained On a new estate, the seller/ explanation regarding the missing Q&As the issues raised and should not be relied on as legal advice. the terms of the contract to you and developer will usually reserve a right driveway, and to check if there was Visit: homesand No liability is accepted for such reliance. If you have similar shown you a plan of the property. in the contract to make changes to any misrepresentation by the seller. property.co.uk issues, you should obtain advice from a solicitor. 46 WEDNESDAY 10 JUNE 2015 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property New homes homesandproperty.co.uk with By David Spittles Smart moves The new face Nine Elms sprouting of Bloomsbury NINE ELMS just gets bigger. With the main MERGE from Russell squares, refurbishing historic waterfront sites now Square Tube station, head shopfronts and letting premises to taken, builders are south and you will discover independent retailers. digging around the a district of elegant Flats are being created above fringes, where prices Georgian squares and shops, while Georgian townhouses will be lower. hiddenE mews offering a range of flats used as offices after the war are Battersea Exchange, much-improved new and period houses that could be a being brought back to life as homes. above and right, between pedestrian route wonderful place to live. Bloomsbury Square is the WC1 Battersea Park and between the two stations The area has been a residential jewel, where a pair of grand Queenstown Road train and a civic square district for more than three townhouses has been renovated and stations, makes a virtue enlivened by shops, cafés centuries, built and enjoyed by split into rental apartments costing out of the splendid listed and restaurants. The the grand estate owners, the from £425 to £1,400 a week. Call railway arches, which are scheme has 290 homes Southampton and Bedford families. Hurford Salvi Carr on 020 7299 3322. being transformed into spread across 10 blocks The Bedford Estates still controls a commercial spaces. of up to 18 storeys. Prices large tract of the area and has Let’s all be retro: turning back the Architect Fielden Clegg from £415,000. Call DTZ embarked on a Marylebone-type clock to picnic in period style in

Bradley has designed a on 020 3296 2222. makeover by upgrading garden Bedford Square, Bloomsbury WC1 REX

ABOVE Computer generated image of living area with river view** RIGHT Computer generated image of Queen’s Wharf and Thames Path** | * Prices correct at time of going to press ** Computer generated images are indicative only EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 10 JUNE 2015 47 homesandproperty.co.uk with New homes Homes & Property Deals on wheels at bike-friendly homes NATIONAL Bike Week starts on Saturday with cycling in London at record levels. Cyclists now make 610,000 journeys a day in the capital, up 25 per cent since 2008, and more developers are responding to their needs by creating homes along new cycle superhighways, such as the one between Elephant & Castle and King’s Cross. West Grove, right, is a new phase of 593 homes at the emerging Elephant Park neighbourhood, where green cycle routes will run through the development and every home will have a secure cycle parking space. Prices from £430,000. Conversion: renovated Bloomsbury Call Lend Lease on 020 3675 9955. Square townhouses, now grand ﬂats

WOOLWICH BEYOND the Docklands heartland, Woolwich’s Royal Arsenal is a stunning RIVER VIEWS piece of military architecture. A walled estate, formerly a munitions factory, it Read more: visit FOR ALL AT THIS has homes, shops and amenities, a ARCHITECTURAL four-acre park, a riverboat pier plus a our new online new Crossrail station. luxury section SHOWSTOPPER Waterfront II, right, the latest phase, looms over the Thames, HomesAndProperty.co.uk/luxury alongside a half-mile promenade. Blocks of wide-windowed apartments are shaped to maximise views from all flats. Prices from £395,000 to £1.35 million. Call Berkeley Homes on 020 8331 7130.

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