Wednesday 17 February 2016 Bright Homes& ideas Children’s bedrooms Property Page 18
DISCOUNT LUXURY: NEW HOMES P10 BLUE PLAQUE ELITE P12 MY URBAN COTTAGE P30 SPOTLIGHT ON CAMDEN TOWN P38
Now more young Londoners will be able to buy a home Page 6 DANIEL LYNCH DANIEL London’s best property search news: homesandproperty.co.uk 4 WEDNESDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | News The 800ft vertical city Trophy “MONSTER” Designed by architects HOK, 800ft residen- the tower will overlook home of the tial tower with West India Quay on the Isle week 861 flats on 67 of Dogs. Tower Hamlets is take the floors looks set expected to give the go- glass lift to Ato be approved tomorrow by ahead and receive £19.25 mil- Tower Hamlets council. lion to fund affordable your Belgravia Greenland Group, devel- housing in the borough in oper of the Flower Tower — return. A total of 96 homes roof terrace so nicknamed because of its in the tower are earmarked unusual “three-petalled” for sale or rental to local low- £7.95 million: just beside footprint — hopes to tempt and medium-income resi- Eaton Square is this luxe buyers with the promise of dents. mews house. The chintz has a new “vertical city”. The scheme is not without definitely been chucked out of the four floors. There’s a details continue in two As well as homes,there will critics. Historic England of this newly rebuilt, chic kitchen-diner and the further bedrooms and be shops, a swimming pool, fears it will harm views of minimalist haven where drawing room is lit by three bathrooms. Finally, take the wine bar, cinema, gym and landmarks, 15 local residents wide-plank floors and a sets of French windows. glass lift to the top and enjoy even a library on site, plus a say it could leave their neutral palette set a cool yet The master bedroom has fabulous Belgravia views children’s play area and a homes in constant shadow, plush tone. its own movie screen, a huge from a roof terrace designed communal garden. and nearby Credit Suisse A sleek steel staircase fireplace and a spa-inspired for entertaining. Through But there will be just nine bank has raised fears of seems to float between each bathroom, while high-spec Sotheby’s (020 8012 2565). parking spaces, all reserved noise and pollution during for disabled badge users. several years of building. Mammoth project: “Flower Tower” will O Find Ruth Bloomfield’s full story at homesandproperty.co.uk have homes, shops, cinema and gardens London buy of the week a bright idea for SAMPLE SALE JOIN OUR SPECIAL PREVIEW the top of the house FURNISH your home in style — shop at London’s first multi-brand product £429,950: this neat roof conversion flat in sample sale. The three-day Sample Golders Green is fabulously bright thanks to a Sale (thesamplesale.co.uk) opens to mass of glass used in the walls and ceiling the public from March 4 to 6 at space throughout. The reception area, with Victoria House, Holborn. But you can its vista across the rooftops of NW11, has join us for an exclusive preview on generous sitting and dining spaces, along Thursday March 3, from 6pm to 9pm. with an open-plan kitchen fitted with sleek There are superb pieces from some appliances including a wine cooler. Brent Cross station and shopping centre are of the world’s leading contemporary More skylights and ample storage space nearby, along with the glorious open spaces furniture, lighting and accessory can be found in both bedrooms, while the of Hampstead Heath. It’s on the market with brands, with amazing savings of up the crowds and get some of the best bathroom is tiled floor to ceiling in marble. Foxtons (020 8432 1444). to 70 per cent off. Snap up ex-display bargains in town. The Sample Sale models, design classics, limited- runs from noon-8pm on Friday, edition pieces, prototypes and March 4 and Saturday March 5; noon- Lifechanger of the week a coastal gastropub discontinued lines from more than 6pm on Sunday March 6, at Victoria 20 cutting-edge designer brands House, Bloomsbury Square, WC1. £650,000: an absolute gift including Tom Dixon, Ligne Roset, for photographers and Moroso, Arper, Case Furniture, O For your chance to win a pair of artists is the North Yorkshire Innermost, LSA and Decode. tickets, visit standard.co.uk/offers coastal spot of Runswick We have 20 pairs of tickets to give before the end of February 28. Usual Bay, near Whitby, where this away to the special preview — giving rules apply, see standard.co.uk/rules popular pub/restaurant lucky readers the opportunity to beat for details. commands a prime position over the sandy beach. This is picture-postcard territory. Set among a Editor: warren of winding lanes and pretty cottages, the Royal Janice soaks up dreamy views Morley across the bay from its bar and a bathroom. A further seaside gastro-destination. and restaurant areas, and large bedroom/office has an Through Savills (01904 VISIT homesandproperty.co.uk/ from a second-floor holiday en suite shower. There’s bags 200057). apartment with sitting and of potential here to develop rules for details of our usual By % % promotion rules. When you dining rooms, two bedrooms the pub and restaurant into a Faye Greenslade !+%% % respond to promotions, offers or %% competitions, the London Evening Standard and its sister companies may contact you with relevant +% % '%! % ' offers and services that may be of You be the judge: join our reader panel for this interest. Please give your mobile +# +% number and/or email address if year’s Evening Standard New Homes Awards % ' %* + & you would like to receive such offers by text or email. IF YOU have a passion for property and are an our reader judges who will pick the winners. It %% avid reader of Homes & Property, why not join will be your contribution to the battle to build , % *# !% ' ! %* *% Editorial: 020 3615 2524 our team of reader judges in this year’s Evening good-quality, affordable and sustainable homes Advertisement manager: Standard New Homes Awards? in London — and your chance to champion $## * Jamie McCabe You don’t need to have any special skills, just a innovation at the highest end of the market. ( % '% +* + # Advertising: 020 3615 0266 keen eye for what makes for good — and bad — For full details of how to apply to be a reader * #* Homes & Property, Northcliffe design in new homes. Our experts will draw up judge and to find out what will be required of House, 2 Derry Street, Kensington, shortlists in a wide range of categories, from you, email [email protected] or call ( )" " London W8 5TT. starter homes to luxurious mansions. But it is 01568 708163. %*+&!! ! Facebook: ESHomesAndProperty • Twitter: @HomesProperty EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2016 5 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by News | Homes & Property Model Mark’s new ski flat is a looker É MARK VANDERLOO, right, said to be the inspiration for “really, really, really ridiculously good-looking” movie male model Derek Zoolander, has just bought a retreat in Andorra in the Pyrenees. Hollywood actor Ben Stiller is thought to have based his character in Zoolander and its sequel, now in London cinemas, on the Dutch model. Vanderloo’s new three- bedroom flat, in the village of El Tarter, overlooks the ski slopes of Grandvalira. The open-plan living area has floor-to-ceiling windows on Rent Queen Bey’s to a large terrace. The picturesque J-Lo’s hideaway property was listed with Sotheby’s in Hidden Hills flat for £7k a night International Realty for £919,000. É JENNIFER LOPEZ is selling her É AFTER stealing the show at the 17,000sq ft mansion, above, in Hidden Super Bowl at the beginning of the Hills, California. The American Idol month, Beyoncé spent the weekend judge, right, is said to have originally relaxing in one of Airbnb’s most fallen for the property’s panoramic glamorous properties, above. mountain and city views. The singing superstar, below, who It also has a resort-style pool, rolling will be bringing her Formation tour lawns and children’s play areas. to London in July, Instagrammed Indoors, J-Lo’s favourite spots are pictures of the five-bedroom house in thought to be the panelled library and San Francisco Bay. beautiful master suite with a sitting She seemed to be enjoying the By Amira Hashish room, walk-in-wardrobes and large infinity pool and fire pit and had terrace. Valued at £ 9.9 million, the access to a private spa, bar and a Got some gossip? nine-bedroom home is listed with games room. Tweet @amiranews LuxuryEstate.com. Designed by Noel Cross Architects, the modern residence, which is O For more celebrity gossip, visit billed as a “contemporary homesandproperty.co.uk/gossip masterpiece”, is available to rent for around £7,000 per night. If it is good enough for Queen Bey… It’d be madness not to buy this place… ÉSTEPHENSON STREET in north- west London provided the backdrop for movies including The Ipcress File and The Likely Lads, and for the pop video for Our House by Madness, left. Next month the Victorian terrace hits the big screen again in Hugh Jackman’s new film, Eddie the Eagle. A two-bedroom period cottage, right, has just come on the market in the street with emoov for £600,000. It overlooks woodland, while a community urban orchard is planned for spring. There’s scope for improvement... and who knows who will be filming on the doorstep next?
THE WINTER SALE/C.P. HART ENDS 27th FEB
6 WEDNESDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | New homes
£90,000: for a 25 per cent share of a flat at Walpole Lodge, Putney, through Octavia Living Fairer (020 8354 5500) SHARES Young Londoners struggling to buy a home are getting a lifeline with a shake-up of the shared-ownership rules, says David Spittles
SHAKE-UP in the shared- property outright because the rent is ownership rules aimed at subsidised. Owners can gradually buy helping young Londoners more of their home as and when they on to the property ladder can afford it, a process known as stair- begins in April, when casing. There are stamp duty savings 175,000A more will become eligible to to be had, too. take this route to home ownership. While there are some potentially Local councils currently dictate who negative factors to consider — see our should take priority for shared owner- “downside” panel, below — the changes ship based on a wide range of factors could propel shared ownership into — from salary to occupation and loca- the housing mainstream, and they have tion. But no longer will public sector been seized upon by the main candi- “key workers” such as firefighters and dates for this May’s London mayoral police officers have official priority. election, who have declared housing Existing property owners, including the most important issue. divorcees and couples upsizing to a Labour’s Sadiq Khan wants to boost family house, will be able to apply and shared ownership and says he will give Caption kicker: will be given equal status. And there priority to people who have been rent- Drumond House will be no limit on the number of bed- ing privately for more than five years. Notting Hill rooms in a home that is bought. Conservative mayoral candidate Zac As long as you do not earn more than Goldsmith, meanwhile, has pledged to £90,000 — previously £71,000 — you build 50,000 homes a year by releasing will qualify, in recognition of the capi- more public land for affordable hous- tal’s high property values. ing, including shared ownership. The shake-up aims to reverse the A register of public land recently decline in home ownership at a time listed 40,000 sites in London with when Londoners’ property options are development potential to deliver shrinking. Public housing is scarce, 130,000 homes. private renting is becoming more Shared ownership is one of several expensive, while the big deposits government initiatives and arguably is +*, demanded by mortgage lenders are the most compelling for buyers who do locking out first-time buyers. not have a large deposit. They need only Shared ownership allows people to put down five per cent of the share being part-own and part-rent their homes. purchased. In many cases, this amounts The scheme operates through housing to a deposit of less than £10,000, and associations. People can buy from 25 sometimes less than £5,000 — as at to 75 per cent of a property, using a Spectrum, for example, a scheme close comparatively small deposit and mort- to Lee train station in south-east Lon- gage, and rent the remaining “un- don, where a deposit of £4,525 is owned” share. required when you buy a 25 per cent
Normally, total monthly outgoings share of a home for £90,500. Call Affin- ALAMY are less than when buying the same ity Sutton on 0300 100 0303. ' " $ %&!'!!! ( #%!'!!! # # $#$ !! "$% $) " ' " %!"# $ %) ' !"$ $ $# ( %#& & ! $ ) " SHARED OWNERSHIP: THE DOWNSIDE & " #% " +*,- As well as monthly mortgage and rent there’s a service charge, which can be high in a block with & &% ) - +(& $ ()& % ( $ amenities such as a pool or a gym. ()& &($ - & %( &%# -' Sub-letting, even informally - %) -+% , -- &&% & &(% renting out a spare room, is - % % ,-'%() )( '(- $ & -(& usually forbidden under the lease. ) ' -( % Buyers must do their own due diligence in terms of location, ' ( % '(& - %& %&+ & &( price and what the neighbours ('& %" are like. You can sell your share at any + (& &&)( * time, though it is not always as easy as a normal open-market !$!% ")" #*"+ sale. Often housing associations & %&(-- %)(--% have right of first refusal, typically eight weeks to find a buyer, and will get a surveyor’s valuation. Once sold, you pay a minimum 1.25 per cent of full market value, similar to an estate agent’s fee. "' ***&!)'+ With high demand, it is easier to sell on than it used to be. Island community: Greenwich Peninsula, a new south-east London district with riverside homes in a loop of the Thames EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2016 7 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by New homes | Homes & Property
From £96,563: for 25 per cent of a flat at the Jessops building in fashionable New Providence Wharf, E14. Through Genesis (0800 954 0040)
From £87,500: buy into a one-bedroom riverside flat at Greenwich Peninsula. Through Moat housing association (0845 359 6330) GETTY
£182,000: for a CHOOSE POSH OR EDGY 40 per cent Shared-ownership homes are available ‘I HAVE BOUGHT — AND share of a one- in posh postcodes as well as grittier inner YET I CAN STILL SAVE’ bedroom flat at London and suburban high streets. SALES executive Martin Husar, 27, had Battersea Planners demand that affordable hous- been renting privately in west London Reach, above, ing is integrated with more expensive for four years and considered leaving which fronts the private homes, so flats are often for sale the capital because he was unable to Thames. Call at swish developments where open-mar- save a big enough deposit to buy a Notting Hill ket homes cost millions. At riverfront home on the open market. Housing on 020 Battersea Reach, one-bedroom flats Shared ownership allowed him to 8357 5222 start at £182,000 for 40 per cent, through get on the ladder in Lambeth, close Notting Hill Housing (020 8357 5222). to the Houses of Parliament and the The Jessops building at trendy New Southbank Centre. Providence Wharf in Docklands has Mr Husar, right, bought a 30 per flats from £96,563 for 25 per cent (Gen- cent share in a one-bedroom flat at a Drink up: the esis; 0800 954 0040). Greenwich listed former school, where Guinness popular riverside Peninsula one-bedroom riverside flats housing trust was offering homes. terrace at The start at £87,500 for a share, through Moat “It’s a quiet residential area yet Boathouse pub, (0845 359 6330). At Walpole Lodge, unbelievably close to all the action,” Putney — a local Putney, flats start at £90,000 for a quar- he says. “The remarkable thing is for shared- ter share (Octavia Living; 020 8354 that my monthly outgoings are lower, ownership 5500). And at St Agnes Place, backing and I can continue saving. I will keep buyers at new on to Kennington Park in Zone 1, three- buying a bigger and bigger share development bedroom houses cost from £250,000 for until I get full ownership.” Walpole Lodge 25 per cent (L&Q; 0844 406 9800). 8 WEDNESDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | First-time buyers You couldn’t ask for more…
Bermondsey is great OW in the shadow of the Shard, the once-notorious for first-time buyers “rookery” slum that loomed large in Charles seeking shared Dickens’s novel Oliver NTwist has rapidly been establishing ownership, discovers itself as perhaps the only authentically Right side of the tracks: Blue Anchor Lane, one of the year’s cool sliver of central London. first shared-ownership launches, with great transport links Ruth Bloomfield Bermondsey — with its fun and quirky bars and restaurants, its mix of posh and old-school markets and summer festival — has seen average property prices rise by more than 60 per cent in five years. Most buyers in Bermondsey today must find £530,000, says Savills. But if you want two bedrooms, that sum will only buy an ex-council flat. Alternatively you could take advan- tage of one of the year’s first shared- ownership schemes. Prices at Blue Anchor Lane by Family Mosaic start at just £101,400 for a 30 per cent share of a one-bedroom apartment.
Thirty per cent shares start at LYNCH DANIEL £115,000 in two-bedroom flats, £134,250 in two-bedroom duplexes Total makeover: and Bermondsey Antiques Market are # # and £151,350 in three-bedroom flats. Spa Road in close. “Bermondsey was already on the Homes have private terrace or balcony Bermondsey has up before the recession,” said Tom Grif- and the development is handy for gone from a sad fin, a partner at Cluttons estate agents. # # ! # Southwark Park. This is, however, slum district to a “A lot of people were getting priced out unmistakably an inner-city spot. Beside buzzing hotspot of Shad Thames and Clink Street, and Blue Anchor Lane, on an arched via- with award- Bermondsey was quite affordable. duct, run the railway tracks of the winning new “Bermondsey Street has always had Brighton and South East Main Lines. homes a bohemian atmosphere, and when the The nearest station is Bermondsey, White Cube gallery opened [in 2011] it in Zone 2, on the Jubilee line, about 15 really cemented its position.” minutes’ walk away. Services to Canary Griffin believes buyers can still hope Wharf take around five minutes, and for price growth in this area. “For a journeys to Bond Street around 15 min- From £134,250: very central location on the edge of the utes, making this an excellent option for a 30 per cent city it still offers very good value.” for both commuting and socialising. share of a two- At the time of writing, three two-bed- But when it comes to going out, you bedroom duplex room duplexes and one three-bedroom could stay local. The Hide Bar is a smart home at Blue flat remain for shared ownership, but cocktail venue, The Woolpack’s a down- Anchor Lane, Family Mosaic says those registering an to-earth boozer; there’s tapas at José or Bermondsey, interest will be notified if more homes modern British fare at Village East. below, through become available. Visit familymosaic- Design Museum, Shortwave Cinema Family Mosaic sales.co.uk or call 020 7089 1315. THE KNOWLEDGE BERMONDSEY
# The past: people displaced from the City by the Great Fire in 1666 moved to ! # Bermondsey and it became a leafy, middle-class suburb. By the mid-19th century its fortunes declined and it was one of London’s most miserable slums. The future: Grosvenor plans new homes, shops and a new secondary school at the old Peek Frean biscuit factory near Bermondsey Tube station. Trivial Pursuit: a decommissioned Russian tank has been parked at the junction of Mandela Way and Pages Walk since 1995, on land owned by a property developer. Price of local homes: the average property in SE1 costs £691,322, up from £677,048 in January last year (source: " " Rightmove). Eat: street food at Maltby Street Market. Drink: a Bermondsey Buckle — vermouth, Amaro bitters and lemon juice — at The Hide Bar in Bermondsey Street. EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2016 9 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by Moving south | Homes & Property
So much to see and do: Meg Rosoff, left, says her daughter’s uni pals love the view of the Shard from her new south-east London home, which is also handy for lively Borough Market, right, a magnet for foodies GRAHAM HUSSEY ANDREW CROWLEY Restless for change — then Borough beckoned
HEN I broke the news, my friends were appalled: “We’ll Author Meg Rosoff traded never see you again!” It’s not Vilnius or Nanjing, I explained a smart north London house patiently. You can take the for a loft in the culture-rich WNorthern line. Or cycle. It’s only four miles. But they sighed and shook their heads, south. She has no regrets wondering how we would live without Ottolenghi and Sweaty Betty. My husband and I moved to Islington from whatever scrap of park I can find within half a Deptford in 1990, to a two-bedroom flat for mile. I miss Hampstead Heath and Clissold four times my then-meagre salary. In 2001, we Park, where my dog-walking friends gathered crept further north, to a Twenties semi in in gossipy groups. But Burgess Park has the Highbury with a big garden and no central world’s best café and the dogs love swimming heating. It hadn’t sold, the agent told us, in the lake. They don’t seem to miss the garden. because it reminded English people of their grannies’ houses. My granny lived in a high- ■I’ve swapped the Holloway Road Waitrose for rise in Miami, so I was immune. Lidl in Old Kent Road. I love Borough Market, and after six months, we’re discovering the ■Fifteen years passed and I felt suddenly good local restaurants. It’s grittier down here, restless. Highbury was lovely, but perhaps too younger, and friendlier, too. Everyone says suburban? In a matter of months, our daughter hello and complains about the road diversions would be leaving home. Did we need three and the pneumatic drills. Nothing is automatic bedrooms? Perhaps it was time for a change, any more; my brain has to forge new pathways but where would we go? California? Scotland? every time I leave the house. The pubs are One day while messing about online, I amazing but maybe at 58, I’ve outgrown pub stumbled on an open plan photographer’s loft life. When my daughter comes home from uni, in an industrial building with 16ft-high ceilings, she and her friends congregate on the roof and a pitched glass roof, and permission for stare at the Shard, feeling unbearably trendy. Computer Generated Image residential use. It was exactly the place I had My husband misses the Arsenal stadium. I dreamed of in my twenties, when home was miss the winter flowering cherry tree he an overpriced slum in Manhattan, a fifth-floor planted when I finished cancer treatment. walk-up with the bathtub in the kitchen. And the loft was priced £500,000 less than our ■South London feels like an entirely new city. modest north London semi. “Do you have any And we need new friends. For 25 years we met idea where Borough is?” I asked my husband. people and befriended them because, “you live “Not really,” he said. We Googled it. just round the corner, come for a drink!” Our Despite my daughter insisting she was not north London friends have all come to visit, moving during her A-levels, I put in an offer. tentatively, like Neil Armstrong stepping foot on “Writers need to change the view from the the moon. “Wow,” they say. “It’s amazing window,” I said pompously, when everyone here.” And then they scurry home. asked how we could possibly move south. I’m trying to convince them all to move south. We moved the day after my daughter’s last “You’ll love it,” I tell them, and they smile exam. The new neighbourhood has no politely. I want to add that, after 26 years, Waitrose, no Whistles no Cocktail Club. But the London feels brand new, as thrilling and fresh Globe, the Tate Modern, the National Theatre, as it did in 1977 when I first left America and the Old Vic, the BFI and the Thames are all 10 knew at once that I would settle here forever. minutes walk away. Even on the greyest day the I’ve changed the view from the window. And place is flooded with light. And the sound of it looks great. Sales agent Developer rain on the roof reminds me of camping. There are downsides. Every morning I have O Jonathan Unleashed by Meg Rosoff to drive the dogs to Burgess Park and every (Bloomsbury) is available in hardback at £14.99. afternoon I interrupt work to take them out to The ebook is £12.99.
10 WEDNESDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Luxury homes
From £650,000 to £10 million: Landmark Place, far left, next to the Tower of London, offers waterside homes from studios to penthouses
From £715,000: Islington Square, with loft-style homes and roof gardens, also comes with an on-site Third Space health spa, left More for your millions Sales of luxury homes have halved, so go shopping for glamour with big discounts, says David Spittles
NYONE lucky enough to have at least equate to about £2,000 per square foot. There is £1.5 million to spend on a new home a glass-encased spa and swimming pool, a river- has even more reason to be cheerful facing residents lounge, business suite and cinema right now. “There is an abundance of room, while a glass-roofed entrance atrium will be choice. The pendulum has swung in staffed by 24-hour concierge. Completion is due favourA of bigger-budget buyers,” says David Salvi in 2018. Call 020 3047 2324. of estate agent Hurford Salvi Carr. Higher stamp duty is largely to blame for so many TALL TOWERS AND TOWNHOUSES premium homes being on the market. Analysis by A four-bedroom duplex penthouse crowns a new data firm LonRes shows transactions are down 22 29-storey tower that is part of the five-acre Shell per cent compared with just a year ago. Centre redevelopment on the South Bank. The Sales of properties priced above £5 million have building is named after Sir Hugh Casson, director halved. Looking at the bigger picture, the global of architecture for the 1951 Festival of Britain which economy is jittery, with low interest rates, cheap put the area on the map as a cultural quarter. See oil and currency devaluations spooking banks a model of the development and a mocked-up and choking off investor interest — which is clear show flat in the old County Hall offices. Two-bed- from the glut of fancy apartments on the market. room flats start at £1.2 million and three-bedroom About 54,000 homes are under construction or homes from £3.6 million. Call 020 7001 3600. in the planning pipeline in the priciest areas of While you are in the area, take a look at Palace ' London — yet only 3,900 properties worth more View, with its vista of Lambeth Palace and the than £1 million sold in these areas in 2014. Palace of Westminster. An office block has made $ $ "( ) #*( '* " Developers rushed in recent years to tap into way for 55 flats with underground parking and "( "" * "( ( * * overseas investor demand, building off-plan courtyard gardens. Prices from £745,000. Call " * * *(* * * luxury homes in central London. Now they are Taylor Wimpey on 020 7355 8150. having to do more to attract UK buyers, who are Islington Square creates a new quarter in a " *( #* " *" in a far stronger position to negotiate discounts, fashionable north London neighbourhood. This * *" "( '" * upgraded interiors or some other extra. redevelopment of a Royal Mail depot off Upper (*( " “We always respond to market changes,” says Street brings 263 homes and covered shopping Gary Patrick, director of Barratt Homes, which arcades with boutiques, bars and restaurants, a this week launches Landmark Place, a glamor- theatre rehearsal space, health club and cinema. ous new riverside development next to the Tower Four new site entrances will open up an Edward- of London, a Unesco World Heritage Site. ian warehouse complex, closed to the public for The project, a collaboration with the Candy a century. An acre of green space is being created brothers, luxury developers of exclusive One across the rooftops of restored buildings and new Hyde Park in Knightsbridge, raises the bar for a blocks of loft-style flats. From the upper floors, City address, offering waterfront flats with spec- there are splendid views of the City and Canary tacular views. Two interconnecting blocks rise to Wharf skyline. Prices start from £715,000 rising 11 storeys, and more than 80 per cent of the exter- to £1.79 million for penthouses with roof terraces. nal surface area is glass. Call Knight Frank on 020 7861 5499. Architectural inspiration is drawn from Mies The tall, stucco townhouses of Connaught Place van der Rohe’s Barcelona Pavilion, a modernist at Marble Arch were built with main rooms over- "* "'* masterpiece. The 165 flats include £10 million looking Hyde Park. Seven lavish flats have been penthouses with vast roof terraces. Other homes created behind a classical façade with imposing have recessed balconies, and glazing wraps portico entrances. The homes mix ornate plaster- around the corners of the buildings, widening the work with luxurious modern finishes and come views. Prices start at £650,000 for a studio and with an internal courtyard and large terrace. * The highlight is a 6,000sq ft residence over two floors with a private cinema and spa. Concierge services are provided by nearby Harrods. Prices from £13.25 million. Call 020 3489 0559. * * " "( * Marylebone continues to pull in new buyers "$ priced out of Mayfair. A boutique scheme of oak- panelled, marble-walled flats at New Cavendish ""(%"(*' Street has prices starting from £4.6 million. Call Druce on 020 7935 6535. (&& & !
* # " *
Visit our online luxury section From £4.6 million: boutique apartments at New HomesAndProperty.co.uk/luxury Cavendish Street, Marylebone. Through Druce 12 WEDNESDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | London life
HAT does the late Queen frontman Freddy Mercury have in common with the grandmother of Own a Wactress Helena Bonham Carter and Queen Victoria’s dentist? They have all been deemed worthy of an English Heritage blue plaque, the scheme that highlights the former HerH dday willill homes of London’s great and good — famous come: blue and which marks its 150th anniversary plaques are not this year. awarded until at About 900 plaques have been put up least 20 years across the capital to date, commemorat- after a nominee’s ing a deliciously eccentric mash-up of home death. Fans will football players, pop stars, scientists, have to wait until minor Victorian civil servants and poli- 2031 before Amy ticians. Whether a blue plaque adds If you buy a prestigious blue plaque home you Winehouse’s value to a property is debatable but have considerable bragging rights. The scheme is Camden Square estate agents agree it does add to its home is marked bragging rights. 150 this spring, reports Ruth Bloomfield “If potential buyers are looking at a £2,995,000: F1 couple of similar properties and one ace James Hunt’s of them is a blue plaque home, they are former Barons more likely to choose it,” says Christo- Court home, left. pher Sellwood, director of Foxton’s Owners in 2011 central north London region. put up their own “While a blue plaque in itself is not plaque to Hunt, likely to significantly affect the initial below, who died valuation, it does increase a property’s in 1993 — the saleability, especially if the name is qualifying 20 recognisable.” years for an Martin Bikhit, managing director of official English Kay & Co estate agents, says overseas Heritage plaque buyers, especially Americans, are par- had not elapsed ticularly susceptible to the idea of buy- ing a bit of English heritage. A KING CROWNS IT ALL Historic names don’t really get any
bigger than King Henry VIII. Currently GETTY on sale with Russell Simpson estate No stopping him now: Freddie Mercury, who died in 1991, will be honoured this agents is a five-bedroom house in year with a blue plaque at his Sixties teenage home, a terrace house in Feltham Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, which stands on the site of the manor house within the corpulent Tudor monarch’s hunt- ing grounds. Priced at £7.95 million, the house bears a plaque — awarded by Kensing- ton and Chelsea council, which runs its own plaque scheme — recording the fact that Queen Elizabeth I stayed there. She planted mulberry trees, that survive to this day, in its garden. In Wimbledon, a blue plaque is ded- icated to a man whose business it was to banish royal dental plaque. Sir Edwin Saunders, Queen Victoria’s dentist, is remembered on the wall of his Grade II-listed former home, where £1.55 million: this Grade II-listed Wimbledon house bears a a three-bedroom duplex within is for plaque to former owner, the royal dentist Sir Edwin Saunders,
REX sale through Hamptons International, who tended to Queen Victoria’s rarely seen smile
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£4.5 million: a three-bedroom penthouse in Hyde Park Square, site of a plaque to Liberal writer and reformer Helen Violet Bonham Carter, Baroness Asquith of Yarnbury (1887- 1969) — possibly better known £750 a week: a flat where the Beatles, these days as the left, started Apple Records. The Baker granny of actress Street building bears a plaque to the Helena Bonham
REX late John Lennon and George Harrison Carter, above priced £1.55 million. Some blue plaque Co is marketing a modern one-bed- recipients are more famous today by room flat in Baker Street, for £750 a association. A three-bedroom lateral week. It’s in a development called The penthouse apartment in Hyde Park Apple Apartments — the clue’s in the Square, on the market for £4.5 million name — which bears a plaque awarded with Knight Frank, was once the home by The Heritage Foundation, showing of Helen Violet Bonham Carter, Baron- that this was once the home of the ess Asquith of Yarnbury, Liberal politi- Beatles’ Apple Records label. cian and diarist — and grandmother of While English Heritage carefully vets actress Helena Bonham Carter. The potential blue plaque sites, some home daughter of Herbert Asquith, Britain’s owners simply take matters into their Liberal prime minister from 1908-1916, own hands. For sale through Foxtons the baroness also became confidante at £2,995,000, a four-bedroom house to another PM — Winston Churchill. in Normand Mews, Barons Court bears Nearby, in Hyde Park Street, Hamp- a plaque to Formula One driver James tons International is selling a two-bed- Hunt, who lived there in the Eighties. room flat for £3.2 million within the blue While the motor racing ace is surely plaque house which once belonged to worth commemorating, his compara- high street legend WH Smith. tively recent death, in 1993, meant he Jungle Book author Rudyard Kipling wasn’t eligible for the official scheme. lived in Villiers Street, Covent Garden, And so, in 2011, rather than wait for the between 1889 and 1891, the location 20th anniversary of Hunt’s death, the marked out by a blue plaque. Foxtons then owners simply commissioned their is selling a one-bedroom flat in the own plaquepq and pput it up. p building, priced at £835,000. Generation Rent can also get in on the act with a home linked to the most famous band in British history. Kay & PLAQUE MAGIC Who is eligible for a blue plaque? Any Londoner considered by English Heritage’s blue plaque panel to have made a big enough contribution in their field to merit recognition — and who has been dead at least 20 years. Winston, former BBC chief Greg This year’s dozen include singer Dyke, and novelist Alan Hollinghurst. Freddie Mercury and 1966 World How long does the process take? Cup-winning England football two to three years. skipper Bobby Moore, with plaques How many plaques are put up in in Feltham and Barking respectively. London per year? Between nine Last year a plaque went up at the and 12. There are now about 900. Hackney home of Maria Dickin, Can English Heritage put up founder of the People’s Dispensary plaques wherever it likes? It must for Sick Animals. get permission from the property’s Who can nominate someone for a owner and from the leaseholder, if plaque? Anyone can make a applicable. Sometimes planning nomination (see english-heritage. permission is required. org.uk for full details), whether the Who pays? English Heritage — it property is their own or someone costs about £1,000 a time. else’s. EH will then research all of a If EH turns me down, is there nominee’s London addresses to anything I can do? Many councils decide the most suitable location. and local history groups and Who makes the decision? The residents associations run local panel is led by historian Professor plaque schemes (the EH website Ronald Hutton, and members gives listings) which might be worth include fertility pioneer Lord lobbying. 14 WEDNESDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Homes abroad
Charming: family-friendly heart of Alpine town St Anton, within an hour of Innsbruck airport
Thrills with frills For £162k ski flats, superb hospitality and 211 miles of slopes, head to St Anton in Austria. By Cathy Hawker From £162,300: for apartments with one to three bedrooms at 2020 Residences in Kühtai
ROM the Alpine peaks that dominate Modern skiing’s birthplace: St Anton in Tyrol, well over half of the country to the main picture, known for fabulous off-piste runs hearty reliance on low-key but ever- friendly service, Austria is number one 28 one- to four-bedroom flats, in a sunny, quiet in Europe for old-fashioned style and location facing south across the wooded moun- Fsmart hospitality. tainside, and close to five-star Hotel Tannenhof. Austrian property, too, offers a mix of modern The ski-out apartments will be in two four-storey homes with a delightfully old-school charm. buildings with a restaurant and wellness centre Development is strictly monitored and new build- including indoor and outdoor pools. Fully fur- ings, though often modern in design, are low-level nished flats start from £400,000 for 506sq ft and unobtrusive. including underground parking. Annual mainte- Thebestseat “In Austria, more so than in France or Switzer- nance charges start from £2,600. land, you still find many of the original families Under Austria’s usual rules for ski resort homes, running hotels and restaurants,” says Branson flats must be made available to rent when not in Atterbury, of developers Kristall Spaces. “It’s com- use and MW Hotels & Resorts has been appointed in the house mon to find waitresses in traditional dirndls and as the rental operator. Owner of the firm, Mark waiters in lederhosen. It provides Alpine atmos- Chitty, is a huge St Anton fan. Through Mark phere, one of the main things visitors like.” Warner, the holiday firm he co-founded 40 years Property buyers also appreciate the combination ago, he has owned and operated ski chalets in the of tradition with a modern infrastructure. Austria resort since 1978 and is building himself a house has spent more than £4.5 billion on its ski resorts on land beside Mountain Spa Residences. in the past 15 years, adding snow machines, new “St Anton has a massive and challenging ski area lifts and world-class ski parks. “You get more bang including some of the best Alpine off-piste,” he for your buck in Austria,” continues Atterbury. says. “It is a lively village with plenty going on and “Even in top-dollar St Anton, property prices are many good shops and restaurants. The authorities less than half those in prime French or Swiss have been keen to preserve St Anton and it hasn’t resorts, such as Courchevel.” changed much over the years. People come for the skiing and for the atmospheric village life.” OFF-PLAN HOMES IN ST ANTON St Anton in the Tyrol is one of the biggest names SKI-IN-AND-OUT FLATS IN HIGH KÜHTAI in the Alps, famous as the birthplace of modern Quiet Kühtai, 40 minutes from Innsbruck, does skiing and much loved for its fabulous off-piste not have St Anton’s well-trumpeted international runs. It’s a charming, family-friendly ski town, reputation but can claim its own fame as Austria’s popular with Britons for its 211 miles of slopes and highest ski village. It sits in a sunny bowl at 2,020 within one hour of Innsbruck airport. metres (6,628 feet) with a correspondingly strong In upmarket Nasserein, 20 minutes’ walk from snow record and lengthy season. the centre of St Anton and with a regular free ski Kristall Spaces is selling one- to three-bedroom bus, Kristall Spaces is selling Mountain Spa flats at 2020 Residences in Kühtai. The 16 fully Residences. This is an off-plan development of furnished properties cost from £162,300 for 646sq ft and range up to 970sq ft. Completion is planned for the start of the next ski season. These are ski-in-and-out apartments with direct access to 30 miles of slopes. Kühtai gets around 150,000 overnight stays in winter and has several hotels and restaurants which also stay open in the summer season for hikers and mountain bikers. Twenty minutes from St Anton and close to upmarket Lech, Arlberg Chalets, in the charm- ing town of Wald am Arlberg, is a small develop- ment priced from £162,000 for one- to three-bedroom flats and from £341,200 for two- and three-bedroom chalets. The project is for sale though Pure International and — unusually for Austria — has no rental obligation.
O Kristall Spaces: kristall-spaces.com (020 3735 8790) From £400,000: fully furnished flats including underground O Pure International: pureintl.com parking at Mountain Spa Residences in St Anton am Arlberg (020 3695 4095) 18 WEDNESDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Design Bright young things
Playful new designer lighting created for children is just as much fun for the grown-ups. Switch on and everyone’s face will light up, says Jenny Dalton
ARENTS are increasingly spaces, because the element of design savvy, says playfulness can be enjoyed by Stephen Quiddington, both generations.” director of online store We are also, adds Short, gravi- Mood — Mini Objects of tating towards more upbeat and PDesire. He is discussing the latest playful design this year. This designer lighting for kids. The means there is more choice for grown-ups are “choosing lighting children than ever, even though that has a playful sensibility, a sug- some of the most popular chil- gestion that life is not yet too seri- dren’s lighting designs were not ous”. But, he adds: “That doesn’t created specifically with them in mean it should be puerile.” mind. For example, the Pigeon clip- Indeed, lighting for children on lamp, £72 from Liberty (liberty. from miniobjectsofdesire.com co.uk), designed by Ed Carpenter, is designed to make parents has become an international smile, too, from the bestseller. table-top Little Cloud Philip Watts’s globe-shaped Lamp by Case Studyo, Blimpy pendant, £135 (philip- £124.80, with its warm- wattsdesign.com) is ideal for ing, smiley face, to the older childen’s rooms, as is the clever, origami-style new breed of Lava Lamp, £65. Shiny, happy folded pendants by Dutch Kartell’s recent Light-Air table people: Smiley designers Studio Snow- lamp, £123, by Maison/Objet lamp by Mr puppe, from £105. designer of the year Eugeni Maria, £165, Mood’s playful offerings Quitllet (kartell.com/gb) is a from Nubie are mirrored by the latest great hit of colour in a child’s (nubie.co.uk) lamps from top design- room, and Fiona Barratt-Camp- ers. At the Maison & Objet bell recently completed a design shows in Paris last children’s room using the bird month, there were inno- Souped up: chandelier by Mathieu vative and clever lines, Canned Light, Challières that was also on including Light Stax, from £175, by Ingo display at Maison & Objet £19.95 — building blocks Maurer from (challieres.com). that glow when con- Chaplins ! ! nected to a powered base (chaplins.co.uk) German lighting maestro Ingo block — to the Eos feather Maurer’s poetic, gently humor- pendant and table lamps, ous lighting designs are ideal from £65, by affordable Danish for children’s bedrooms because — as design brand Vita, via the A4 lightbox design classics — they will also furnish from A Little Lovely Company, (£30, a teenager’s and grown-up’s room. A alittlelovelycompany.nl), where you self-confessed big kid himself, Maurer write messages with the letters insists that there is no other design included. medium as emotive, playful and open as lighting. It is a wider trend that has at its heart The designers CrousCalogero agree. multi-functional living — and the fact For their Balloon lamp for Estiluz, the that parents and children are sharing Spanish lighting company, Alessandro $ # spaces and tastes, according to Amanda Calogero “wanted a story”. Short, founder of award-winning “But we didn’t want a ‘toy’ lamp, we design boutique Nubie, which stocks wanted simplicity. Somewhere in our the feathered Eos as well as a nostalgic memories, balloons are associated with Smiley lamp, £165, and a beautiful nice moments in life: a day at the park Watch the birdie: award-winning ceramic night light with illuminated with your family, a birthday, a vacation. British luxury interior designer Fiona birds, £95. That’s the sensation that is uncon- Barratt-Campbell’s children’s room, “Family areas are now required to sciously recalled when you see our above, at Maison & Objet design fair in meet the needs of both parents and balloon lamp. Paris includes a bird chandelier " " $ children,” she says. “Statement lighting “We think it’s the best thought to have created by French lighting designer is a great way to accessorise these before going to bed.” Mathieu Challières EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2016 19 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by Design | Homes & Property
It tickles: Eos Playful: above and Square deal: feather pendant inset, Balloon lamp Ikea Synas LED lamp by Vita, by CrousCalogero lighting boxes, left, from £65 at for Estiluz, £184.95 above, £25 each nubie.co.uk at Mini Objects of from ikea.com Desire (as before)
Fluffball: Little Cloud Lamp, below, by Case Studyo, £124.80 from Mini Objects of Desire (miniobjectsof desire.com)
Shelves that fit where other shelves don’t. Smart, stylis l aw . Can be pl e on a w r n -sli silico So a . he a t o
Prices from Glow time: Light £99. Stax glow-in-the- dark building blocks, above, from Red5, £19.95 for 12 (red5.co.uk) 22 WEDNESDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Reader promotion Bedside Heating to keep table for A sale you toasty… and cut techies Within your bills in half
DESIGNED with WITHIN HOME’S THE Dimplex off-peak heating modern needs clearance sale system from Quantum Heating is in mind, the of homeware up to 47 per cent cheaper to run Tretton bedside and accessories than electric convector or table from my- is offering up to radiator systems on an on-peak furniture.co.uk 68 per cent tariff, and 27 per cent cheaper to features a cut-out off everything run than standard storage heater in the rear panel from chairs to systems*. for feeding cushions and Readers receive a special 10 per charger cables throws. cent ** discount using code BH02 into the drawer. Heritage before February 29. To request a The styling is cashmere brochure, call 0333 014 7771. bang up to date wraps are down Terms and conditions apply. and the price of 37 per cent to *Calculated using SAP 2012. £77.99 includes £122.85, the **Heaters to be installed before next working day Cecile dresser is April 6. delivery. reduced from Exclusive to my- in-house team for x D40cm. To £425 to only furniture.co.uk, the Tretton range order, visit my- £229.50, and the side table, of bedroom and furniture.co.uk or the Ruby designed and living room furni- call 0800 092 occasional developed in Eng- ture, measures 1636. Requires chair, below, a land by the firm’s H60cm x W40cm minor assembly. striking piece, Bargain news now costs just £122.85. Browse the clearance range Alison and order at withinhome. Cork com/clearance — or call 020 7087 2900.
Versatile guest bed with 40% off Reader offer on quality tiles LAPORSA, a leading available for delivery next THE clever Relyon comfort, it is available for £559 or a standard importer and distributor of day. Readers can claim a 30 Storabed upholstered in four fabric colours — 90cm single for £599. quality porcelain, mosaic, per cent discount in any of guest bed from One tweed, mocha, linen Complete the look with marble, granite, quartz Laporsa’s four outlets when Regent Place can be and charcoal, pictured a modern slim and Travertine tiles and presenting this column. used as a single bed, — and comes with two headboard for an tiling accessories, has four Find Laporsa in Park Royal large double bed, or as open coil mattresses. additional £100. outlets including the at 33 Chase Road NW10 6QN, twin beds. Currently 40 per cent Visit oneregentplace. London flagship store in or call 020 8965 4499. Alter- Providing a wonderful off the recommended co.uk/stora17 or call Park Royal. natively, visit laporsa.com combination of style, retail price, readers can 020 3504 1532 before There’s a large quantity of to find the company’s near- practicality and purchase the 75cm size February 25. stock, almost all of which is est location to you. O The companies listed here are wholly independent of the Evening Standard. Care is taken to establish that they are bona fide but we recommend that you carry out your own checks prior to purchases and use a credit card where possible. To offer feedback on any of these companies, email [email protected] with “Bargain News” in the subject line. For more bargains, visit alisonathome.com or homesandproperty.co.uk/offers.
26 WEDNESDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property |Outdoors Pattie Barron
OTANICAL paintings, precise and finely worked, are hav- ing more than a moment in the sun. Now and in the future, botanical art contin- Bues to play an important role in plant ecology, recording species and their characteristics with an accuracy and anatomical detail that a photograph cannot. “Human activity now threatens many plants with extinction before we even realise they exist,” says Christopher Mills, curator of The Botanical Treas- ury and former head of library, art and archives at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. “The aspiration to complete the cataloguing of the world’s flora has gained, if anything, an even stronger imperative.” The publication this month of a sump- tuous book of Kew’s archive prints, The Fatal attraction: the carnivorous pitcher plant, from L’Illustration Horticole, 1871 Botanical Treasury, as well as two botanical art shows in London, provide pin-sharp contrast to the Impressionist in her paintings and diaries, alerting a Botanic beauty: Protea speciosa by Marianne North, 1882 paintings of plants and gardens cur- then-oblivious world to the conse- rently at the Royal Academy — and show quences of the rainforest’s destruction. that the stories behind the plants are as TREASURE Mee painted the moonflower, a fabu- fascinating as the plants themselves. lous night-blooming cactus, by torch- In The Botanical Treasury, for exam- light from the deck of a riverboat in a ple, the pineapple-like fruit of the screw flooded forest. At Rio Carnival, a prom- pine, the African tree discovered by inent samba school carries her name. David Livingstone on his Zambezi expe- HUNTERS You can see Mee’s work this month at dition of 1858, is captured in watercol- Kew, in an exhibition titled Brazil — A ours by Thomas Baines, the ship’s Intrepid explorers sailed the world Powerhouse of Plants. Also included is (),3,*5 official artist and storekeeper. the work of contemporary Brazilian A splendid portrait of a spiky banksia seeking out plants. Kew celebrates artists such as Ronaldo Pangella, who dates back to Captain Cook’s first Pacific paints orchids tucked into crevices on them in a new book and art show voyage in 1768, when a botanical illustra- the steep slopes of Sugarloaf Mountain, 2 tor on the Endeavour, Sydney Parkin- reaching them with ropes and tackle. son, painted it so that, along with the Sarah Howard Sherlock, having mar- * ship’s resident botanist Joseph Banks ried an Englishman who fell in love 1 sending back the plants and seeds, an with Ethiopia on a gap year and took + accurate record could be made. her back there to live, painted as many # of the country’s endemic plants as PLANTS 2,000 YEARS OLD possible because, she explains, there Here are pictures of the extraordinary are no field guides. and fantastic: fire engine-red pitcher You can admire her exquisite paint- plants; the rare blue orchid of Assam; ings of Ethiopian aloes at the forth- epiphytic bromeliads that root in the coming RHS London Botanical Art crowns of trees in tropical forests; Show, featuring the work of 35 artists cinchonas, the quinine trees that crowd from around the world. the high slopes of the Andes; the tree tumbo of Angola, a twisting, twirling O Brazil — A Powerhouse of Plants is at desert plant that lives up to 2,000 years Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical with just two yard-long, tentacle-like Art, RBG Kew, from Feb 20-Aug 29. Visit leaves and bizarre-looking cones. kew.org for more details. The Victorian botanical artists were O RHS London Botanical Art Show, as intrepid as the plant hunters, scour- Vincent Square SW1, Feb 26-27 (rhs.org. ing mountains and jungles for new uk/shows-events). species. More recently, British artist O The Botanical Treasury (André and explorer Margaret Mee, who died Deutsch) by Christopher Mills costs £35, in 1988, made 15 solo forays into the but Homes & Property readers can buy it
depths of the Amazon rainforest, KEW COLLECTION/RBG SHIRLEY SHERWOOD for £30 incl p&p — call 0844 576 8122 recording the extraordinary plant life Exotic air plant: bromeliad by Brazillian Alvaro Nunes and quote code AD227.
" *,4,)(, 1, ,20 . , *1 + 1 5 , (, ..,20 +, 5(+, ) -1 ,) ( , %! $' (44 - 22 1 5 / , (+# + !$& & ",1(5 (,# *1 +# + - PICTURES FROM THE BOTANICAL TREASURY PICTURES FROM THE BOTANICAL Left to right: Billbergia sanderiana by Etienne Demonte; Maize by Kan’en Iwasaki, 1828; Strelitzia reginae, the bird of paradise, by Frank Bauer 30 WEDNESDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | My home homesandproperty.co.uk Cottage style speaks straight to the heart Interior designer Louise Jones extended and transformed a neglected Victorian home. Her neighbours have nicknamed it Welcoming: flagstone floor and Georgian mahogany drawers Downton Abbey, says Liz Elliot
T THE end of a quiet cul-de- sac in south-west London, complete with a picket fence, roses and a 90ft-long walled garden, stands the cottageA of interior designer Louise Jones. Sitting in her garden watching her two lurchers nose their way through the flowerbeds, it is hard to believe this is only 40 minutes from the West End. Originally from Lancashire, Jones started working in accountancy but after 18 months she enrolled in a year-long course at the Inchbald School of Design and went on to work at Chelsea Textiles, before answering a job advertisement for an accountant at international interior design company Todhunter Earle. “My sister sug- gested it might be a way of getting into the design side of the business, and that’s what happened,” says Jones. After eight instructive years, she felt confident enough to set up on her own in 2001 and now leads a team of seven, which oversees six or seven projects at a time from an office on Richmond Com- mon. The Victorian cottage Jones bought school and with enough space to allow rooms, each with original chimney- a few years ago is just a short drive away. an extension to double its footprint. pieces, were opened up to form a com- It was a two-up, two-down with a lean-to GPS Architects drew up Jones’s plans fortable sitting room. At the back of this, shower. A sitting tenant, an old man, had to create a seamless, two-floor extension a door leads to the new kitchen and din- lived there all his life. Although it was in along one side of the cottage and a single- ing room, and from there you can reach a pretty dire state, untouched since the storey extension clad in wood at the a second sitting room at the back of the Seventies, the place had masses of poten- back, which form an L-shape around the house. At the front of the main sitting Photographs: tial and was in a great location, backing house. With the help of builder John room, reclaimed double doors open out Picket-fence heaven: Jones’s extended Victorian cottage Rachael Smith on to the playing fields of an adjoining Lumsden, the two original ground-floor on to the entrance hall, a cloakroom and
EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2016 31 powered by My home | Homes & Property
English country look: a gentle yellow on the walls brings soft warmth to a room
Traditional: Louise Jones designed the pine kitchen herself
her sofas and found some of the lights and curtain fabrics while on holiday in India. Her favourite wallpapers and fabrics come from Claremont, Rogers & Goffigon and Tissus d’Hélène, which are used to deco- rate the rest of the house. Jones’s pictures reflect her northern roots. “I spend a lot of time in the Lake District and much of the art is relevant to that area.” She buys from Castlegate House Gallery in Cockermouth, which deals in 20th-century art, and she is a fan of the Edinburgh artist Louise Kosman. The garden was overgrown and full of leylandii. Now it has a formal area of flowerbeds enclosed by box hedges, with the layout loosening up as it nears the house. “I had David Austin Roses on speed dial during that first year,” Jones says. “It is a wonderful place to return to each night. The street has parties at the drop of a hat and they call my house Downton Abbey!”
a new staircase in the side extension. Comfortable, wanted it to feel English and a bit coun- This leads up to two bedrooms in the relaxed styling: try,” she says. She bought furniture to O The full original part of the house, and a dressing Louise Jones give the impression of always having version of this room and two new bathrooms in the side didn’t want her been there. article extension. home decor or The use of reclaimed floors in the appears in the In decorating her own home, Jones was furnishings to kitchen, the island in scrubbed pine and March issue of determined not to make the interiors appear as if she Minton tiles behind the stove bought on House & look as if she had tried too hard. “It’s had tried too hard eBay add to the effect. Several bits of fur- Garden, out essentially a workman’s cottage and I niture came from relatives, she recovered now Pretty pink: cast-iron bath and basin are from a salvage site WILLIAM YEOWARD IN STORE
SALE WILLIAM YEOWARD 5 DAYS ONLY 270 Kings Road London SW3 5AW Tel: +44 (0)20 7349 7828 STARTS 10AM THURSDAY 25TH FEBRUARY CRYSTAL • UPHOLSTERY • FURNITURE • LIGHTING • ACCESSORIES • ART GLASS • CUSHIONS • TABLE LINENS
34 WEDNESDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Design
Simply beautiful: Elliott Ceramics pastel porcelain, right, MyMydesignMydesig ddedesdesigeseesisigsiigniggnn by Elliott Denny, available at Simple Shape By Katie Law Helen Osgerby
Timeless style: ONLINE RETAILER hand-blown glass Buoy vases by ELEN OSGERBY, owner of new Michael Ruh, far online handcrafted products shop right (Parade Simple Shape, finds plenty of Mews, Norwood design talent to celebrate near the Road, SE27 London home she shares with (michaelruh.com) Hhusband Jay Osgerby, co-founder with Edward Barber of the BarberOsgerby industrial design studio, which gave us the 2012 Olympic Torch.
MY HOME Jay and I live in Brockley, south-east London with our children, Eva, 13, Sophia, 10, and Felix, seven, in a Victorian terrace house with good bones. We have a planning application in to open up the basement and convert it into a big, bright, open-plan kitchen leading out to the garden. From the top floor you can see the outline of the Shard, and the City. It’s mesmerising at night. My favourite part of the house is the kitchen fireplace, especially in winter when it’s always lit for Sunday lunch. The original surrounding tiles are black and white with images of storks and blossom. On the mantlepiece is our collection of vases, jugs, candles, a tiny wooden comb that Jay brought home, and a prototype vase by ceramist Jono Smart for a collaborative collection he and I are working on for Simple Shape. Vintage finds: Helen Osgerby, top, recommends MY STYLE Deptford Market, above, to treasure hunters We’ve been collecting furniture, objects and treasures for years. Our mismatched, lovely TOP FIVE LOCAL TALENTS chairs include a Bertoia chair from Portobello Eleanor Pritchard, textile designer, samples her Market, a Gio Ponti Supperleggera and several designs on a huge loom in her studio. The walls bentwood “214” Thonet bistro chairs that we are full of shelves of the coloured woollen yarn discovered in local second hand shops, They she uses in upholstery, blankets and cushions; are all perfect examples of enduring, simple, Eleanor Lakelin makes sensational bowls and classic design. We have a huge old hewn wood, vessels, turning, carving and sculpting wood artisan-made bread-making dough trough on felled in south London and around the UK; our landing that we bought at the roadside in Elliott Denny is the ceramicist behind Elliott Puglia, Italy. Ceramics. His design-led pastel porcelain collection is simple and beautiful; glassblower FAVOURITE MEMORABILIA Michael Ruh’s tableware, vases and vessels are When Jay and I married, my grandmother gave extremely special; The City Works turns intricate me a tiny pair of silver scissors. She was a illustrations of London into a lovely stationery seamstress at Liberty before the war. We had and souvenirs range called Lost in London. them framed with the note she wrote to me held in the back of the frame. It is priceless to me. BEST LOCAL DESIGN HOTSPOT Crystal Palace Antiques in Jasper Road, SE19, is WHY I LOVE BROCKLEY made up of 20 dealers whose antiques and mid- I love Brockley’s green spaces, its sense of century pieces change continuously. We community and the creative feel that comes recently bought a William Morris chair which from all the talented designer-makers based needs repairing but it has such a history and the here because of Goldsmiths, University of spindles are unusual. London. Cockpit Arts [designer-makers’ collective] is here, as well as Camberwell College IF MONEY WAS NO OBJECT? of Arts. Vanguard Court just over the road has I saw the Agnes Martin [US abstract painter] workshops and studios, and lots of makers exhibition at Tate Modern last summer. I love occupy small spaces in the railway arches. the simplicity of her work, which disguises the rigour of her process. A piece by her would be Top talent: on Osgerby’s very calming. In the garden, I would love a William Morris chair, an Richard Serra steel sculpture. Eleanor Pritchard Peppercorn blanket BEST MARKET (£248). Plate (£30) and Deptford Market in Douglas Way on a cup (£24) by Elliott Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. If you’re lucky Ceramics. All at simple- you might find original Ercol furniture, London shape.com Routemaster bus blinds or beautiful vintage cut crystal glassware. But you have to get there at 6.30am and be brave. A friend of mine wears a head torch in winter, to search in the darkness.
MY SECRET ESCAPE Nunhead Cemetery, a spookily atmospheric Victorian cemetery, is wonderful all year round. At its highest point, a gap in the trees frames a view of St Paul’s. I love being alone and quiet there, yet still reminded of the city.
O Visit simple-shape.com 38 WEDNESDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Property searching Spotlight on Camden Town Families, techies and hipsters rub along at this arty NW1 spot famed for vibrant markets and a cool music scene, says Anthea Masey
HE spirit of Amy Winehouse Town — often called simply “Camden” seems to haunt Camden — has Euston to the south, Kentish Town, the spot loved by her Town to the north, Regent’s Park to the Hub: Camden High Street has shops, markets and eateries fans and also by teenagers west and Islington to the east, and visiting London from all over boasts lovely streets of Georgian and theT world. Many make the local markets early Victorian terrace houses. their first port of call — for everything Gloucester Crescent, for many years from fashion to books to street food. the home of Alan Bennett, was a loca- Winehouse died of alcohol poisoning tion for The Lady in the Van, last year’s aged just 27 in her Camden Square flat movie starring Dame Maggie Smith, in 2011. Images of the prodigiously tal- about elderly, eccentric Mary Shepherd ented singer-songwriter with the trade- who lived in her van in the playwright’s mark beehive hairdo are everywhere, front garden there from 1974 to 1989. in street art, a mural and a statue in A wide range of house hunters are Stables Market. “She is much-loved drawn to Camden’s distinctive feel and locally,” says estate agent Enna-Mae its property prices — lower than the likes Assiter, of Marsh & Parsons. of Fitzrovia and Marylebone. “Camden “People tell of impromptu concerts is much more than its markets,” says at The Dublin Castle [pub and live Assiter. “Parkway, the local shopping music venue], or remember seeing her street, is much more villagey.” in the local shops.” Only two-and-a-half Leathercraft: Yacine and Mustafa Mouhi at Stables Market miles north of central London, Camden Photographs: Daniel Lynch
£1.5 MILLION £465,000 £850,000 £799,999 A THREE-BEDROOM house in cobbled A FIRST-FLOOR period conversion one-bedroom flat IN GREENLAND ROAD, Camden, is this split-level, A BRIGHT, two-bedroom, split-level flat and quiet Camden Mews, with a roof in Murray Street, Camden, with big windows and two-bedroom flat with a bright reception room. in Mornington Terrace, Camden. terrace, through KFH (020 8012 2740). wood floors. Through Keatons (020 8012 3875). Through Marsh & Parsons (020 7717 5990). Through Foxtons (020 7424 6000) To find a home in Camden Town, visit rightmove.co.uk For more about Camden Town, visit homesandproperty.co.uk/camdentown
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HAVE YOUR SAY: homesandproperty.co.uk CAMDEN TOWN powered by LOCALS TWEET THEIR TIPS
STATS CHECK WHAT HOMES COST BUYING IN CAMDEN TOWN (Average prices) One-bedroom flat £492,000 Top venue: round off a perfect day Two-bedroom flat £780,000 with a gig at Camden’s Roundhouse Two-bedroom house £877,000 @richard75941061 Q Grill is Three-bedroom house £1.13 million probably the best restaurant, Four-bedroom house £1.83 million Marathon the “disco chippy” Source: Rightmove deserves a mention. @LDNFrank Perfect day in Camden RENTING IN CAMDEN TOWN is a meal at @birdrestaurant (the (Average rates) best fried chicken in London) One-bedroom flat £1,703 a month followed by a gig at the Two-bedroom flat £2,255 a month @RoundhouseLDN Two-bedroom house £2,330 a month @socialhobbyist @CamdenMarket Three-bedroom house check out @TwoDoorsDownNW1 for £3,089 a month the best coffee and most delicious Four-bedroom house £3,505 a month tasty treats. Friendliest people, too. Source: Rightmove
TRAVEL Don’t forget Dingwalls: a piece of Camden’s FOR MORE, VISIT famous street art, referencing the music venue homesandproperty.co.uk
O Use our School Checker to find THE PROPERTY SCENE catchment areas and inspection reports for local schools OFFERING family houses and period Barratt Homes development of 164 O The best shops and restaurants in conversions, Camden also has new one-, two- and three-bedroom flats, Camden Town flats, estates of council houses, and including 82 affordable homes, in St CAMDEN TOWN and Mornington O Local arts, leisure and sport warehouse flats — such as those in Pancras Way. Prices from £610,000 Crescent Tube stations are on the O All the latest new homes former gin warehouse Gilbey House, to £1,275,000. Call 0844 225 0032 for Northern line with services to the developments overlooking Regent’s Canal. Around details. West End and the City. Camden Road Camden Square are mews buildings Euston Reach in Carlow Street off station, on the Stratford to Gospel containing individually designed Camden High Street is a Galliard Oak Overground line, is one stop from homes and studios, including work Homes warehouse conversion with Highbury & Islington Tube station by architects Edward Cullinan and 85 studios, one- and two-bedroom which connects with the Victoria line. David Chipperfield. loft-style homes set around a four- All stations are in Zone 2. An annual storey atrium. Prices from £730,000 travelcard to Zone 1 costs £1,296. ■ NEW-BUILD HOMES to £1,165,000. Call 020 3770 6329. Hawley Wharf occupies the space XY Apartments, between York where fire devastated Camden Road and Agar Grove, is the regen- ■ AFFORDABLE HOMES mix of senior executives looking for Market in 2008. The redevelopment eration of the Maiden Lane Estate by Newlon Housing Trust will have family homes in Camden and includes 170 homes, the new Hawley Camden’s Community Investment shared-ownership flats at Camden Primrose Hill, and young techie types Infants School, an art house cinema Programme. There are 273 one-, two- Courtyards. Call 020 7613 7480 for working for local IT companies such and new market buildings along the and three-bedroom flats, half of more information. as Google. In addition, the two canal. Camden Courtyards is a which are affordable. Open market French schools in Kentish Town are prices range from £535,000 to ■ RENTING attracting French families who like to Designer shoes: Dionne Sakupwanya of £797,500. Visit xyapartments.com or Lettings agent Will Copeland, from be near St Pancras and the Eurostar Irregular Choice, Camden High Street call Savills on 020 7299 3091. Marsh & Parsons, says tenants are a terminal for trips home.
MARKETING SUITE & SHOW FLAT NOW OPEN CONTACT US TO BOOK AN APPOINTMENT
A luxury collection of 1,2&3 bedroom riverside apartments COMMUTE BY THE RIVER. Battersea, SW11 | From £525,000 RELAX BY THE RIVER. 020 7354 7049 | ivoryandcalico-sw11.com A DEVELOPMENT BY LIVE BY THE RIVER. SOLE SELLING AGENT 44 WEDNESDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Ask the expert Help us sell up and save the max in tax Fiona WHAT’S I OWN my home jointly with my husband, YOUR and we have been married for almost 20 McNulty PROBLEM? Qyears. I have two children from my previous IF YOU have a marriage — my first husband passed away OUR LAWYER ANSWERS question for suddenly — but none from this marriage. When I die, YOUR QUESTIONS Fiona McNulty, I want my share in our home to pass to my children please email but I would like my husband to be able to live in the MY BROTHER and I legalsolutions@ property for the rest of his life. What actions do I need inherited our mother’s standard.co.uk to take? Q house when she died two or write to Legal years ago. We are both Solutions, Homes IS THE property held by you as joint tenants, or as executors of her will and she left & Property, tenants in common? Assuming that your title to her estate to us equally. London Evening A your home is registered at the Land Registry, you We have let out the house for the Standard, 2 Derry can search there to see whether there is a past two years but now want to sell Street, W8 5EE. restriction on the title indicating that the property is held it. We have had it valued — it has We regret that by you as tenants in common. gone up massively since Mum died questions cannot If there is no such restriction, then you are likely to hold and is now worth £1.2 million. be answered the property as beneficial joint tenants. To deal with the Someone suggested we should individually, but property after your death in the way that you wish, you transfer the house into our names we will try to and your husband must hold it as tenants in common. for tax purposes before we sell. Me feature them If your home is held by you as beneficial joint tenants, and my brother own a flat together here. Fiona you will need to sever the joint tenancy. Doing this will where we both live. He is employed McNulty is a allow you to deal with your individual share of the place and I am self-employed. Would this legal director in your will. transfer be worthwhile? What tax in the private Once you are holding the property as tenants in will we save? wealth group of common, your will can be drafted to grant your husband Foot Anstey a life interest in your home — thereby allowing him to TO SELL the house and/or £11,100, and the rate of tax on the property (ie at the date of death). (footanstey.com). remain there for the rest of his life — and also to provide transfer it to you and your gain will be a flat rate of 28 per cent. However, when you sell, you will for your interest in the place to pass to your children A brother as beneficiaries, a Remember that you should also have the benefit of a second capital following his death. Grant of Probate must be have been accounting for the rental gains tax allowance — one for you It would be wise for you to seek legal advice if it is issued in relation to the estate of your income from the property to the and one for your brother. The rate of necessary to sever the joint tenancy, and also for the late mother. estate — albeit you are the tax on the gain will depend on your drafting of your will. If the property is sold by you as beneficiaries — and paying tax annual income and will be taxed at personal representatives — executors accordingly. either 18 per cent or 28 per cent. More legal O These answers can only be a very brief commentary on — of your mother’s estate, you will If the house is transferred to you as Do seek detailed tax advice before the issues raised and should not be relied on as legal advice. Q&As have available to you one capital beneficiaries before you sell it, you taking any action in relation to the Visit: homesand No liability is accepted for such reliance. If you have similar gains tax allowance, currently will then inherit the base cost of the property. property.co.uk issues, you should obtain advice from a solicitor.
Introducing Beechcroft’s collection of new and beautifully converted houses and apartments
1+ -1)-)1 )-$ /)-, +44 1 .-) 1/ *-) 1. 33 3),+)-, )23), 0- *)2 . 0- !1 - #0)4- ), ) +33-+1 . -3-/) ), 0--*-,4 + --, 0 - ), ))4- )3/ 10 3 1 - 3 * 13 ))4- Prices from £635,000 to £1,100,000
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4 - /--)-, 14)/- 1 1,1+)1 - 3 48 WEDNESDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Inside story It’s a fabulous balcony… but why is it not a terrace?
MONDAY area that has “something” below it. In Working for CBRE, you are not a typical my opinion if underneath a balcony is Diary of estate agent, but a real estate adviser another balcony — surely it qualifies and none of my days are ever the for a terrace? same. an estate I start my weekdays with an early WEDNESDAY morning run, and Monday is no excep- I start my day attending meetings with agent tion. It used to be a real struggle in the private banks. Some of our buyers are beginning, but now I quite enjoy it and referred to us through our contacts at it helps me prepare for our first morn- these banks, so it is always good to head to Berkeley Square to attend the ing meeting, where we discuss our catch up. launch of a client’s new magazine. I buyers and any offers from the week- In the afternoon I meet two new love these events, the atmosphere is end. clients who are coincidentally both always fabulous and it’s a great way for Due to the time difference, the first looking to reserve apartments for their meeting new and interesting people in telephone call I make this morning is daughters as birthday presents. It’s all the business. to a colleague based in our Singapore right for some… office. It would not go down well to be FRIDAY calling somewhere like Singapore in THURSDAY We are holding an event today in col- the late afternoon UK time. Today we are attending a development laboration with a law firm, an invest- The afternoon in our Wapping office construction site with a couple from ment bank and a tax adviser. We have is very busy and we close two deals west London who are looking to over 100 people here, which is great, with local residents who are looking to relocate to the area, as they love St but it makes me rather nervous. upsize and upgrade their homes. In Katharine Docks and Tower Bridge. I take few deep breaths and I surprise fact, many locals are pleased with this They are looking for a penthouse myself with how easily I take to the new development coming to the area apartment for themselves and a one- stage. The event is extremely success- and breathing new life into it. bedroom apartment for their daughter ful and by the end of the day I can — another lucky child. We get suited barely stand on my feet, I am so tired. TUESDAY and booted, pop on our hard hats and I can’t wait to kick off my heels and We hold a half-day sales and marketing off we go to the top of the building to put my feet up. meeting with a company that is selling see what their views will be. a local scheme. This particular Tuesday Standing at the top of the building O Mirka Mikleticova, who speaks we also discuss the difference between looking out over London, I am seven languages, is a site sales a large balcony and a terrace. Appar- reminded of how lucky I am to be living manager at CBRE in Wapping ently a terrace can only be an outdoor in this amazing city. In the evening I ([email protected]). 52 WEDNESDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property | Seeking approval Put a planner in your works I have just seen a small office above a shop for sale at auction. Should I go for it and then apply to turn it into a home later? Will that work?
OFFICES provide jobs and Selwyn support the local economy so councils will often refuse I want Atkinson planning applications OUR PLANNING EXPERT involvingA their loss. ANSWERS QUESTIONS The Government intends to to live continue to allow the conversion of offices to residential under permitted risk and flooding risk is a less development rights (referred to as a standardised process, as this would Notification for Prior Approval), so I over the depend on the location of the office. would recommend this route since Things to consider would include your council would only be able to traffic conditions within the assess the impacts on transport and shop surrounding area, proximity to good highways, contamination risk, and public transportation networks, the flooding risk. Any loss of such as those found within central presence of contaminants that pose a employment space cannot be taken London and Canary Wharf, are risk to human health such as asbestos into consideration. banned from changes of use, as are in ceiling voids, and the proximity to Remember, though, that permitted other areas of national economic sources of flooding and any existing development rights only apply to the importance. If the office is listed, then or planned flood defences. change of use. If you wanted to make the change of use is not permitted In the case where land is identified any other improvements, such as development, either. within a flood zone, it may be cladding to the external walls, you One of the most common reasons reasonable to assume the location would also need to apply for for Prior Approval applications being could provide a safe refuge in the planning permission. refused is the failure to provide event of a flood. However, the precise The intention of the permitted evidence that the building was in extent of the risk should be reviewed development legislation is to help office use prior to May 30, 2013. in as much detail as possible. meet housing demand through the Review the planning history for the Your council will assess each of the easy conversion of underused and site to ensure that there are no three considerations against its own outdated office stock. But before you planning conditions limiting or policies and guidance, so use this raise your auction paddle you’ll need withdrawing permitted development information to provide supporting to assess the likelihood of Prior rights. evidence in the form of transport, Approval being granted. Some offices The assessment of transport and contamination and flood risk located on obvious business land, highways impacts, contamination assessments. O Email your questions to: [email protected]
Tutelage Court, College Terrace E3
A rare opportunity to acquire a stunning period conversion in a former landmark school, a Grade II listed site dating back to the 19th Century.
Tutelage Court is a striking new development in London’s Mile End offering buyers a range of one, two, three and four bedroom apartment homes. Development by Launch: Friday 19 February 4pm - 7pm From double height duplexes to double fronted apartments, Tutelage Court offers Saturday 20 February 11am - 2pm a distinctive range of homes with an array of delightfully restored features.
Prices from £499,950 to £1,349,950.
To register your interest and secure an appointment please contact:
020 8981 7788 [email protected] 54 WEDNESDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2016 EVENING STANDARD Homes & Property New homes| New Georgians arrive in Highgate Village SmartSmarmartart m By David Spittles So cool in King’s Cross
THE best address in two superb Georgian-style AMDEN COUNCIL was a torchbearer for Highgate village is The townhouses, above. Each architect-led public sector housing during the Grove, where houses has 6,200sq ft of inside Seventies. One of its iconic estates was Maiden dating back to the 1680s space spread over six Lane, an avant-garde low-rise scheme of are set back from the road floors, with a showpiece concrete houses and flats on the northern behind an avenue of trees. glass-walled lift and a boundaryC of the vast King’s Cross railway complex. Famous past residents studio flat with its own side Over the years, the estate became run-down and was include the poet Samuel entrance. nicknamed “Alcatraz”. At the behest of the local Taylor Coleridge, while At lower-ground level is a authority, the bulldozers arrived and paved the way for a stars of today who have cinema, bar, wine cellar new scheme of 273 Scandi-style homes. chosen the area include and gym, while a long, Architect PRP’s design seeks to recapture the spirit and Kate Moss, Jude Law and landscaped garden and aesthetic of the original estate, with sleek, white, linear George Michael. upper terraces have views blocks of varying height. Now a small block of ugly towards Hampstead Heath. The homes are being sold by Savills, which has named Seventies flats has made Prices from £7.95 million. the scheme XY — a reference to the site’s position on the way for The Grove Villas, Call 020 8209 1149. “XY co-ordinates” between King’s Cross and Camden stations — and adds that it’s all about connections and a coming together of past and present. The apartments are crisp and contemporary in interior style, with big windows and balconies. A 24-hour Meanwhile, another new development in this newly Visit our online luxury section concierge service is promised, and cafés and low-cost created N1C postcode is Onyx Apartments. HomesAndProperty.co.uk/luxury office space for start-up businesses are part of the mix. This scheme of 117 homes stands on the banks of Prices for XY homes start at £575,000. Call 020 7299 3091. Regent’s Canal and includes glass-walled penthouses. EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2016 55 homesandproperty.co.uk powered by New homes | Homes & Property
DESIGNER FLATS AND CROSSRAIL ARE COMING TO SAVE SLOUGH
SLOUGH has had a bad press over the developers hope so. Crossrail could years. In 1937 poet John Betjeman well be the game-changer. A new protested against the Berkshire station is being built and when the town’s creeping industrialisation line starts operating in 2018, the when he wrote: “Come, friendly journey into the West End will take bombs, and fall on Slough! It isn’t fit just 34 minutes. Already this is giving for humans now.” He later regretted the town a shot in the arm, and more that — and no doubt locals are tired improvements are likely to follow. of hearing it repeated. Verona, above, one of several new Home to Europe’s largest trading town centre apartment schemes, has estate, Slough was more recently 132 Kelly Hoppen-designed flats From £575,000: XY flats, above and top. Onyx Apartments, portrayed as a soulless wasteland in priced from £227,500. Call Connells left, beside Regent’s Canal, include glass-walled penthouses TV sitcom The Office, workplace of on 01753 694153. David Brent. But if it isn’t pretty, it is King’s Reach, another Slough Prices from £675,000. Call Cushman and Wakefield on pool, cinema suite and 24-hour concierge. Prices here cheap, well-connected along the M4 scheme, includes houses with up to 020 7355 8172. start from £740,000, and completion is scheduled for corridor and is poised to turn the four bedrooms priced from £469,995. Complementing all of this is King’s Cross Quarter, 2018. For more information call Regal Homes on 020 tables on its critics. At least, Call Bellway on 0845 6760260. comprised of 118 apartments plus a gym, spa, swimming 7328 7171.
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