Wednesday 15 November 2017 Get the Homes& interiors bug

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NEW HOMES: MOVE IN BY CHRISTMAS P8 FUTURE LONDON: BRENT CROSS P10 CRAFT GIFTS P16 SPOTLIGHT ON PUTNEY P26 Overground night train launches for Christmas No more walking home Page 6 JULIET MURPHY London’s best property search news: homesandproperty.co.uk 4 WEDNESDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2017 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | News

Build-to-rent: Grosvenor’s vision for Bermondsey homes From billionaires to Bermondsey Trophy home of the week plush W2 terrace in a very fine garden square HE Duke of West- and work could start next minster’s Gros- year. All of the homes would £5.95 million: this grand Bayswater reception room with high ceilings lit venor Estate, be “build-to-rent” and Lifechanger of the week maisonette in one of W2’s finest by huge Murano chandeliers is which owns much according to a statement They’ll pay to tickle the trout garden squares is a short stroll from upstairs, next to an elegant open- of Mayfair and lodged with Southwark, the the restored Italian Gardens on the plan dining space. The kitchen is Belgravia,T has discovered intention is to “attract occu- in your idyllic rural fishery north side of Kensington Gardens. vast, guests have the choice of three gold in Bermondsey. pants from a wide cross-sec- You won’t be joining the local gym bedroom suites, while the master The family firm has bought tion of the community with £1.05 million: there’s water is flanked by open because you have one of your own, bedroom has plush en suite and and plans to transform the an emphasis on local something decidedly fishy fields on all sides. Ample with a swimming pool and sauna set dressing areas. For sale with a share old Peek Frean biscuit fac- people”. — in a good way — about space can be found in a next to a skylit reception room on of the freehold through Hamptons tory. It will be part of a The homes will range in size this three-bedroom lodge generous-sized kitchen/ the lower ground floor. A fine double International (020 3151 7631). £500 million scheme near from small studio flats of on the edge of pretty dining and family room The Shard, with 1,300 new about 400sq ft to three-bed- Sutton Scotney near with doors to the gardens, homes for renters. room flats. Rents, says Gros- Winchester. It comes with and there’s a separate The plant closed in 1989 venor, will be charged at a five watery acres that sitting room. If you’re London buy of the week commute after more than 100 years. In “competitive market rate”, include a trout pond, lakes angling for further 20 minutes home to a Victorian beauty place of chocolate digestives, and about a quarter of the and streams, and planning income, you could rent out bourbons and Garibaldis will homes will be affordable, let consent to run a fishery. the self-contained flat £325,000: a mere 20- be homes, shops, restau- at a 25 per cent discount. The house sits on an above the garage. Through minute commute from rants, bars, offices and a Some residents have com- island and is completely Winkworth (01962 London Waterloo finds secondary school. plained to the council that secluded. Beyond it, the 460052). you in the popular The project is being consid- the homes are not likely to south-west London ered by Southwark council be affordable to locals. town of Surbiton, where this period O Find Ruth Bloomfield’s full story at homesandproperty.co.uk conversion flat has to be seen. Generous Victorian proportions include high ceilings and huge sash windows in a gorgeous reception room with ample dining and big window in the monthly farmers’ space, a working open double bedroom, next market in Maple Road. fireplace and wood to a neatly fitted Through Foxtons (020 floors through to an bathroom. The location 3858 3362). open-plan streamlined is perfect for a great kitchen. There’s selection of cafés, By Faye another lovely fireplace restaurants and the Greenslade

£500m project: 1,300 flats where old biscuit factory stood Free Editor: Janice tickets: Morley Eat & Drink

VISIT homesandproperty.co. Festival uk/rules for details of our usual promotion rules. When Christmas you respond to promotions, offers or competitions, the NOVEMBER 22-26 London Evening Standard and OLYMPIA LONDON its sister companies may contact you with relevant VISIT the Eat & Drink Festival Late-night Thursday: the festival offers and services that may Christmas for delicious festive fun. will become a buzzing hub of be of interest. Please give See live demos on The Foodie Stage by nightlife on November 23. Food from your mobile number and/or your favourite chefs, sharing their tips the country’s top street food vendors email address if you would and tricks just in time for Christmas. will be served until 9pm, alongside like to receive such offers by Tick off your Christmas shopping tasty tipples — just right for those text or email. list: head to the Artisan Producers after-work drinks. Market for the freshest produce and Eat & Drink Festival Christmas is Editorial: 020 3615 2650 handmade products — perfect for the offering readers the chance to claim Advertisement manager: food enthusiasts in your life. two free tickets per household using Ann Finan Celebrate local food: tour the the code ESCOMP. Advertising: 020 3615 0266 “Streets of London” sampling flavours O To claim your free weekday tickets, Homes & Property, Northcliffe from across the capital. Whether it’s a visit eatanddrinkchristmaslondon.com House, 2 Derry Street, quick lunch or a delicious dinner and quote ESCOMP before Monday Kensington, London W8 5TT. you’re after, there’s something here to November 20. A £1.70 transaction fee tantalise everyone’s taste buds. applies. Usual rules apply. EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2017 5 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by News | Homes & Property A pastel palace with a Trinny makeover É
FASHION makeover queen-turned- beauty guru Trinny Woodall is selling her Notting Hill home, something of a pastel palace, for £4.97 million. The TV presenter, inset, who launched her Trinny London cosmetics brand last month, has put the chic four-bedroom house on the market with Bective Leslie Marsh. As you would expect, the interiors are smart and special in a soft palette throughout. The ground floor has a separate large walk-in shower. For Expect you to die? No Mr double reception room with soaring oodles of manicured green space, ceilings and a study to the rear, while Kensington Gardens is almost Bond, we expect you to buy the lower ground floor kitchen is on the doorstep — and the entered through glazed doors that designer boutiques of Westbourne É
HARPSDEN COURT, a Radcliffe, the film Jude with encircle a small and pretty patio. Grove are just around the corner. fabulous Strawberry Hill Christopher Eccleston and The first floor is dedicated to a Gothic Revival beauty in Kate Winslet, and TV mini sumptuous master bedroom suite O For more celebrity gossip, visit Henley-on-Thames, is series Parade’s End, with with a big free-standing bath and homesandproperty.co.uk/gossip yours through Hamptons Benedict Cumberbatch. GETY for £4.95 million. Parts of the 13-bedroom The Grade II-listed pile house date from 1204, was a location for Bond though it has been added movie Quantum of Solace, to during every century starring Daniel Craig and since. The main bedroom Homes gossip Olga Kurylenko, inset, and is known as Queen Mary’s was also a set for Woman Room as it is believed the By Amira Hashish Got some gossip? Tweet @amiranews in Black starring Daniel Tudor queen stayed in it.

Kim and Kanye can’t wait for their next mega home THE HOT SPOT: É
KIM KARDASHIAN and PARK Kanye West almost doubled CHINOIS their money with the sale of the Bel-Air mansion, right, that they bought in 2013 for Our tip £6.8 million and have just sold for £13.5 million. for star However, the rapper and the GETTY reality TV star, right, splashed spotters out £1.5 million on pool and patio renovations, so the and style new owner, Silicon Valley- seekers

based Ukrainian GETTTY philanthropist Marina

Acton, will benefit from SPLASH NEWS É
IF RIHANNA deems a seen there just a couple of Alan Yau, was designed by that signature Kim and restaurant worthy of a night weeks before. Other famous Parisian Jacques Garcia, famous Kanye bling. out, you know it is the place to clients of the extravagant for glamour and flamboyance. The A-list power couple, cost them £15.2 million. This party. The singer’s go-to Chinese eatery-cum-cabaret Downstairs, Club Chinois, the who have two children and 16,000sq ft mega home is still London haunt is Park Chinois in bar include Kate Moss, Alexa live entertainment room, has expect their third soon, this growing, with plans for a two- Mayfair, where she was recently Chung, Georgia May Jagger, gilded columns, purple velvet time by a surrogate mother, storey playroom, music studio spotted leaving at 2am after a Sienna Miller and Rita Ora. banquettes and golden are eagerly awaiting their and cinema. There will, of date with billionaire boyfriend Spread over 15,200sq ft on mirrored tables. move into the new eight- course, be a gym, basketball Hassan Jameel. Rihanna’s ex, two floors, Park Chinois, the O To book a table, visit bedroom family home in court, hair salon and beauty Canadian rapper Drake, was dream of Wagamama founder parkchinois.com Hidden Hills, also LA, which spa. Fit for Hollywood royalty. 6 WEDNESDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2017 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | New homes homesandproperty.co.uk powered by

From £715,000: studios, flats, maisonettes and penthouses at Islington Square, 10 minutes’ walk from Highbury & Islington Overground station which will have the night train next year (020 7723 6733) ALAMY Soon to open all hours: weekend night trains are coming to the Overground The night train gives buyers more choice Next month the first Overground night trains begin — an essential service for the city’s army of night workers and just in time for the party season. By Anna White

HE past 20 years have seen the south-east of the capital, extending the epicentre of London to Highbury & Islington next year. The nightlife shift from the West service will take in Wapping, Shadwell, End to the more edgy East Whitechapel and Shoreditch High End hotspots of Hoxton and Street, a short walk from Silicon Round- Shoreditch.T And while Soho has become about, capital of the UK’s tech and a place to eat before the theatre, for a design start-up sector. more cutting-edge restaurant scene you An all-night service in this part of the must travel further east to Walthamstow city is long overdue, says analyst Nick or south east to Deptford. Whitten of property group JLL. Chris The capital’s night Tube, which was Manderson of Foxtons agrees it’s badly rolled out across the Central, Jubilee, needed: “The day starts later and fin- Piccadilly and Victoria lines last year, ishes later — or rather earlier the next was intended to support a growing morning — on this side of town.” night-time economy but until now it has largely skirted around the core Early hours trains through the most cultural hubs of the east. vibrant part of the East End will of Next month Transport for London course be helpful to party animals. But will launch the capital’s first night serv- more importantly, they will open up a ice on the Overground — the “Ginger patchwork of more affordable districts line”. It will run 24 hours on Fridays to young Londoners on modest wages and Saturdays from Dalston Junction who are more likely to be working late in east London to New Cross Gate in over the weekend. For thousands of

From £685,000: shift workers — nurses, bar staff, those above, studios, in the creative arts, security guards, No more walking home in the dark flats and technicians, cleaners, not to mention FREELANCE graphic designer Georgia London’s decision not to renew the penthouses at TfL employees — the service provides a Currell was born and grew up in app-based taxi firm’s licence to The Stage by safe passage home, allowing them to Homerton, a residential east London operate in the capital. Galliard, just buy or rent further from work. Olivia enclave just north of Victoria Park. The Textile Building in Chatham three minutes’ Harris, chief executive of affordable She now owns a two-bedroom Place was the old Burberry factory walk from the homes charity Dolphin Living, explains: apartment in The Textile Building in converted by developers Aitch Group. Overground “It will provide a reliable, low-cost trans- Hackney Central and welcomes the All 85 homes have now sold. A two- night train at port option. It will enable more people new night train that will enable her to bedroom, two-bathroom penthouse Shoreditch High to find a better and bigger rented home meet clients in the evening. On a with balcony is available as a resale on Street station and even put more money in people’s personal level, she looks forward to the sixth floor covering 1,060sq ft and (020 3883 4398) pockets to save for a deposit.” going to more cultural events. priced at £845,000. “Most of my work is around More affordable new-build schemes OCAL economies should Shoreditch and Hoxton so I’ll be can be found towards the bottom of the benefit, too. Russell Taylor, jumping on the night train late on line. Deptford Foundry, by Anthology, owner of Old Street Records Friday nights after events rather than to be completed towards the end of in Shoreditch, says: “We wel- walking home,” says Currell, 23. “It next year, comprises eight apartment Above left: The come the night train as it has become more essential given the blocks, a residential tower overlooking Textile Building offersL our staff and musicians, who uncertainty around Uber’s future,” a courtyard and a new cycle track. A in Hackney work into the early hours, a safe, con- she adds, referring to Transport for short walk from New Cross Gate station Central, where a venient way home. Not only this, those and the night train, prices start from resale penthouse people who are looking for work in Working late: the night train will help £385,000 for one-bedroom flats. Call is available hospitality but who can’t afford to live more centrally will now have a chance JULIET MURPHY Georgia Currell with evening meetings JLL on 020 3553 6811. priced £845,000 (020 3222 5555) to apply for jobs in the area.” EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2017 7 New homes | Homes & Property

From £1,800 a month: new one-, two- and three-bedroom flats to rent at pet-friendly Dalston Works, with concierge, bike storage — and minutes from Dalston Junction night trains (020 3111 1789)

PRICES AND RENTS ALONG THE OVERGROUND Average asking price in October Station 2017 Canada Water £583,439 Dalston Junction £694,454 Haggerston £685,812 Hoxton £626,849 New Cross £422,532 Rotherhithe £723,880 Shadwell £648,046 Shoreditch High Street £798,511 Surrey Quays £531,175 Wapping £739,035 Whitechapel £558,169 Average local rents Station per month From £385,000: one-bedroom flats at Deptford Foundry, New Cross £1,447 near the night train at New Cross Gate, with eight blocks Canada Water £1,998 due for completion next year. Through JLL (020 3553 6811) Surrey Quays £1,912 Haggerston £2,167 Rotherhithe £2,168 Hoxton £2,245 Dalston Junction £2,106 Wapping £2,186 Whitechapel £2,007 Shoreditch High Street £2,455 Shadwell £2,085 Source: Rightmove

Fancy a home close to a night train? Start your search on

From £825,000: apartments at London Dock, Wapping E1, handy for the night train at Shadwell and Wapping Overground stations. Through CBRE (020 7182 2477) Super-connected in Deptford

WEB DEVELOPER Hamish Hossack, 26, and girlfriend Ilona, 24, left, are moving to Deptford Foundry from Surrey and have bought a three- bedroom flat in the complex. “Getting to and from the office each day is one of the main reasons we’re putting down roots in Deptford,” says Hossack. “The transport links mean we can get to all sides of town from just one station. I work in Aldgate East and will use the night train after work events on a Friday.” Deptford house prices are forecast to rise 15-20 per cent in the next five years, says JLL — the fastest rate of growth along the night train route. “Deptford offers good transport infrastructure, a buzzing, attractive high street and the developers are now starting to create Thames-side living,” says JLL’s Nick Whitten. 8 WEDNESDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2017 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | New homes: seasonal deals

From £1,495,000: Futurehomes townhouses at Elephant Park, SE1 — get stamp duty paid and a five per cent price discount GIVE YOURSELF A CHRISTMAS PRESENT Act now and you could be hosting the festivities in your new-build home. Ginetta Vedrickas finds discounts and deals at move-in ready houses

IME is running out for house takes over two months from going on “cashback”. A five per cent deposit of hunters hoping to move by the market to coming under offer. £6,032 is required for a 25 per cent Christmas. However, we “Because new homes are chain free share starting at £120,625, in a home have searched London for and the developer’s solicitor is on with a full market value of £482,500. homes that are move-in standby with the whole package, there Along with the mortgage, buyers pay ready,T so if you have your mortage in should be a speedy turnaround,” says £829.30 in monthly rent plus service place and your solicitor at the ready, Strutt & Parker’s James Mackenzie. charge of £139 and £300 annual ground bedroom homes offer 1,174sq ft plus ing 83 flats is finished, enabling buyers you could be celebrating the festive rent. front and back gardens and first-floor to move in now, with time to enjoy the season in your new home. CANNING TOWN: ZONE 3 These homes, with one double bed- balconies. Priced from £1,495,000, festivities under way at Broadway Mar- New-build purchases should be more Flats at East City Point in Canning room and a single bedroom, measure service charges start from £2.90 per ket in nearby London Fields. Kingsland straightforward than resales, where Town are ready now with a fast legal 871sq ft, and some include parking square foot. Call 020 3675 9955. High Street is a shopping hub with 200 the uncertainty of chains and potential turnaround, says housebuilder Clarion space and a terrace. Within walking outlets selling everything from fashion gazumping can mean soaring stress Housing Group, with shared ownership distance of Canning Town Tube and DALSTON: ZONE 2 to food. A two-bedroom flat with levels and a high pull-out rate. Of at the scheme. “We aim for comple- Docklands Light Railway, access into Connectivity is key for house hunters. 746sq ft of space starts from £750,000 course, new schemes can be delayed tions within 28 days of the memoran- the City, Canary Wharf and Stratford New scheme FiftySevenEast in Dal- plus service charge of £3.50 per square — but in a slow market, London has dum of sale being issued, so people can is easy, while Crossrail opening at ston is within a five-minute walk of foot. Call Taylor Wimpey on 020 3818 plenty of developments ready to move be in before Christmas,” says Clarion’s nearby Custom House next year will Dalston Kingsland and Dalston Junc- 8886. into now, and developers are offering Simon Mundell. A memorandum of create a direct link to the West End. tion stations, for Tube, National Rail, money-saving incentives along with sale summarises purchase details “With our energy-efficient designs, fuel the Overground and buses, appealing TOOTING: ZONE 3 fast conveyancing. including the legally binding “exchange bills will be low,” adds Mundell of to the growing numbers of tech and Even if you’ve got a home to sell, you Research by estate agents Strutt & of contracts” date. Clarion is offering Clarion. Call 020 7539 3745. creative industries flocking to east could still be in by Christmas — devel- Parker found resale property typically buyers of two-bedroom duplexes £500 London. The 15-storey tower contain- oper Bellway is offering part exchange ELEPHANT PARK: ZONE 1 Lendlease is offering to pay stamp duty on its three- and four-bedroom Futurehomes at Elephant Park in SE1, which are ready now for buyers who want to move quickly. Reserve this month, move in by Christmas and save five per cent of the purchase price, says the developer’s Richard Cook. It’s just a five-minute walk to Elephant From £695,000: & Castle station, connecting to the £720,000 and houses at St Northern line and National Rail serv- £735,000: get George’s Gate, ices, and the Cycle Superhighway half the stamp Tooting, with passes the development. The Victo- duty paid on the part exchange rian-style townhouses are designed to last two flats at available on your mirror those in neighbouring Larcom Riverside TW8, old home Street conservation area, and the three- Chiswick EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2017 9 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by New homes: seasonal deals | Homes & Property

£120,625: for 25 per cent of a two-bedroom duplex at East City Point in Canning Town, with a £500 cashback deal

at its St George’s Gate development From £750,000: stamp duty on the two left for sale at in Tooting. Four-bedroom townhouses two-bedroom Riverside TW8, a waterside develop- are a spacious 1,306sq ft, with open- apartments at ment just off Kew Bridge near bustling plan living areas large enough to host FiftySevenEast in Chiswick High Road and a short bus ride a traditional family Christmas. Tooting Dalston, minutes away from Westfield London shops. High Street is home to award-winning from hubs for the With views across the Thames, two- Tooting Market, with its brunch spots Overground, double bedroom flats cover 914sq ft. and cocktail bars, and Tooting Bec sta- Tube, main line Chiswick’s markets, cafés and artisan tion is less than half a mile away with trains and buses shops are in walking distance. Nearby services into Waterloo, Charing Cross, Kew Bridge station has direct trains to Bank and Old Street. London Waterloo in under 30 minutes Two-bedroom houses start from or take the District line from Gunners- £695,000 and four-bedroom freehold bury Tube, a 15-minute walk away. houses are priced from £945,000, plus Priced £720,000 and £735,000 plus annual management fees from £565. £2.86 per sq ft service charge. Call 020 Call 0333 577 5878. 3797 4346.

GET YOUR HAGGLING HEAD ON, THEY’RE TAKING OFFERS Want to buy a Sara Ransom of Stacks Property Search says developers are happy to negotiate. move-in ready She has seen 30 per cent discounts, and says that where prices have seemed home? inflated, such as at Nine Elms, develop- ers looking at a bleak sales period are Start your search taking a reality check. Buyers don’t like on interest rate rises, even small ones, so they’ll be looking for savings and better deals. Ransom advises “making a punchy offer now”. Deals on the last few remaining flats in a development are common. Notting Hill Housing is offering 50 per cent off 10 WEDNESDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2017 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Area watch

HE idea of a Garden Bridge over the Thames may have sunk without trace but next summer work will begin on a green bridge spanning the heavingT lanes of the North Circular. This landscaped walkway will link a new north London suburb — with thou- sands of new homes and a station offer- ing fast Thameslink trains to the City — to the much-needed revamp of Lon- don’s oldest shopping centre. Work on the bridge, plus a £1.4 billion reboot of 41-year-old Brent Cross Shop- ping Centre will start next year after Barnet council granted planning per- mission last month. Almost simultane- ously, developer Argent Related, which is responsible for delivering 6,700 new homes plus almost three million square feet of office space, lodged a planning application for the first phase of about 300 flats at Brent Cross South. Work is due to start within 18 months, the homes will go on sale in the middle of 2019, and the first residents will move into their new homes in 2021. THE NEXT KING’S CROSS? Argent Related’s £5 billion project will take 15 to 20 years to complete, and the firm — a joint venture between a US developer and the British team behind the regeneration of King’s Cross — will be working for architectural variety with a range of different designers. The Green walkway: new £1.4bn Brent Cross London shopping centre will be reached from the new town by a “living bridge”, arrowed and inset, across the North Circular road Garden Bridge to go ahead — over the North Circular

aim of Brent Cross South is to include The £5bn Brent Cross South masterplan includes a green link from a new ket-style “food village”, while an indoor 30 per cent affordable homes, first-time town square area will be used for events buyer homes and homes for renters. neighbourhood to the revamped shopping centre. By Ruth Bloomfield such as ice skating and tennis. Major Andrew Turner, the developer’s project stores and chains including M&S, Fen- director, says the private homes will with young professionals who would shops and restaurants, along with sports wick and John Lewis will remain, but have “middle market” price tags. Later rather live elsewhere if they could afford facilities and schools. Within five years Littman hopes to encourage and bring phases could be pushed nearer the it. He says it is important to build office residents will be able to walk across the in individual shop owners. luxury end of the market. space for 25,000 people to prevent the green bridge to the new Brent Cross Homes will mostly be in buildings of area becoming a daytime dead space. London shopping centre with 300 JOINED UP TO CROSSRAIL six to eight storeys, interspersed with shops, 50 restaurants and a cinema. The Linking the new suburb to the rest of 13- to 15-storey blocks, and will range A GREAT SHOPPING EXPERIENCE project, by Hammerson and Standard London will be a new Brent Cross South from studios to family homes. Close to “It is why King’s Cross is such a success. Life, will complete around 2022. Thameslink station — there is already the North Circular, creating an impor- You have to bring people into a live-work Ben Littman, development manager a Tube station, Brent Cross, on the tant breaker against the road, will be and leisure place. The shopping centre at Hammerson, knows shopping centres Northern line. higher buildings of 20-plus storeys. should be an enjoyable destination, and can be soulless, depressing strip-lit Work is due to start on the station Turner’s job is to avoid turning the we should be able to meet the needs of places, full of disconsolate gangs of teen- next autumn, and by May 2022 resi- area into a vast dormitory estate filled British and international businesses.” agers getting in the way of harassed dents will have regular services to Another essential ingredient is plenty shoppers laden with bags and buggies. King’s Cross St Pancras in 12 minutes New north London suburb: Brent Cross of green space, linked by walking and “We are looking at having three sepa- and Farringdon in 15 minutes, from South will include homes, workspace, cycle routes, with a “pedestrian- rate zones with different characters.” where they will be able to pick up walking and cycle routes and schools friendly” high street of neighbourhood There are early plans for a Borough Mar- Crossrail services east or west. 12 WEDNESDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2017 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Commuting NEW SERIES HOTSPOTS Find the top-value Top 20 We reveal the best-priced homes ALAMY GETTY ALAMY within an hour’s commute of Historic character: pastel-painted terraces in Landmark: Southend Pier, the world’s longest at The shopping’s good: Newbury in Berkshire is London. By Ruth Bloomfield the Old Town High Street, Hemel Hempstead over a mile, and the town’s new Cultural Centre just within the “magic hour” commute of London

HE steady exodus of families and young the strongest price growth over the past year. HEMEL HEMPSTEAD a seawater swimming lagoon. Out of season all buyers out of London is continually It’s a survey, by Hamptons International, that roads lead to Leigh-on-Sea Broadway, with its creating new property hotspots, from has uncovered many unexpected destina- Average property price: £381,000 boutiques, vintage shops and thriving café culture. seaside resorts to modern commuter tions. Price increase since 2007: 30 per cent Southend’s sports facilities are good, with several dormitories and from affluent river- To begin with, we look at three very different Average price for a house: £498,000 leisure centres offering everything from swimming Tside enclaves to historic market towns. commuter towns that have all seen a respectable Journey time: 26 minutes to tennis. There’s an Odeon cinema, an art gallery, In a new series, Homes & Property reveals the seven per cent property price growth over the and two theatres, and London Southend airport’s 20 locations — all within an hour’s commute of year. There’s good value to be found here, along Why move here? With a relatively easy com- a plus. The town’s two single-sex high schools the centre of the capital — that have recorded with easy access to countryside. mute, this Hertfordshire “new town” was devel- each hold “outstanding” Ofsted reports. oped to create overspill housing for Londoners Any downsides? Primary school standards are after the Second World War. The Old Town’s patchy, and while you might dream of a sea view, candy-coloured terraces are pretty, and on a you’ll need deep pockets to acquire one. A family sunny afternoon the Grand Union Canal towpath house in one of the Victorian/Edwardian streets is lovely. This town is well-resourced with sports with sea views will cost six figures. Town centre facilities and a cinema. Popular schools include shopping is mostly chain store, and nightlife can John F Kennedy Catholic School, for seniors, with get rowdy, particularly in high season. an “outstanding” Ofsted rating. Hemel Hempstead is far better value for money NEWBURY than nearby commuter honeypots such as Berkhamsted. It’s also very convenient for the M1, Average property price: £314,000 and the Chiltern Hills are a seven-mile drive away. Price increase since 2007: 34 per cent The smartest bit is Boxmoor, south west of town, Average price for a house: £382,000 an enclave of Victorian and Edwardian houses near Journey time: 59 minutes the station. Homes here sell for £650,000-plus. Any downsides? This is not a good-looking town, Why move here? The streets radiating from cen- despite an ongoing £30 million regeneration of the tral Market Place in this Berkshire town offer a good centre. The shops are a disappointing range of mix of shops, pubs and an improving range of chains, while dreary post-war properties are easier restaurants. Property choice is wide, with tradi- to find than lovely period homes or well-designed tional brick-and-flint cottages and Victorian and modern houses. The location of the station, two- Edwardian family homes in the town centre; Thir- and-a-half miles south west of the town centre, ties houses to the south of town; plenty of post-war means some commuters have a long walk. houses, and dreamy country houses in the sur- rounding villages. There are plenty of high-achiev- SOUTHEND-ON-SEA ing primary schools, while for seniors, The Downs School gets an “outstanding” Ofsted rating. Average property price: £235,000 In the M4 “wealth corridor”, Newbury is famous Price increase since 2007: 40 per cent for its racecourse, has its share of golf clubs and is Average price for a house: £300,000 right on the edge of the lovely Berkshire Downs. Journey time: 54 minutes There is a town lido, several annual comedy or music festivals, plus a theatre and cinema within Why move here? This swathe of Essex seaside the old Corn Exchange. The two shopping centres is hard to beat on price and is slowly shedding its include Parkway, for John Lewis and Joules. “kiss-me-quick” reputation as more young fami- “Newbury has always had a very steady market,” lies move in. Gary Denyer, branch manager of says Rupert Reeves, a partner at Carter Jonas. “In Bairstow Eves estate agents, estimates that 50 to the downturns it always holds its own… it is easy 60 per cent of homes are sold to incomers, most to get to a lot of places from here, schools are good from east London seeking affordability. and Newbury retains its market town feel.” Thorpe Bay is the smartest address in town, The average house price of £382,000 buys a where a four-bedroom detached Thirties house modern four-bedroom townhouse or a three- will cost you about £400,000 — less than a one- bedroom Victorian house. bedroom flat in Canary Wharf. In summer the Any downsides? weekend nightlife is meagre seven beaches are the big draw, and a £50 million and parking in the town centre is almost always plan on the table to upgrade the seafront includes a nightmare.

£600,000: a four-bedroom terrace in Cambridge £850,000: four-bedroom Elizabethan farmhouse Road, Southend. Peter Howard (01702 744134) in Hemel Hempstead. Castles (01442 738036) EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2017 13 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by Christmas holiday homes | Homes & Property

£2,144: Boseglos House in Cornwall sleeps eight over Christmas week Cricket Court, Somerset. Conquest and a more HRISTMAS is less than six Sleeps 20, £14,000, available modern, on-trend claim to weeks away — so there’s no Christmas week. fame as the home of Alice time to lose if you want to AVENUE — and the Temperley, one of the rent a home over the company’s founder, Duchess of Cambridge’s holiday and/or New Year. Annabel Brooks — pride favourite dress designers. WhetherC you plan a romantic break themselves on offering Temperley’s bohemian for two, a rural family getaway or a some of the world’s most touch is on show in eclectic fully staffed house party, here are beautiful rental homes, soft furnishings, making a some suggestions in Britain and from Bhutan to Mustique. colourful and amusing Ireland to help you celebrate in style. Closer to home is Cricket antidote to the classical Court, north of Chard in architecture — and you Boseglos House, Lostwithiel, Cornwall. Somerset, close to Dorset’s always have those views Sleeps eight, £2,144 for Christmas week. Jurassic Coast. over the Quantock Hills. BESIDE the River Fowey on the south It has a history that dates O Avenue: avenueproperty. Cornish coast, this Grade II-listed back to the Norman com 18th-century cottage has been stylishly upgraded to create a pared- back yet cosy family home. Nearby countryside includes the Roseland Peninsula, beautiful St Mawes and the small-scale antique shops, cafés Get away from it all this Christmas and restaurants of Fowey. O Cornish Gems: cornishgems.com Cathy Hawker finds bolt holes for romance, family gatherings and grand house parties

The Herringbone, Mousehole, Cornwall. Sleeps two, £1,300 for week from Dec 22. elegant Georgian proportions — think SWAP the Christmas madness for the Lost Cottage, County Kerry, Ireland. high ceilings and period mouldings — salty sea air of Mousehole in West Sleeps four, £2,500 for a week, ideal for an extended family or group Cornwall, described by poet Dylan available December 22-29. of friends who want their own front Thomas as “the prettiest village in IF YOUR idea of luxury is silence door at night. England”. The Herringbone is a and splendid isolation but you O Through Destiny Scotland: destiny fisherman’s cottage-turned-romantic don’t fancy roughing it, then Lost scotland.com one-bedroom loft, where layers of Cottage, left and below, is for you. woollen throws, Egyptian linens and The owner was inspired by Clarence House, Suffolk. Sleeps 24, a warming log burner create the minimalist architect John Pawson £20,020 a week from December 21-28. cosiest of seaside bolt holes. to take a red-roofed, whitewashed NO, NOT that Clarence House. This Mustard Pot Cottage, North Norfolk. O Through Unique Home Stays: cottage in Ireland’s deepest rural one is part of Wilderness Reserve, Sleeps four, £974 a week, Dec 29-Jan 2. uniquehomestays.com south-west and create a beguiling 5,000 acres of Suffolk countryside OCTAGONAL rooms and arched contemporary home. two hours from London. The grand doorways are among the charming Chisholm Hunter Suites, Edinburgh. Large windows expose the manor house dates from 1827 but its quirks of Mustard Pot Cottage, a two- Sleeps two to three, £1,357 for three Emerald Isle’s beauty while a facilities are totally 21st century: bedroom home 10 minutes from the nights over New Year. sunken bath sits under a glass roof, heated swimming pool, large cinema beaches of Cromer on the North CELEBRATE Hogmanay in style with just the place to watch the night room, tennis court, gym and well- Norfolk coast. The cottage has its own a floodlit view of Edinburgh Castle. sky sparkle in Ireland’s first Dark stocked games room that will appeal private gardens within the Felbrigg Chisholm Hunter Suites are six Sky Reserve. The goat, we think, is to all ages. Grand grounds, a large Estate, a National Trust property in comfortable, modern, one-bedroom a model… lake and a brimming wine cellar will magnificent 520-acre grounds. apartments in a classic New Town O Through Unique Home Stays: ensure guests feel like royalty. O Through the National Trust: 18th-century building in the centre of uniquehomestays.com O Through The Wow House Company: nationaltrust.org.uk/holidays the Scottish capital. Rooms have thewowhousecompany.com 14 WEDNESDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2017 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Reader offers Alison Cork

Smart sofa beds for Christmas guests

WHEN Christmas guests are on their way you’ll have the flexibility of extra beds with handcrafted furniture from Willow & Hall. Choose from sofa beds with 14cm-deep mattress options — such as The Foxcote, right, from Try out a home water softener £1,509 — to gorgeous upholstered beds and more. With 130 fabrics FANCY trying softened water in your own home? Feel the available, request a pack with free effects of softened water for yourself with the Harvey samples and product cards today. Water Softener three-month trial and see what it’s like to Order by November 19 for guaranteed live without those hard water problems. Christmas delivery. Delivered free to Neatly tucked away under your kitchen sink, the Harvey most of the UK mainland in about Water Softener provides your whole home with softened four to five weeks, with 14-day water. With no more limescale, you could save on energy free returns. Use code bills and cleaning products as well as elbow grease — less BN61217 by December 6 to time cleaning means more time for the fun things in life. save five per cent. Visit Get your no-obligation three-month trial at harvey.co.uk willow andhall.co.uk or or call 01483 924033. call 020 8939 3800. BargBBargaargrgagaga

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Left: Deborah Colman’s Christmas Wilderness Lamp, £49, at The Chocolate crafts Factory By Corinne Julius

INDING that special present need not be difficult. Many of the capital’s craft workshops hold Christmas open studios with Above: large Below: Helen Below: Susan handmade decorations, mulled Offcut tray, £28, Rawlinson’s Nemeth’s wine,F mince pies and the chance to buy and dishes, £22, Panama cotton porcelain vase unusual, intriguing one-off gifts not available by Sebastian Cox cushion, £35, at with cherries, £75, on the high street or online. Meet the makers, at Designer The Chocolate at The Chocolate commission gifts, browse or buy special-offer Maker Xmas Fair Factory Factory items and explore workshops and studios not normally open to the public.

LONDON GLASSBLOWING November 23 to Christmas Eve at 62-66 Bermondsey Street, SE1. Monday to Saturday 10am to 6pm, Sunday 11am to 5pm (londonglassblowing.co.uk) SUMPTUOUSLY coloured glass vessels and decorations by Peter Layton and colleagues will delight. Makers blow glass daily on site, with a special exhibition day on December 4.

KINGSGATE WORKSHOPS November 24-26 at 110-116 Kingsgate Road, West Hampstead NW6. Friday 6pm to 9pm, Saturday noon to 9pm, Sunday noon to 6pm (kingsgateworkshops.org.uk/winter-fair) POTTERS, silversmiths and artists in this historic Victorian warehouse include Angela Cork and Nan Nan Liu, whose silver was recently shown at the V&A, and ceramicists Deborah Jaffé and Daphne Carnegy. Freya Above: Katharine Morling’s Bramble, a contestant in BBC2’s The Great 45cm-long Strange Cargo train in Pottery Throw Down, will serve mulled wine in porcelain with black stain, £2,300 limited-edition mugs for sale. at Cockpit Arts Deptford

COSMIMA November 23-26 at The Clerkenwell Gallery, 20 Clerkenwell Green, EC1. Thursday and Friday noon to 8pm, Saturday and Sunday noon to 5pm (cosmima.co.uk) SILVER goodies here include vessels patinated in blues, greens and browns by Rebecca de Quin and vases striped in blues and greens by Scottish silversmith Hazel Thorn. In jewellery, find Jessica Turrell’s enamels and Kathie Murphy’s beautifully coloured resin.

THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY November 23-26 at Farleigh Place, N16. Friday 4.30pm to 9pm, Sat and Sun 11am to 6pm (chocolatefactoryn16.com) STRIKING functional ceramics by Jo Davies, Susan Nemeth and Akiko Hirai are here in Stokey, plus glass by Michèle Oberdieck, contemporary jewellery by Lina Peterson and interior textiles from Deborah Colman.

CRAFT CENTRAL WINTER MARKET November 24-26 at The Forge, 397-411 Westferry Road, Isle of Dogs E14. Friday 5pm to 8pm, Saturday 11am to 6pm, Sunday 11am to 5pm (craftcentral.org.uk) THE first Winter Market in Craft Central’s new home, a converted 19th-century Victorian forge, features home accessories, fashion and jewellery. Find porcelain by Tamsin Arrowsmith-Brown, platters patterned with modernist buildings by People Will Always Need Plates and Sato Hisao’s paper pop-ups.

COCKPIT ARTS CHRISTMAS OPEN STUDIOS, OVER TWO VENUES November 23-26, Northington Street, Holborn WC1. Thursday 6pm to 9pm, Friday to Sunday 11am to 6pm. Tickets bought on the door in Holborn, £6, also include entry to Cockpit Arts Deptford. Tickets in advance, £5, include entry to both sites. (cockpitarts.com) A GOOD mix of ceramics, textiles and jewellery, with textured ceramics by Helen Johannessen and vessels encrusted with porcelain flowers by Vanessa Hogge. EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2017 17 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by Shopping | Homes & Property

Right: Joost COCKPIT ARTS DEPTFORD Pasman’s Barista Wood’s good: December 1-3 at 18-22 Creekside, SE8. Friday Bag, £800, at Sebastian Cox’s 11am to 9pm, Sat and Sun 11am to 6pm. Cockpit Arts hewn wood Tickets £4. Friday free entry from 11am to Deptford stool in 2pm (cockpitarts.com) coppiced ash EXCITING craftwork on offer here includes and hazel, £180, small silver bowls by Adele Brereton, glass at Designer by Shelley James, ceramics by Anja Maker Xmas Lubach and delightful, playful ceramic Fair sculptures by Katharine Morling.

PULLENS YARDS December 1-3, Clements, Iliffe and Peacock Yards in Iliffe and Crampton Streets, SE17. Friday 6pm-9.30pm, Saturday 10am-9.30pm, Sunday 10am-5pm (pullensyards.co.uk) A MIX of ceramics, glass and metals with Below left: Klimt fashion accessories, jewellery and art thrown Circle of Hope by in. There’s Rimmington Vian glass, pewter Peter Layton, platters and vessels by Gordon W £450, at London Robertson, ceramics by Daniel Reynolds Glassblowing and lovely jewellery by Hidemi Asano.

VANGUARD COURT December 1-3 at 36-38 Peckham Road, SE5. Opening 11am to 5pm daily (020 7701 2940) A MUST for ceramics fans, with work by Chris Keenan, Carina Ciscato, Sun Kim, Kaori Tatebayashi and Robert Cooper. Left: Peter Layton’s Black KATE MALONE CERAMICS Paradiso December 2-3, Balls Pond Studio, 8b Culford sculptures, left Mews, N1. Open 11am to 7pm (katemalone to right, £480, ceramics.com) £1,600 and CELEBRATED ceramicist and judge on The £800, at London Great Pottery Throw Down, Kate Malone’s Glassblowing annual open studio weekend is the only time her work is for sale other than through her dealer. Also on sale are works by Anna Barlow, Miray Mehmet Fontanelli, Erika Albrecht and Malone’s Great Pottery Throw Down colleague Rich Miller of Froyle Tiles. All the makers are contributing a piece as prizes for a charity raffle in aid of Clay College in Stoke, of which Malone is a patron.

SELVEDGE FAIR December 2, Mary Ward House, 5-7 Tavistock Street, WC1. Open 11am to 5pm, tickets £5 (selvedge.org) PRODUCTS from £5 to £500 include Japanese shibori textiles by Romor Designs and monochrome cushions and blankets knitted from Yorkshire-spun Merino wool by Rose B Brown.

WALLACE SEWELL December 5-9 at 24 Lloyd Baker Street (corner with Amwell Street), WC1. Tuesday- Friday 10.30am to 5.30pm, Saturday 11am to 6pm (wallacesewell.com) CHRISTMAS sample and seconds sale features throws and cushions, silk and cashmere scarves, plus woollen items.

ROYAL COLLEGE OF ART CHRISTMAS FÊTE December 8-10 at RCA, Jay Mews entrance, Kensington Gore, SW7. Open noon to 8pm, Sunday 2pm to 6pm (rcasu.org.uk/wp/fete) CURRENT students and alumni sell fascinating pieces. Seize the chance to buy work from emerging stars.

CLOCKWORK STUDIOS December 8-10 at 38 Southwell Road, SE5. Friday 6pm to 9pm, Sat and Sun noon to 6pm (clockworkstudios.co.uk) FOR anyone who fancies a tie like TV news anchor Jon Snow’s, or has seen his show Colour is my Brand at the Design Museum, this is the home of his tiemaker-in-chief Victoria Richards. Also find ceramics, hats and textiles here.

DESIGNER MAKER XMAS FAIR December 14-17, The Carriage Ramp at Deptford Market Yard, SE8. Thursday 6pm to 9pm, Fri and Sat 10am to 6pm, Sun 11am- 5pm (deptfordmarketyard.com) FURNITURE designer Sebastian Cox and friends will be selling a range of products including pieces from Cox’s Underwood and Offcut collections. Plus workshops. 18 WEDNESDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2017 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Interiors

Above: hang or scatter these bug decorations. With honeycomb paper bodies for a 3D effect, they’re £8.49 for a pack of three (talkingtables.co.uk)

Above right: beetle glass paperweight £14, from the Biologica collection Wow-factor wall art: Sir Ladybug canvas print in a black wooden float frame by (lifeofjay.com) Wonderbold from The Beetles collection by Emanuele Pangrazi, photographed in stunning detail. In three sizes from £199 at Lime Lace (limelace.co.uk) Right: up the “anty” with golden metal mini sculptures — two for £34.95 (audenza.com) DesignDesign trendstreends insects Beetles, dragonflies, ants and spiders are coming out of hibernation early this year — and landing all over winter homewares. Bugs are bang on Off the wall: Beetle Posse wallpaper, £60 a half metre, has a magnetic lining. Buy five brass beetles at £72 and stick them on where you choose. For £295 you get five trend, says Barbara Chandler realistic coloured ones cast in the US from real specimens (wilfulink.com) Right: Biophillia Dragonfly cushion by Kit Miles, printed on satin, priced £95 (kitmiles.co.uk)

Below: oversize bejewelled glitter beetle ornament by Cody Foster, £7.50 (berryred.co.uk)

Creepy-crawly glam: bug-trimmed shimmering Flatbug shoe, £265, from Russell and Bromley (russelland bromley.co.uk)

Left: dragonflies flit about on A Thousand Leaves wallpaper by Carmine Lake, £160 a roll at Lime Lace (as before)

Right: butterflies on this wallpaper are made up of text spelling out their species, £45 a roll (mini moderns.com)

Far right: Honey Bees wallpaper, £81 a roll; similar cushions, £79 each, from Barneby Gates (barnebygates. com) 20 WEDNESDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2017 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Our home homesandproperty.co.uk

Ride it, hide it: steel stairs covered in fake grass slide aside to reveal Duncan’s indoor parking space. He teaches Superbike, a type of racing with highly modified motorbikes

Slide back the stairs: Ta-dah A Superbike hidden under the stairs, an architects practice concealed under fake grass. When’s the Ten years in the making: from a poky flat over a shop, a comfortable, stylish family Bespoke bedroom touches: eco-paint White Rabbit arriving, asks Philippa Stockley live-work home has evolved. Duncan’s architecture studio sits in the old walled garden and Ikea wardrobes with Victorian doors

UT two quirky designers Though damp, with rot in parts, it had mas the couple bought each other half a at this former Victorian flat-over-a-shop ture studio. It looks like a giant upturned together and the one thing you good light and a good feel and she loved huge girder. They excavated the backyard is a shimmering, pearl grey-plastered hall. rowing boat with curved slatted wooden won’t get is bland — especially it from the start. When she and Duncan, themselves, digging round the clock with The second is a steel staircase springing sides, natural light filtering in from above when they’ve spent 10 years 43, got together in 2004, he moved in. spades by floodlight. up one side, apparently carpeted with a suspended ceiling. transforming their home in Their 10-year project ensued, first get- grass, as if the White Rabbit might hurtle PQueen’s Park, NW6. The extraordinary ting rid of the spiral and making a normal That would end some relationships, but down at any moment. This high space houses his practice, and result belongs to the McLeods: creative stair in a small extension at the back, and this couple relish working with their hands. Duncan presses a button that releases sits where the walled garden once was director Lyndsay, architect Duncan and adding the top roof terrace. In 2010, Dun- “We’d discuss and sketch ideas all the a powerful magnet holding the stairway — but if you take the back stairs and look toddler Oban — who’s already busy can started his architecture practice and time, then Duncan would do the technical in place. Then, effortlessly, he slides the out on it, all you see is a grassed roof ter- designing a cardboard-box racing car. needed office space, so they created an drawings,” Lyndsay says. whole thing sideways and a fabulous race with glass sides. No one would Lyndsay, 51, who studied theatre design office in the garden, and continued to Under the old floorboards they found Ducati motorbike appears. He teaches believe that busy architects are beavering in Nottingham, moved to London and work on the rest of the house. Twenties sweet wrappers and desiccated Superbike, and likes to keep his wheels away below. This grass is imitation, too. rented in Queen’s Park before buying the “For the first phase, it was just us, rip- mice. In the shop downstairs, part of indoors. “Lyndsay said okay, as long as The first-floor living room is equally flat above an old Liptons grocers in 1994. ping up floorboards and knocking out which they now rent out, Duncan found she couldn’t see it.” clever. To the rear the couple designed a “The only access upstairs was a spiral fireplaces. For the second we used real original black-and-white wall tiles, which At the back of the hall, a pocket door kitchen island using an old bronze display staircase from the shop,” she says. builders,” Duncan explains. One Christ- they kept. The first thing that strikes you slips away to reveals Duncan’s architec- vitrine and bespoke joinery, with a black EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2017 21 powered by Our home | Homes & Property

Like a trendy, relaxed bar: original Do the maths floorboards, muted paint and a Two-storey, 1,400sq ft flat with fireplace designed by Duncan 470sq ft garden bought by Lyndsay in 1994: £50,000 Shop below bought a few years later: £30,000 Cost of work over 10 years, much DIY, no fees: about £275,000 Value now of 2,100sq ft home with three outside areas covering 600sq ft: £1.95 million (estimate) Get the look Architect: Duncan McLeod at studiomcleod.com Artworks and co-design: by creative designer Lyndsay Milne McLeod at lmmstudio.com Builder: Ciorba Construction (ciorbaconstructionltd.com) Kitchen island joinery: by Olly Hodgson (www.oliverhodgson.Net) Thistle Durafinish plaster: from british-gypsum.com Steel stairs: to Duncan’s design by Molesey Metal Works (molesey metalworksltd.co.uk) Chelsea artificial grass: from easigrass.com Crittall doors: crittall-windows.co.uk Pendant Edison Light Globes: from edisonlightglobes.com Marble on worktops: from Marble Granite Limestone Warehouse (mglw.co.uk) Staircase balustrade paint: Prague Blue by eicó (eico.co.uk) Drawing room sofa: Alison Plus by Camerich (camerich.co.uk) Soft grey-green paint on sliding panels: bespoke by eicó via Ray Munn paints (raymunn.co.uk) Bedroom wardrobe doors paint: Mid Lead from Little Greene (littlegreene.com) UK California Superbike School: superbikeschool.co.uk Photographs: David Butler

A house full of “Victorian magic”: above, Lyndsay and Duncan McLeod with son Oban

Problem solved: the French rolltop tub, right, one of Lyndsay’s first buys, had to be winched in through a window

Recycling, the McLeod way: Lyndsay and Duncan designed the kitchen island using an Quirky: the couple’s highly individual old bronze and glass display case. A sliding panelled wall hides larder, glass and china tastes include “filing cabinets” in the loo

walnut top. Parts slide in and out for stor- trendy bar you can never actually find. through a window via steps like giant Just sliding off to age. The whole panelled wall beside the Lyndsay’s background, first in theatre building blocks. work, darling: a kitchen area glides back to reveal a cof- design, later as chief designer for Donna pocket door at the fee-making shelf, then the larder, and Karan, doing shops and displays, is evi- HIS home is a perfect test bed end of the hall finally the glass and china department. dent. “I always add a twist,” she says. Her for such ideas. “We like our slips away to “We love Victorian mystery and magic,” choice of colour, often bespoke, is subtle clients to be as selfish and reveal Duncan’s Duncan says. They wanted more storage and bang-on, done in eco-paint. bold as possible,” Duncan architecture than they could possibly need, but didn’t The couple recycle inventively, too. In says. “My job is to make it practice. Full of want to see things all the time. Hence the the bedrooms and bathroom above, an happen.T We’re not good at saying no.” natural light, it’s sliding doors. old French rolltop tub, one of Lyndsay’s He laughs as he says that six years here camouflaged by a Levelled and scrubbed original floor- first buys, was winched in through a win- were spent on DIY. Oban’s birth in 2015, roof covered in boards run throughout, robust enough dow. In one bedroom a run of bog-stand- after years of sometimes heartbreaking artificial turf to withstand Oban’s burgeoning racing ard Ikea carcasses fronted with solid IVF, makes this wonder-world project career, set off by beautifully muted paint Victorian doors make wardrobes. It’s doubly worthwhile. Without doubt, it’s a colours and a fireplace Duncan designed. another ingenious idea. There’s even a joyful place for any right-thinking adult This relaxed space resembles the sort of tiny roof terrace up here, accessed — but for a child it is pure magic. 24 WEDNESDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2017 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Outdoors Find your local oasis The owners of London’s best small nurseries will solve all your garden problems

Alex Mitchell

Get friendly advice: co-founder Alejandro Beltran and The Underneath the arches: Battersea Flower Station turns a Nunhead naturals: expert plantsmen Nunhead Gardener team are all passionate about plants sliver of railway track land into an “amazing secret space” will even carry your compost to the car

HEN Peter Milne and corner of Victoria Park. It started as a his partner Alejandro residents gardening club, and this non- Beltran first got their profit enterprise now sells a great range hands on the south of plants, trees, pots and tools. There’s London site that is now even a coffee truck at weekends, but as TheW Nunhead Gardener, it was 2ft manager Caroline Walker says with a deep in mud with a leaking roof, no laugh: “We don’t do lifestyle. It’s not electricity or running water and had pyramids and spirals. We’re like a glori- been empty for six years: a tiny corner fied allotment shop. plot backed by dark, abandoned railway “We always try to keep a cheap line, arches. “Network Rail couldn’t get rid so we’ll have £50 Haws watering cans of it,” says Milne. Still, the pair took the and cheap ones, too.” Fruit trees and risk. That first year they sold Christmas vegetables are especially popular with trees by candlelight with a battery CD local Bengali families for their allot- player — and the locals loved it. ments. Young professionals favour great They haven’t looked back. Today, it’s perennials and grasses, influenced by a very different sight as you emerge the success of the planting in Queen from Nunhead station. Lights twinkle Elizabeth Olympic Park, plus vegeta- from the fence, tables and shelves are bles, herbs and house plants . heavy with plants and a young team in retro aprons is on hand to help with any West Londoners in search of more tradi- questions. The arches have been trans- tional plant therapy can find their own formed into enticing caves filled with den of horticultural chic —and a very treasures — hip concrete pots, tools, gifts good brunch — at W6 Garden Centre and house plants galore. Gentle music at the gates in Ravenscourt Park. plays and all feels right with the world. Louise Alhadeff, who manages both “We can’t compete with the big out- this nursery and its equally beautiful of-town nurseries on space and range,” sister site, N1 Garden Centre in De says Milne, “but we pack it in and have Beauvoir Town, knows the importance an interesting selection. What we can of choosing great urban plants and do is offer friendly advice. All our staff displaying them well. are horticulturally trained and passion- But Alhadeff is also aware of the ate gardeners.” importance of the nurseries as oases and for their advice service. “No ques- The Nunhead Gardener is one of a new tion is a silly question,” she says. “And breed of small nurseries that are trans- we’re community minded. forming otherwise unloved areas of “People can be lonely in London. London. Often taking advantage of They come in for joy and to have con- cheaper rents for awkward sites running versation. We’re not just a shop. They down railway lines or canals, they are should come in and leave feeling better oases in the urban jungle, less commer- than when they arrived.” cial than the supermarket offering or This is perhaps the greatest success the big garden centres, and free of tat. of these small neighbourhood nurser- Further west, track down the Batter- ies. They make people happy. sea Flower Station — full marks for a great name — tucked into a long sliver O The Nunhead Gardener: the of railway track land off Battersea Park nunheadgardener.com Road. “The look on people’s faces when O Battersea Flower Station: they come here,” says John Schofield, batterseaflowerstation.co.uk who set it up with business partner Lisa O Growing Concerns: McCormack. “Even local people are growingconcerns.org surprised. They tell us, ‘It’s like an amaz- O W6 Garden Centre: ing secret space.’” w6gardencentre.co.uk Scholfield is grateful for the house O N1 Garden Centre: n1gardencentre.g plant trend which has seen sales spread cco.uko.uk more evenly through the year as young Londoners search for statement green- ery to make their rental flats, balconies and courtyards feel like home. Plants that purify the air, such as sansevieria — mother-in-law’s tongue — and peace lilies are big sellers, as well as olive trees, palms and tree ferns.

East Londoners can find a friendly neigh- bourhood nursery in Growing Con- cerns, on the canal in the south-east

Garden-chic for Christmas: right, W6 and N1 Garden Centre products 26 WEDNESDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2017 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Property searching Spotlight on Putney This well-heeled spot’s rich in history but rows with the times. The river and green space give a fresh feel only six miles from town, says Anthea Masey

AMILIES find good reason to crossing between Putney and London settle in Putney. This south- Today in Putney, Bridge. Putney’s first bridge, a wooden west London neighbourhood affair, opened in 1729, reputedly after a on the Thames is surrounded Rightmove has 952 campaign led by Sir Robert Walpole, by green spaces, offers plenty first British PM. The story goes that the ofF well-rated state and private schools, homes to BUY and Putney ferryman refused to leave the and there’s a wide choice of commuter pub to take Walpole over the river on routes into central London just six 648 to RENT his way to the Commons after a meeting miles away. with George I in Kingston, so Walpole 400 craft beers: boss Nick Moor, The Once a small riverside village, Putney’s had to take another, longer route. Beer Boutique, Upper Richmond Road history is rich. A few paces east of Today’s stone bridge, starting point for Putney Bridge in Brewhouse Lane, a the annual Oxford/Cambridge Boat blue plaque commemorates Thomas Race, opened in 1886. Cromwell, Henry VIII’s chief minister The Thames is central to life here. East and “most faithful servant”, who nev- lived and died in Putney Hill. Historian of the bridge are riverside restaurants, ertheless was beheaded as a traitor and Edward Gibbon (1737-94), author of The pubs and homes in the Putney Wharf heretic on the king’s orders in 1540. Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, development, while on the west side Cromwell was born in Putney in 1485, spent his formative years in Lime Grove, the bank is lined with boathouses and most likely the son of Walter, a black- one of Putney’s then-large estates. walkers. smith — and who can forget the brutal Post-war prime minister Clement beating the young Thomas receives at Attlee was born in Portinscale Road in UTNEY has the Thames and the hands of his father in the first few 1883. Early aircraft designer Sir Edwin Fulham to the north; Wands- pages of Hilary Mantel’s novel, Wolf Alliott Verdon Roe built his first biplane worth and Earlsfield to the Hall, seen in the opening episode of the in his brother’s garage in West Hill, and east; Wimbledon to the south award-winning 2015 TV adaptation? former deputy prime minister and Lib- and Richmond to the west. Scattered with blue plaques and with Dem leader Nick Clegg and his family PEstate agent Alex Howard Baker, from local council green plaques, too, Putney live locally today. the local branch of Savills, says Putney can claim more than its fair share of Putney Bridge is one of London’s High Street has improved greatly in famous residents. Celebrated photog- busiest Thames crossings and if you recent years, with more varied shops, rapher Norman Parkinson (1913-1990) drive it in rush-hour, those six miles into cafés and restaurants. A couple of new Fabulous baker boys: at artisan shop grew up in a semi in Landford Road. The central London can take as long as 60. High Street developments in the pipe- The Bakehouse, Upper Richmond Rd Victorian poet Algernon Swinburne For many years, it was the only Thames line will further boost the area.

Chilling by the river: main picture, east of Putney Bridge near Brewhouse Lane; right, Putney Embankment beside the Thames and Putney Pier

Highly prized location: far right, Putney Embankment homes; left, the High Street’s variety of shops and eateries has Walking the dog: oodles of local green improved greatly space includes Wandsworth Park in recent years

£1.2 MILLION £1,345,000 £695,000 A SUPERB three-bedroom terrace house A NEW five-bedroom terrace house in Hutton Mews, A TWO-BEDROOM flat in Henry Chester Building, renovated by Pascal Huser in Ashlone Road, SW15, with three bathrooms and 2,241sq ft of living a new Art Deco-style scheme in Putney Common, West Putney. Chestertons (020 3858 2670). space. Hamptons International (020 8012 2901). SW15. Call Featherstone Leigh (020 8012 2664). £699,950 A SPACIOUS two-bedroom, two-bathroom flat in To find a home in Putney, visit a period villa with parking in Putney Hill, SW15. rightmove.co.uk Bright and stylish, it’s about half a mile from East For more about Putney, visit homesandproperty.co.uk/putney Putney Tube. Call Foxtons (020 8012 6784). EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2017 27 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by Property searching | Homes & Property

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STATS CHECK WHAT HOMES COST BUYING IN PUTNEY (Average prices) One-bedroom flat £428,000 Two-bedroom flat £611,000 Two-bedroom house £691,000 Three-bedroom house £870,000 Four-bedroom house £1.28 million

RENTING IN PUTNEY (Average rates per month) One-bedroom flat £1,363 Two-bedroom flat £1,809 Two-bedroom house £1,873 Three-bedroom house £2,351 Four-bedroom house £3,837 Source: Rightmove FOR MORE, VISIT homesandproperty.co.uk O Use our School Checker to find catchment areas and inspection reports for local schools O Putney’s best shops and eateries

Hamming it up: Rene Bittair at Casa Manolo, a Spanish deli and tapas café in Putney High Street that has live flamenco

THE PROPERTY SCENE

PUTNEY has a bit of everything, from Durkan development of 24, one-, Victorian cottages to big Edwardian two- and three-bedroom flats. Two- mansions; from period conversion bedroom homes start at £695,000. flats to purpose-built mansion flats. Visit 100putneycommon.co.uk or And recent years have seen a number call 020 8619 9700. of large developments of modern Fabrica, part of housing association apartments along the river and A2 Dominion, is building Carlton Upper Richmond Road. House in Upper Richmond Road, a One of the most expensive houses development of one-, two- and three- currently for sale is an eight-bedroom bedroom flats with a communal roof double-fronted Twenties property terrace and residents’ lounge. By with a carriage drive in St Simon’s Assael Architecture, it launches early Avenue, at £5.85 million. Deodar next year. Call 020 3811 0858. Road has a number of houses with One Putney is a mixed-use scheme direct access to the Thames — one is in the Art Deco style, with shops and on the market, priced £4,195,000. two- and three-bedroom flats in In Bristol Gardens, an enclave of Putney High Street, by developer The large houses surrounded by the Thackeray Estate. Prices have yet to green acres of Putney Heath, a house Photographs: be released. Call James Pendleton is for sale for £3,895,000. Daniel Lynch estate agents on 020 8099 1111. One of the cheapest houses, priced £650,000, is a three-bedroom Pass the taste ■ HOMES FOR RENT cottage with a near-90ft garden in test: manager Lettings manager Yacine Trenerry at Huntingfield Road on the Dover Ben Watson at the local branch of Dexters says two- HAVE YOUR SAY: House Estate, a former London Glug specialist bedroom period conversions range TRANSPORT County Council garden estate built wine, cheese and between £1,600 and £2,100 a month PUTNEY after the First World War to provide craft beer shop and two-bedroom flats in new-build THE South Circular LOCALS TWEET THEIR TIPS “homes for heroes”. in Upper developments rent for between Road runs through Putney has nearly twice as many Richmond Road £2,100 and £2,500 a month. Putney, a Zone 2 @mr_c_cooke Lacy Road — cutest/best flats for sale as houses. The most location with two road in Putney. Quiet, with a couple of expensive flat on the market now is a Underground pubs, restaurants and just off Putney 3,000sq ft period conversion spread stations and a train High Street over two floors in Keswick Road, station. priced £2.5 million. Mansion flats are Putney Bridge and @hansyhobs @GroundCoffeeSoc, also much sought after. One of the East Putney Tube are @tried_true_cafe and for brunch, best blocks is Kenilworth Court in on the Wimbledon @WeAreTheDynamo. Magoa for Lower Richmond Road, where a four- branch of the District incredible Goan cuisine, @Sushi_54 for bedroom flat is for sale at £1.15 million. line, while Putney excellent bento boxes, and One-bedroom flats start at about station has services to Waterloo taking 15 to 20 minutes, with @thebeerboutique for craft beer £350,000. For example, a one- most trains stopping at Clapham Junction and Vauxhall. bedroom period conversion in Santos There are two useful commuter bus services — the No 22, @stevenmkelly Walks along the Road is for sale, priced £375,000. which goes to Oxford Circus via King’s Road and Thames, drinks at Jolly Gardeners and Knightsbridge, and the No 170, which goes to Victoria. An The Beer Boutique. Katsu curry from ■ NEW-BUILD HOMES annual travel card to Zone 1 costs £1,296. Kokoro. Saturday market at the church On the site of the former Putney Hospital, 100 Putney Common is a 30 WEDNESDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2017 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Letting on

O FAR I have shown three tenants round my recently renovated two-bedroom flat and the response has been a My fake lawn little disappointing. Yes, theyS all agreed the new bathroom and landscaped garden were very nice, but it was obvious that underfloor heating and a fake lawn just doesn’t cut weren’t high on their list of priorities. All that the family from Bulgaria and the couple from Brazil and the single mum with two little tots wanted was space at an affordable it with tenants price. They all told me the same story — they were living in rented rooms in Cosmetic improvements are all very well but shared houses, some of them with up to six other people, queuing with a fuel-efficient flat with lower bills is the priority their kids every morning to use the single bathroom and waiting in turn for London renters, says Victoria Whitlock to prepare breakfast, and they all craved a place of their own. windows with double glazing, £2,700 a month: a fully furnished two-bedroom flat — one en suite — in this Unfortunately, none of them was able The providing efficient boilers and magnificent period villa with off-street parking in Putney Hill, SW15, close to to afford my flat. They’d each come ensuring good insulation, especially Putney Heath, is available on a short let through Foxtons (020 8012 6785). to view because they thought the rent in walls and lofts. was reasonable, but they’d all accidental overlooked the fact that they would That’s the bad news. The good news is course, once the property is fuel except hope that my recent have to pay council tax, water rates landlord that there are several funding options efficient, warm in winter and cheaper refurbishments attract tenants. and — crucially — utility bills on top, available, including loans from the to heat, it should be easier to rent, and which would add several hundred Green Deal Finance Company, which tenants might stay longer if they’re AYBE I shouldn’t have pounds a month to their costs. these days. It’s usually one of the first are repaid by tenants through their more comfortable and their bills are gone in for little So, I am hoping the renovations will questions I am asked during viewings. electricity bills; the Energy Company lower. luxuries such as attract young professionals with more It makes sense to make your rental as Obligation, and local authority grants. Government figures show that underfloor heating spending power. But there is clearly a fuel-efficient as possible. In fact, from Landlords who can’t get funding to improving a property’s energy and easy-to-maintain need in the neighbourhood for next April, it will be illegal to re-let a cover the entire costs of the efficiency rating from G to E will save plasticM grass but let’s hope someone accommodation that isn’t just cheap property with an energy efficiency improvements can apply for a tenant £1,150 a year. That’s got to be appreciates them — and can afford to rent but also cheap to run. Double rating of less than B and E. Landlords exemption from prosecution. This is appealing. And improvements can them, too. glazing and modern, fuel-efficient who do could be fined up to £5,000. also the case for landlords with listed even increase a property’s resale boilers are good but fancy Italian tiles This will mean that landlords with buildings and properties where the value. My flat already has double O Victoria Whitlock lets four and underfloor heating aren’t that draughty rental homes in the UK will fuel efficiency rating remains below glazing, a new boiler and a pretty properties in south London. necessary. Even reasonably well-off have to make significant Band E despite making all the decent Band C energy rating, so To contact Victoria with your ideas tenants worry about heating bills improvements, replacing leaky recommended improvements. Of there’s not much more I can do and views, tweet @vicwhitlock 32 WEDNESDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2017 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Ask the expert We’re being treated like drips over a leak Fiona WHAT’S I AM buying a leasehold flat. My solicitor has YOUR sent me a copy of the lease and told me to read McNulty PROBLEM? Qit and let him know if I have any queries. I IF YOU have a thought that my solicitor would check the OUR LAWYER ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS question for lease for me. Can you give me any tips as to what I Fiona McNulty, should be looking for, or be concerned by? please email WE ARE private tenants legalsolutions@ CONSIDER the lease and plans attached to it. in a tower block managed standard.co.uk Check the floor plan matches the layout of the flat. Q by a housing association. or write to Legal A This will reveal if alterations have been carried Our landlady and the Solutions, Homes out, for which landlord’s consent is generally people living upstairs have bought & Property, needed. Also check the length of the lease. A lease of less their flats. There is a bad leak London Evening than 80 years can be problematic. Extending a lease can coming through from the floor Standard, 2 Derry be expensive and mortgage lenders are not keen to lend above into our bathroom. The Street, W8 5EE. on short leases, which can affect marketability of the flat. housing association will not speak We regret that Ensure the ground rent payable does not escalate to us as we are private tenants. The questions cannot unreasonably — some annual ground rents can double upstairs neighbours say they don’t be answered every 20 years. Read the restrictive covenants and know where the leak is coming individually, but obligations; the repairing obligations; buildings insurance from. Our landlady is being very we will try to requirements and the sections dealing with service slow to respond. feature them charge, to make sure you understand the provisions and How can we get this sorted? It here. Fiona are happy with them. appears to be a structural issue McNulty is a Your solicitor should receive from the seller’s solicitor a rather than a problem with the solicitor management pack and replies to Leasehold Property upstairs flat. Can we withhold our report necessary repairs to her. The landlady to check. If your belongings specialising Enquiries containing detailed information about the rent to encourage our landlady to freeholder of the block will be are damaged this may be covered in residential management of the building and the service charge fix the leak more quickly? responsible for the common parts, under your contents insurance. property. payable. Check the current service charge payable, structure and exterior of the building. Do not withhold rent if your whether there are service charge arrears, and if any major YOUR landlady has sublet the Under the terms of her lease, your landlady fails to organise repairs. She works are planned for the building. flat to you, presumably with landlady will be obliged to report could apply to court to evict you. You These are only a few initial pointers. Prior to exchange A the consent of the freeholder. matters needing repair to the could carry out minor repairs and of contracts, once satisfied with the search results and Though she is not occupying freeholder. Write and/or email her claim the cost back, but that may not enquiries, your solicitor should provide you with a lease the flat she is still bound by the terms and the housing association be possible without accessing the report explaining the terms of the lease and any issues. of her lease. explaining the problem. Copy in your other flat. Report the matter to You will have a written tenancy neighbour. If there is no response, environmental health if the leak More legal O These answers can only be a very brief commentary on agreement with your landlady which write and/or email again. Keep copies. affects your health, or take court Q&As the issues raised and should not be relied on as legal advice. should deal with responsibility for The problem may be covered by action against the relevant parties to Visit: homesand No liability is accepted for such reliance. If you have similar repairs, and you will be required to buildings insurance so ask your ensure the repairs are done. property.co.uk issues, you should obtain advice from a solicitor. 34 WEDNESDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2017 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Inside story Agent’s star-struck Diary of an estate by my actor client agent

MONDAY of different rooms and certainly has a production company wants to be in As we approach the end of the year lot of features. It seems to work but it’s within 10 days — very unusual but we’ve seen an increase in buyers look- a totally different feel from the first totally do-able if both sides are on ing to close on purchases so they can one. We chew the fat over a coffee and board. Spencer has good news, too – his move into their new properties by it seems like the first one is the favoured deal in Bloomsbury is agreed and they Christmas. With the Oxford Street option. We agree to arrange for one of want to get it done within three weeks. lights now on, time is ticking. the actor-owners to see it tomorrow so It should be a quick one that will suit We have our morning catch-up and that he can give the official “okay”. both parties. The buyer should be in go through the new enquiries. My col- Spencer has his appointment up in before Christmas. league Spencer has one from a buyer Bloomsbury. The property is close to who has just lost a property and is keen Exmouth Market and is a modern FRIDAY to find something else quickly. Spencer building with the most amazing vintage We’ve been recommended by the pro- lines up something that ticks most of furniture. It works very nicely and his duction company we secured some- the boxes and sets up a viewing. buyer seems immediately impressed. thing for yesterday to another firm I’m out today with a production com- looking for space urgently, as they have pany looking for office space. They WEDNESDAY a team of animators in an expensive have two famous actors in their line-up, I’m off to a meeting in Mayfair about serviced office. so discretion is key. They’ve come to cryptocurrencies, a form of digital I know just the place but I need to me as they know I am the local special- money of which hundreds of types are move quickly. We arrange to meet ist when it comes to Fitzrovia and the available on the internet. It’s a subject within the hour. The viewing goes well West End. I gather some options that that’s increasingly spoken about, so it’s and the space is the right feel, size and match their requirements and we vital I can stay ahead of the game. location. I head back to the office to start arrange to meet tomorrow morning. We meet at 5 Hertford Street, a very tying up and negotiating the finer swanky members club, and the talk is details. These deals can happen TUESDAY both informative and enlightening. Just promptly if everyone is on the same We’re out first thing viewing offices for recently a house was on the market and page. Nothing gives me greater satisfac- the production company. The first one only buyable with Bitcoin, so if this is round is a picture when he sees who the Marylebone sniffing every lamp post tion than recommendations and satis- is not far from Charlotte Street in a a trend I need to be fully aware. We are client is — he does a great slow-motion along the way. I even take him on fied customers. wonderful, open-plan, lateral space advised to buy some currency to help double take. The star gives the seal of appointments if appropriate. One par- I decide to see if the team are up for that would be ideal for scriptwriters us understand it a bit better — maybe approval, so we can move forward. ticular owner still writes emails celebrating a good week after work at and creatives. The immediate feedback my 10-year-old son can help me with it addressed to “Dear Eric” rather than the One Tun pub in Goodge Street. Just is positive but we have more to see. when I get home. THURSDAY to me and insists I bring him with me the one mind… Off now to Middleton Place, a pedes- Later, at the second viewing with the Eric, my Parson Terrier, is in the office every time I do a viewing. trian walkway off Great Portland Street. actor-owner for the production com- today. He is much calmer here than at After a little toing and froing we get a O Jonathan Hudson is director of The space we’re looking at here has lots pany, the face of the agent showing us home and loves the walk in from deal agreed on the office suite and the Hudsons in Fitzrovia (020 7323 2277). 36 WEDNESDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2017 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | New homes By David Spittles From £635,000: The Newport, right, four-bedroom family semis with flexible layout in Green Park Village, SmartSmSmamarartrt momovmovesoveveses Reading. Call 0118 402 3533. A New England look is coming Stroll on to Berkshire

GREEN PARK VILLAGE, a fledgling 60-acre estate of smart New the roof England-style homes, is an incongruous presence in the HE first residents have moved in at there’s a cinema, yoga studio and treatment Crossrail hotspot of Reading — but Battersea Power Station, while rooms. No two apartments are the same. Prices it’s attracting attention. across the wider Nine Elms district from £1.3 million for a two-bedroom flat. Call Pretty, pastel-coloured houses with more than 2,000 new homes have 020 7501 0678. Flats are also for sale at gables, porches and verandas on been completed and another 3,300 Battersea Roof Gardens, above, its undulating stilts are divided by white picket Tare being built. metallic façade designed by Foster + Partners to fences in a lakeside setting on the Property consultant JLL says claims of price reflect the ripples of the Thames. Serpentine in city’s leafy fringe. The Newport is falls there have to be put into perspective. shape, the building’s entire roof is one vast the name given to the style of Average prices have jumped from £900 per 1,200ft-long communal garden. Prices from spacious four-bedroom semi- square foot in 2011 to £1,400 today, it points £3 million for a three-bedroom apartment. detached houses in the latest phase, out. JLL says it expects a further price boost Lake View, moments from the water. when two new Northern line Tube stations Green Park Village is a suburb in arrive in 2020. the making, with trim trails and a Currently for sale at the power station site, Thinking of buying a nature reserve, shops and sports which eventually will have a variety of small facilities, a town square, community shops, offices and restaurants as well as 3,800 new-build home? Start hall and apartments for the elderly, homes, are 690 apartments at Prospect Place, while coming soon are a new primary LA-based architect Frank Gehry’s glamorous your search on school and a train station linking to creation. He has designed a series of dramatic, Crossrail. tumbling titanium-clad blocks separated by a Architectural purists may cringe at winter garden, recalling a classic London the faux designs — close inspection of garden square. the houses reveals that ostensibly From £1.3 million: two-bedroom apartments at Prospect Prospect Place offers areas for hire for private wooden façades are factory-made Place, designed by Frank Gehry, at Battersea Power Station dining if your party is too big for your flat, and EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2017 37 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by New homes | Homes & Property

CHELSEA CREEK, SW6 DESIGNER FLATS IN A WATERSIDE ENCLAVE

NOW fashionable, the riverside pier. Now Chelsea Creek has been neighbourhood of Sands End was a added to the mix. The creek is for the cut-off corner of Fulham 20 years most part a subterranean stream that ago, blighted by a gasworks and flows in from the Thames, but two new dissected by train tracks. Helped by a canals and a dock with moorings have flourishing community of interior been created, with homes built design and homewares companies, alongside the waterways and tree- developers have transformed the lined avenues. area into an enclave of flats and Fairwater House, above, is the boards that will never mature into the carport or garage and a separate colour. Estate agents’ sale boards are houses. latest unveiling at Chelsea Creek, faded elegance of authentic New utility room. Residents have to behave not allowed and upkeep of front Chelsea Harbour, built in the Eighties with flats and penthouses priced England homes. Yet the village is in this well-kept, litter-free gardens is paid out of the communal alongside a muddy inlet, paved the from £880,000. The show flat, with proving popular with London-bound environment, and lease restrictions service charge. Prices for The Newport way. Later came Imperial Wharf, a interiors by Italian fashion house commuters who want a spacious, forbid owners from painting the start at £630,000. Call developer St 1,600-home neighbourhood with a Roberto Cavalli, is worth a visit. Call open-plan family home. Houses have a exterior of their homes a different Edward on 0118 402 3533. new railway station and a riverbus developer St George (020 3411 2853).