Wednesday, 22 October 2008

US embassy moves A major to shopping Page 4 centre opens Westfield: page 6 and page 16

Check out tartan Page 12

The Maine chance Page 8

Mum’s the word ParrishRobert A Bermondsey warehouse becomes home: page 20 2 PROPERTY Evening Standard Homes & Property Wednesday, 22 October 2008

Visit our great website: homesandproperty.co.uk

CENTRAL FOR LESS THAN £350,000 was once for the super-rich but now you can buy a smart new-build home in Marylebone, Soho, Covent Garden or Bloomsbury, while Victoria and Euston are becoming desirable regeneration areas. Visit www.homesandproperty.co.uk.

WHY I LIVE IN: KENTISH TOWN Many Londoners are not quite sure where Kentish Town is but writer and resident Harry Mount makes the position clear. He loves this “utterly unponcey part of

town”. Read Harry Mount’s London at Barry Phillips www.homesandproperty.co.uk/hotareas.

SMALL PLACES, BIG IDEAS Most of us are living in homes that are smaller than we would like. Find out how you ■ Buying in central London is no can make a big impact on your living space ■ Real and cool ■ Make smaller with clever design ideas at www.homes longer just for the super-rich andproperty.co.uk/yourspace. Kentish Town spaces work

BUY OF THE WEEK A full house Streatham style A Chelsea flat for £160,000 is among the bargains in the biggest-ever auction sales this autumn, says David Spittles

HE auction catalogues are, this autumn, larger than ever and telling the property story that buyers want to hear. Owners, desperate to sell, are offering great opportunities in the Allsop T30 October sale, with 670 properties. Highlights include a studio flat in Chelsea Manor Street, Guide price, £575,000: a Fulham house (Lot 39, Allsop) SW3, with a guide price of £160,000 and a Victorian town house in Gunter Grove, off the King’s Road, expected to stucco Regency house in Fulham Road with land at the fetch £750,000. A purpose-built ex-local authority flat over- rear for development potential. Guide price, £700,000. looking Woolwich Common has a guide price of £60,000. Savills is also selling a huge, 2,218sq ft, five-bedroom OR good value, style and location, take a look ■Property: The number of repossessions going under the hammer mansion flat in Finchley Road, Hampstead. Guide price, at this tasteful home in Streatham, SW16 — two-bedroom yours for less than £320,000. The double has almost doubled during the past year but not all proper- £880,000. Weekenders searching for a rural wreck to reno- house ties are “distress” sales. Housing charities and local coun- vate or a seaside home should check out the Clive Emson reception room is a successful mix of wood auction. This firm covers Kent, Sussex and Hampshire, Ffloors, white walls and exposed brick ■Price: £319,950 and also sells self-build plots, even parcels of woodland. fireplaces in the sitting and dining areas, along ■ ‘Owners, desperate to sell, A one-acre plot in Tonbridge has a guide price of £10,000. with French windows out to a good-sized garden. Agent: are offering great opportunities Sacketts Hill Farmhouse in Broadstairs offers the chance Dark floor tiles contrast with beech units in the Foxtons to restore a listed home and redevelop a Dutch barn, stable kitchen, which is next to a ground-floor bathroom (020 8772 8000) in the Allsop sale’ block and goatshed alongside it. Guide price, £440,000. fitted with a separate walk-in shower. There are two Andrews & Robertson is auctioning a number of Peabody generous bedrooms upstairs. cils are still offloading handsome terrace houses. And flats, including one on at the Fulham Palace Road estate, Lively Streatham High Road with its shops and more private individuals are going down the auction route W6. A cottage in Choumert Square, part of Peckham’s restaurants is only a stroll away, and for train to sell “surplus” second homes. Holly Grove conservation area, has a £150,000 guide price. services, Streatham Common is the nearest station. “Auction prices started to decline before the fall in the Faye Greenslade main housing market. Values are now close to what many AUCTION DATES experienced buyers believe is realistic,” says Paul Mooney Allsop: 30 October (020 7494 3686); Savills: 27 October of Savills. “We’ll reach the bottom sooner than agents will.” (020 7824 9091); Clive Emson: 31 October (0845 850 0333); ■ Hampton Court Palace and St Paul’s Cathedral are not on the World Competitive bidding is predicted for a triple-fronted Andrews & Robertson: 29 October (020 7703 4401). Monuments Fund Watch List as reported in the magazine last week ITALIAN CLASSICS DIRECT.COM LTD ITALIAN DESIGNER SOFA BEDS - 200TO CLEAR - SAVE UP TO 70% New York Colorado was £599.00 was £695.00 00 now from £299.00 now £499.

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SWAP SHOP WHO’S MOVING Hirnant, Wales THE breath- taking scenery of the Berwyn range of mountains and homes gossip surrounding hills can be enjoyed from this pretty 14th century Welsh A stellar conversion by Compton Miller farmhouse. It is located in the hamlet of Hirnant, an idyllic spot close to Lake Vyrnwy. ASHION designer Stella McCartney is a canny lady when it comes Its previous use as a guesthouse means that all to property. Three years ago, she bought a run-down Notting Hill four bedrooms have en-suite bathrooms, while the students’ hostel for £4 million, gambling that she could obtain spacious lounge, dining room and kitchen all have F plenty of character, including original beams. planning consent to convert it into a family home. “Stella won permission and was then deluged by property developers Workshop space and glorious gardens complete wanting to buy the site off her,” reports a neighbour. “Instead, she has the picture. Gobowen station (22 miles away) has spent a year converting it into a home for her husband, Alasdhair Willis, trains to Euston that take three hours. and their three children. It’s now worth about £7.5 million.” Balfours (01691 655334) is asking £350,000. Six years ago, the daughter of Beatle Sir Paul spent £1 million on a decrepit Victorian chapel in . She transformed it into an award-winning HQ for her fashion, perfume and accessories empire. Bostock, Cheshire The grand, NDERCOVER millionaire former country Hilary Devey, star of the estate of Bostock C4’s The Secret Millionaire, Hall in Cheshire U has been in which tycoons live in poor areas to give money to deserving converted into causes, has rewarded herself with apartments, an £850,000 Moroccan holiday providing the home through Aylesford. aristocratic Her Berber-style four-bedroom lifestyle at a steal. villa, with a walled garden and This one, set on the first and second floors of the swimming pool, is on former hall is yours for £380,000. An elegant drawing room Mayfair restaurateur Nicky AP and kitchen/breakfast room is on the first level. Stairs lead to two double bedrooms and two Kerman’s Domaine Dar Chmicha Hilary Devey Stella McCartney and Sir Paul development near Marrakech. bathrooms. A private garage and the use of 14 acres The Bentley-driving divorcée of impressive grounds with a lake is included. founded her £100 million haulage London from nearby Northwich takes three company, Pall-Ex, in 1996. Her main hours by train. Through Jackson Stops & Staff with her daughter Misty Kyd and says a close friend. “In his Red Fleming in the children’s novel (01244 328361). home is one wing of Rangemore her boyfriend, celebrity chef Room library he played host to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and later Hall, a Victorian Grade II listed Bryn Williams. such politicians as Ronald filmed as a musical starring Dick Faye Greenslade mansion near Burton-on-Trent. “Builders used to come in to do Reagan, Lady Thatcher and Van Dyke and Sally Ann Howes. work on the house and see all my Henry Kissinger.” The Grade II listed mansion, with INGER-SONGWRITER Sharleen platinum discs on the walls,” she One snag: prospective buyers planning permission for six new Spiteri has developed the says. “Suddenly, their prices would must first satisfy the building’s houses, is set in 25-acre grounds, Sperfect trick for keeping triple.” The solution? The Glasgow- board of directors that they are which include an Italianate water maintenance bills down at the born merchant seaman’s daughter “the right sort of owner”, say garden, a terraced rose garden north London home she shares shipped her trophies off to her agents Bective Leslie Marsh. and four cottages. parents’ home on Loch Lomond. “They’re unlikely to accept anyone Editor: Janice Morley whose presence might attract the paparazzi.” Deputy Editor: Philippa Stockley ILLIAM F Buckley Jnr was Advertisement Manager: Louise McGaffigan a Right-wing American Wlegend who founded the IGHAM Park, one of Britain’s Editorial: 020 7938 6714/7245; advertising: 020 7938 7247 political magazine National finest Palladian stately www.homesandproperty.co.uk Review in 1955 and hosted the homes, is for sale through H Homes & Property, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, hard-hitting TV show Firing Line Strutt & Parker for £5.5 million. for 33 years. The recently restored Canterbury Kensington, London W8 5TT Now, seven months after his property, dating from 1320, was death, aged 82, his magnificent owned in the Twenties by Visit www.homesandproperty.co.uk for details of our usual promotion rules. When you respond to promotions, offers four-bedroom duplex on Park millionaire racing driver Count AP Avenue, Manhattan is for sale at Louis Zborowski, who built the or competitions, the Evening Standard and its sister companies Sharleen Spiteri £14.2 million. “Bill was a brilliant first aero-engined racing car there. Dick Van Dyke may contact you with relevant offers and services that may be of interest. Please give your mobile number and/or email address if intellectual who lived like a lord,” This was immortalised by Ian you would like to receive such offers by text or email.

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*Computer generated image for illustration purposes only. In line with our policy of continuous improvement we reserve the right to alter the layout, building style, landscaping and specification at any time without notice. Show apartment interior at St James Square 4 NEW HOMES Evening Standard Homes & Property Wednesday, 22 October 2008 The eagle has landed in

HE American embassy’s decision The US embassy is leaving to quit Mayfair’s Grosvenor Square and migrate south to a neglected Mayfair to become a semi-industrial strip that currently T boasts only a derelict power neighbour of Battersea station, a much-loved dogs’ home and a wholesale fruit and vegetable market is Dogs’ Home, and Nine one of the more startling property decisions of recent years. Elms gets a Tube link, US ambassador Robert Tuttle has con- firmed that his embassy has bought a five- says David Spittles acre site at Nine Elms in a deal with

‘The £500 million embassy site could become London’s most expensive homes’

developer Ballymore, which will build a mix of homes, offices and leisure spaces around a new embassy complex. The project will create a big investment wave south of the river, kickstarting long- awaited regeneration of what should be a key London area, and at the same time it will free From £350,000: Weston Homes is building 267 homes at Bridges Wharf, Battersea. Call 0845 638 5005 up the existing super-prime Mayfair site The power station is London’s best-known “ruin” owned on a 999-year lease by the US embassy. The West End site is not yet on the market sits alongside factory sheds and but it is thought it could sell for £500 million run-down — but still working — wharves. Top tip: focus on a ‘raw’ location if redeveloped for luxury homes, likely to Here, too, is the 57-acre New Covent Garden become the world’s most expensive. Mayfair Market, a huge Royal Mail depot, acres of residents, at present blighted by road DESPITE it being a rather raw low-rise business estates and anonymous- closures and concrete and steel barricades location, bold homebuyers looking commercial premises and railway protecting the embassy, will surely rejoice at and investors who commit sidings. It is a stark contrast to the posh and the Americans’ surprise departure. to the Nine Elms area now, primped Pimlico waterfront on the opposite especially at this low point bank of the river. in the property cycle, should ‘A sparkling new riverbank “No other central district provides such a stand to reap rewards in the large-scale opportunity to create a sparkling years to come. neighbourhood’ new neighbourhood where people can live, In time, Nine Elms could The new home of the embassy will be part of work and socialise,” says Edward Lister, even become an embassy the Nine Elms Opportunity Area in SW8. leader of Wandsworth council. quarter, leading to a more London Mayor Boris Johnson inherited this Already, two “book-end” developments — St upmarket area with higher development framework from Ken Living- George’s Wharf at Vauxhall and Chelsea priced homes and greatly stone. It covers, in total, about 450 acres, big- Bridge Wharf at the Battersea end — have improved amenities. ger than Battersea Park itself, with a helped prepare Nine Elms for a fresh start. Elm Quay Court, built in projected building programme of at least the Eighties, is the only Alex Lentati 3,500 new homes. A £4 billion masterplan completed residential Nine Elms is dominated by magnificent development at Nine Elms. Battersea Power Station, London’s most Treasury Holdings, Irish owner of the power Barratt is building Viridian high-profile ruin, and is the last remaining station and 38 acres of precious land sur- — 181 apartments right section of run-down riverbank left in rounding it, recently unveiled an updated The Grosvenor Square US embassy plans to move within the next five years opposite the power station. central London. £4 billion masterplan. If it comes to fruition, Prices start from £249,950 for Viewed from this new community will have hundreds of a small studio. Form more information, call over the Thames, creating a dramatic if rather a the Thames, homes, shopping malls, hotels, cafés and a 020 3177 1052. muscular architectural presence very close to the Nine Elms looks “green” office quarter, contained in project One-bedroom apartments at Chelsea Bridge more modest hulk of the MI6 headquarters. stuck in a Sev- called The Ecodome and featuring a 1,000ft Wharf are priced from £460,000. Call Berkeley Aquarius House, the final phase of St George flats, enties time- glass “chimney”, taller than Canary Wharf. Homes on 020 7720 4000 for more details. At has been released. Prices start from £399,950. Call warp. The The chimney (dubbed The Funnel by some St George Wharf, a series of tower blocks loom 020 7627 8699 for more details. power station sceptics) will lift sun-warmed air up through

‘We cut spending to raise our deposit’ FIRST-time buyers Beverley Chappell and David Thomas saved for two years to get on the property ladder in Battersea. “We cut down on going out, taking holidays and buying new clothes and managed to get a substantial deposit,” says Beverley, 26, an accountant who works in Chelsea. The couple bought at The Quadrangle. “We can’t afford to furnish the flat yet; we are moving in with literally a bed and some beanbags, but we see it as a great investment for the future.” The Quadrangle is part new-build, part £362,5000: homes at The Quadrangle. Call 020 7720 8077 factory refurbishment, with 52 flats clustered around private courtyard Kingsway Square is a redevelopment of a listed gardens. Prices start at £362,500. Call Victorian college, formerly Battersea Polytechnic. estate agent Douglas Gordon on 020 Prices are from £325,000. Call 0870 850 7674. 7720 8077 for more information. Orion, being built by developer Higgins Homes, Two other schemes at Battersea Park comprises three modern-design blocks of Road are in progress and are also worth apartments. Prices start at £275,000. Call on 020 investigating by prospective buyers. 7223 5621 for more details. Beverley Chappell moved in with only a bed and beanbags but believes the flat is a great investment Evening Standard Homes & Property Wednesday, 22 October 2008 NEW HOMES 5 Battersea

An office-clad glass chimney dubbed “The Funnel” and taller than Canary Wharf, will rise above a new Ecodome offices while drawing fresh air into the dome been earmarked as a prime development complex below, thus greatly reducing energy candidate too. The land alongside is already costs, say its designers. controlled by developer Ballymore and includes, incongruously, a smart and glittery New Tube link Jack Barclay high-end car showroom which is the precise location of the new US embassy. Also proposed is a new spur off the Northern Relocation of the embassy could take up to line, from Kennington, to link the power sta- five years and has to be approved by the US tion site to the Tube network — to cater for Congress. “I’m excited about America playing 25,000 employee commuters. At the moment, a role in the regeneration of the South Bank,” there is no Tube line running through says Ambassador Tuttle, adding that security Battersea. and environmental considerations made the This vital transport link will help unite Bat- site “ideal”. An international design competi- tersea’s grey hinterland with the more glam- tion will be held to create a showpiece build- orous riverside apartment complexes built in ing “fit for the 21st century”. recent years. For all this, American diplomats are Wandsworth council and English Heritage unlikely to relish the move from five-star have yet to approve the Nine Elms scheme but Mayfair to a compound in gritty Battersea, the planning signals are said to be “positive”. even though the new embassy will be closer to Meanwhile, the government is backing a MI6 headquarters, Parliament and the major redevelopment of the sprawling New Battersea heliport — handy for visiting VIPs Covent Garden Market, where wholesale and presidents. traders (who have not yet chosen their devel- oper partner), are proposing a “once-in-a-life- time” scheme of homes, offices and business LMOST certainly there will be space. There will be a continuing food pres- intense debate about security ence in the form of a new “food exchange”, measures and the impact on local farmers’ market and museum. Some 250 com- residents and businesses. The Bat- panies (2,800 employees) are currently based Atersea Society, a local amenity at the site, which opened in 1974 after the orig- group, welcomes the “regeneration inal market in Covent Garden closed down. dividend” but fears the area could be turned Royal Mail is rationalising its property into “Fortress Nine Elms” rather than “a portfolio and the Nine Elms sorting depot has civilised and humane public realm.

TREASURY Holdings’ masterplan for the 38-acre Battersea Power Station site will include the highest ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ FOR MORE FABULOUS NEW HOMES, VISIT ✰ structure in the capital, a glass chimney that draws warm air from an “Ecodome” commercial complex ✰ ✰ ✰ homesandproperty.co.uk/newhomes ✰ ✰ below up through offices, greatly reducing energy use. This could be the embassies new view

A TASTE OF WHAT’S ON OFFER

From £325,000: the entrance and a living room at Kingsway Square, the redevelopment of From £350,000 for a one-bedroom flat up to £1. 25 million for a penthouse: a selection of modern apartments Battersea Polytechnic, a listed Victorian college building on Battersea Road. Call 0870 850 7674 are available in the riverside development by Western Homes at Bridges Wharf in Battersea. Call 0845 638 5005 6 AREA WATCH Evening Standard Homes & Property Wednesday, 22 October 2008 Biggest and best

The huge Westfield shopping centre brings a touch of class to White City — now a destination of choice, says Anthea Masey

HEPHERD’S Bush will never be the Shepherd’s Bush landmarks include the bright same again. The buzz on the streets is yellow Princess Victoria pub (above), a heralding the opening next week of fashionable haven where media workers dine, , the giant new £1.6 bil- and the Bush Theatre (below) Slion White City shopping centre in Shep- herd’s Bush, the largest in London, that will shift the luxury-shopping gravity westward and rival Knightsbridge. Top labels Louis Vuit- ton, Tiffany and Mulberry are already dressing their windows with lavish displays of credit- crunch defying merchandise. This new temple to shopping with its vast undu- lating roof, designed to resemble a pebble Shopping at Westfield London is designed to be a luxurious, stress-free and pleasurable experience dropped in water, will have two huge department stores, 260 shops, 50 restaurants, a 13-screen cin- empire is here, as is Global Radio, the country’s Large Victorian houses overlooking the green ema and a spa. largest commercial radio company with stations sell for £1 million to £2.5 million. In the surround- A giant, marble-floored atrium the size of a Heart, LBC, Classic FM and Capital. The new ing area there are more Victorian houses and football pitch anchors the covered shopping stripy yellow Allford Hall Monaghan Morris- some cottages. A three-bedroom cottage in centre but most of the restaurants will be designed headquarters for Accessorize is there, Masbro Road sells for between £600,000 and arranged around an external street and will stay too, and the Louise T Blouin Institute gallery in a £750,000. Towards West Kensington there is a open until midnight, giving local residents a new former warehouse building. good choice of spacious flats in roads such as Sin- night-time venue as well as daytime destination. There are pretty Victorian cottages and three- clair Road, where prices vary between £200,000 New transport links will bring benefits to the storey terrace houses around Treadgold Street, and £500,000. area. There is a new Tube station at Wood Lane, which sell for £550,000 and more. St James’s Gar- There are interesting shops along Shepherd’s on the Hammersmith and City line; the Tube sta- dens with its church, communal garden and vil- Bush Road near Brook Green, such as Oliver tion at Shepherd’s Bush on the Central line has lage charm offers Notting Hill-style five-storey Bonas. Holloways of Ludlow sells everything been completely redesigned and now contains a houses for about £2.5 million. from old-fashioned light switches to Belfast sinks. new overground station on the . Along Blythe Road, two interiors shops offer The shopping centre will act as a catalyst for the Shepherd’s Bush design services: Echo Interiors and Innes & regeneration of the now largely derelict area Innes. The Havelock Tavern in Masbro Road is a Alex Lentati between and the West Cross route. With its colourful and bustling market, Shep- favourite gastropub. A masterplan prepared by Dutch architect Rem herd’s Bush is lively and edgy. Large houses have Koolhaas includes more than 3,000 new homes, long been converted into flats and many have Brackenbury Village offices, a hotel, a school, cafés and restaurants been turned back into fine family homes between and is now with the local Uxbridge Road and Goldhawk Road. One bed- Brackenbury Village lies between King Street council, GLA and the room flats start at about £225,000; large family and Goldhawk Road, an enclave of mainly two- landowners. houses in popular Boscombe Road go for between and three-storey houses with Brackenbury Road Shepherd’s Bush, with its £975,000 and £1.7 million; and between £700,000 at its centre. Two- and three-bedroom terrace cot- traffic jams and scruffy and £1.1 million in nearby Findon Road. tages in a typical street such as Carthew Road green, is not one of the capi- Music- and theatre-lovers are well served. The sell for between £600,000 and £865,000, but expect tal’s most attractive areas but Shepherd’s Bush Empire is a top London music to pay £1.5 million and more for a house overlook- sits cheek by jowl with neigh- venue; the Bush Hall offers eclectic music and ing popular Ravenscourt Park. bourhoods that have their comedy; while the Bush Theatre is one of The Brackenbury is the kind of local restaurant own individuality. The vast London’s leading fringe theatres. The Patio, every neighbourhood should have. Under the rail- BBC buildings nearby mean a local Polish restaurant in Goldhawk Road, is way arches, next to the park, Ginkho Gardens is that most of the streets a bit of an institution and the Bush Bar and Grill an adventurous garden centre selling mature between its headquarters in in the same street is reopening in November after trees and large pots. Wood Lane to the north and a face-lift. Hammersmith to the south The Wallflower Estate have been densely populated Brook Green with arty types since the The Wallflower Estate is a pretty but little-known Seventies. Brook Green is a pretty open space off Shep- enclave of Arts and Crafts-influenced houses. Sit- herd’s Bush Road. A cluster of popular schools uated south of Westway and west of the giant Latimer Road overlooks the green: the One World Montessori White City estate, the streets are all named after Nursery; Bute House, a girls’ prep school; and flowers: Lilac Street, Clematis Street, Daffodil Latimer Road on the east side L’Ecole Française de Londres Jacques Prévert, a Street and Hemlock Road. Three-bedroom terrace of the West Cross route is French primary school, plus top-performing St houses sell for between £320,000 and £425,000. separated from Notting Hill Paul’s Girls’ School. The playground on Brook Green is where by an area of council housing and a number of The playground in the green is where parents of children and parents gather after school radio station headquarters. The Crysalis music younger children gather after school. For more on Westfield, see page 16

WHAT’S ON OFFER

£345,000: Sinclair Road, W14. A large second-floor, one-bedroom flat, near to Westfield shopping centre. Through Foxtons (020 7616 7000)

£875,000: Cambridge Grove, Hammersmith, W6. A £449,950: Lilac Street, W12. A three- £299,950: Aynhoe Road, Brook three-bedroom town house with landscaped garden. bedroom house with conservatory. Through Green, W14. A two-bedroom flat. Through Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward (020 8563 9633) Churchill Estates (020 8749 9798) Through Winkworth (020 7371 4466) Evening Standard Homes & Property Wednesday, 22 October 2008 AREA WATCH 7

‘We are great fans of the in the west neighbourhood’

Sophie Gill finds Brook Green a family-friendly area that is in

Elaine Sutton the middle of everything

WEBSITE editor Sophie Gill, 38, and South Kensington and on my way her partner, journalist Alexander home I often take a lovely route Stephens, 42, discovered Brook through .” Green six years ago when they Sophie and Alexander enjoy the bought a four-storey terrace house local amenities. At the weekend, in the area. there are long walks along the “We are great fans of the Thames to Barnes; and their local neighbourhood,” says Sophie. “It’s gastropub, the Havelock, is one of a quiet, family-friendly place but you the best in London. “There is also are also in the middle of everything. the picturesque Queen’s Head “The Piccadilly line from overlooking Brook Green, which has Hammersmith takes you straight to a lovely pub garden. Heathrow; you can catch a train to “On Shepherd’s Bush Road, Snow’s Gatwick from Olympia; and the Tube on the Green is a restaurant for from Hammersmith or Shepherd’s special occasions, while Oliver Bonas Bush gets you to central London in is good for clothes and gifts,” says less than half an hour. Sophie. Other favourites include “I walk or cycle to work. It takes HG Walter, an organic butcher next 25 minutes to walk to my office in to Baron’s Court Tube station.

FOR MORE HOTAREAS, VISIT homesandproperty.co.uk/hotareas Westfield London is the largest city shopping centre. It wants to draw the top-end market away from well-established Knightsbridge

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IVE years ago, Mark Berry and his six brothers and sisters bought a mountain — The Berry family bought as you do — in Maine, in the north-east corner of the US. The family mountain is a mountain in Maine and Fcalled Saddleback and covers 8,000 acres of turned it into a ski resort, glorious forests and lakes. Now Berry is trying to persuade British buyers in search of natural, wild beauty to journey across the says Cathy Hawker Atlantic and buy a few bargain acres of America. “I have skied here since I was three,” says Berry, now in his fifties. “When the mountain came up local firm with a 20-year structural guarantee. for sale we clubbed together with our parents and Richard Jennings of New England Concepts says bought it. It’s a beautiful place that provides good its aim is to provide keen pricing on modern skiing and good value.” homes in a year-round resort. The family paid £4.4 million for Saddleback and Saddleback is a four-hour drive north from has spent £16.6 million to date adding new lifts, Boston, a distance that Jennings admits deters accommodation and cutting new pistes. “Our goal some would-be buyers. “But once you are here here is to take advantage of the 8,000 acres with- it’s very special,” he argues. “There are more out wrecking the wonderful wildness of the moose than people. If you are looking for some- mountain,” says Berry. “Unlike many US resorts, where like Chamonix or Courchevel with the ski trails meander through the trees.” designer shops, then this is not for you. This is You will be thankful for the trees if you ski about extraordinary natural beauty.” there because temperatures on the 4,120ft moun- tain can drop to an eye-watering minus-30 degrees Celsius. Snowfalls begin as the autumnal ‘There are more moose than leaves tumble and last well into April, averaging people and no designer shops. 200 inches a year. But the long season means good rentals from the American family market while It’s all about natural beauty’ summers are equally action-packed. There are 60 lakes within an hour and hikers, bikers and Seven miles down from Saddleback Mountain, outdoor fiends have plenty to occupy them. the small town of Rangeley is a popular summer Saddleback is selling property from £91,440 for destination. James Eastlack of local agent Morton From £197,850: a lodge at Saddleback Mountain, Maine. Call Saddleback Village on 001 207 864 3881 one-bedroom apartments and, from £197,850, four- & Furbish says prices today are lower than last bedroom semi-detached homes. Accommodation year and sales have slowed but, as a predominantly is spacious and well finished, with lake or moun- second-home destination, there haven’t been the and access to good skiing on the mountain. homes have good views over Rangeley Lake and tain views. drastic falls suffered elsewhere in America. That’s what keeps our values.” Eastlack has easy access to the simple bars and restaurants in UK-based agent New England Concepts has one- “We are a resort market, so sellers can gener- three-bedroom chalets in one-acre plots for town. As at Saddleback, these properties are to three-acre plots at Saddleback with new ally afford to be patient,” says Eastlack. “Range- £166,260 and lakefront cottages for £277,100. New open-plan and combine traditional New England detached houses from £277,100. The properties are ley is a four-seasons resort benefiting from a England Concepts is selling off-plan lodges with architecture with modern interior design. modular: pre-fabricated wooden chalets built by a deep-water lake stocked with salmon and trout three bedrooms for £202,280. These handsome Maine bills itself as the Pine Tree State, with 90 per cent of the state heavily forested. The 3,500-mile rocky coastline is the longest of any US state and there are state parks and lakes galore. £210,620: You won’t find too many bright lights in western THE MAINE ATTRACTIONS four-bedroom Maine. Even on a night out most people wear noth- house on ing flashier than checked shirts and jeans but at Rangeley Lake. Saddleback you’ll see moose, deer, bald eagles and Location Access Through even an occasional black bear. If you like peace, Morton & quiet, snow and overwhelming natural beauty, Maine covers 35,380 square miles and is the Most visitors from London arrive in Boston on Furbish (001 then that four-hour drive may just be worth it. largest of the six New England states (the daily Virgin Atlantic, American Airlines or BA 207 864 5777) others are Massachusetts, Rhode Island, flights and drive north to Maine. Bangor Contacts: Connecticut, New Hampshire and Vermont). It airport is two hours from Saddleback and there ■ Saddleback Village: 001 207 864 3881; is the most easterly state of the US, bordering are 35-minute flights on Delta from Boston. FACT FILE www.saddlebackvillage.com. the Atlantic Ocean to the south and east, New ■ Buying costs average £1,385. ■ New England Concepts: 01423 816155; Hampshire to the west and Canada to the north. Climate ■ www.newenglandconcepts.com. Maine is known for its rocky coastline, Annual maintenance fees at Saddleback and ■ Morton & Furbish: 001 207 864 5777; exceptional seafood and vast, unpopulated The western region of Maine has a humid Rangeley Lakes average £1,163 to £1,607. www.morton-furbish.com. inland forests. Saddleback and Rangeley lakes continental climate. Expect humid summers ■ Saddleback Mountain has 64 trails with are both in the Western Maine Mountains, 230 with temperatures averaging 25 degrees 12 “top to bottom slopes”, including a three-mile miles north of Boston. Saddleback, at 4,120ft, is Celsius, while winters are cold with average green (beginner) one. A day ski pass is £22 and FOR MORE HOMES ABROAD, VISIT one of seven ski mountains in New England. temperatures of minus-11 degrees Celsius. a season pass is £221. homesandproperty.co.uk 10 ISSUE Evening Standard Homes & Property Wednesday, 22 October 2008

Left: the revamped St Pancras Station picked up the conservation award

Right: the Stirling Prize went to Accordia, a housing development that encourages a sense of community

Stirling stuff

HE most prestigious architec- tural award in the world, the Inspiring new housing designs win the top Stirling Prize, went to hous- ing, and an unusual develop- architectural award. Philippa Stockley reports Tment by a team of three architects from different my recent report for Homes & Prop- building 120,000 new homes a year, it is Tim Crocker firms, who built homes on a challeng- erty from Venice. essential that they are designed to be ing brownfield site in Cambridgeshire. The presence of Communities Secre- enjoyable to live in rather than merely They received tumultuous applause tary Hazel Blears proves this area’s cost-effective. It is also vital that the from the vast audience at the televised importance as a vote-winner. Good right housing is built in the right awards ceremony held in Liverpool housing design — one of the most cru- places. The glut of buy-to-let flats last week. cial ingredients in anyone’s life — has shows what can happen when there is Bradley, Alison Brooks and Maccre- togetherness, and there is even an The Stirling (named after architect for too long been in the architectural too little thought for design and too anor Lavington. Each firm took annual Accordia cricket match. James Stirling, who built the Clore doldrums. As a consequence, many of much focus on profit margins. responsibility for different sets of Following the welcome trend for sus- Gallery at Tate Britain in Pimlico) was the results have been disastrous. Accordia is an unusual development homes within the high-density devel- tainable materials, Accordia uses a lot awarded to Accordia, tipped to win in Given the UK’s ambitious target of involving architects Feilden Clegg opment, creating variety and rhythm, of brick (as well as lovely copper), internally and externally, and although since the original, golden fulfilling human need for choice. Cambridge bricks are no longer made, JOIN THE HOMES & PROPERTY DEBATE ON FLOODING The landscaping the bricks report- was also consid- edly came from ered from the ‘Residents report a Germany. start, to create Accordia beat off COME along, have a glass of wine and debate the pressing enjoyable sur- sense of togetherness, a stunning curvy problem of flooding, on 29 October at the Building Design

Thames Gateway - Communities roundings that set of train sta- Centre, Clerkenwell. The debate, This House believes the discourage crime and there is even an tions in Innsbruck Thames Gateway Area is Sunk, is held in association with and anti-social with mesmerising

Building Futures, the RIBA think-tank, and the Institution of and Local Government behaviour and annual cricket match’ glass canopies, by Civil Engineers and chaired by Homes & Property deputy include private Zaha Hadid, and editor Philippa Stockley. gardens and communal play space the hotly tipped Westminster Academy Flooding is increasing each year as the ice caps melt and for children. with its bold, green horizontal stripes. river levels rise, made worse by surface run-off of water. Carefully arranged terrace family The newly revamped St Pancras Are we dealing with it well enough to stop London going houses encourage communication Station scooped the conservation award under in the years to come? How much arable land will between residents. There are also flats from the Crown Estate. Lastly, a new be spoiled by waterlogging? Rising Thames water levels are a major worry for London and workshops, again intended to and much needed award for public Should homes be built on stilts, or the Thames Barrier make an environment has immediate space awarded by the Commission for fortified? Can we design our way out of this mess, or HOW TO GET TICKETS benefits and actively promotes the Architecture and the Built environ- should we look at old-fashioned methods such as The free event takes place at the BDP Hub, 16 Brewhouse growth of a real community. It works: ment went to the Old Market Square preserving the natural wetlands and flood plains? Yard, Clerkenwell, EC1, on 29 October at 7pm. Wine is residents report a real sense of in Nottingham. Speakers include Tom Crossett of the National Flood served from 6.45pm. The nearest Tube station is Forum, Greg Haigh, the head of ARUP Maritime, and Farringdon. To attend or find out about Building Futures at Professor Colin Fournier from the Bartlett School, the RIBA, call 020 7307 5350, email buildingfutures@ FOR MORE ON ARCHITECTURE, VISIT University College London. inst.riba.org, or visit www.buildingfutures.org.uk. homesandproperty.co.uk Evening Standard Homes & Property Wednesday, 22 October 2008 SHOPPING 11

Book of ▲ the week Designed for Kids: A Complete Sourcebook of Stylish Products for the Modern Family, by Phyllis Richardson It’s (Thames & Hudson, £18.95) Now that we can buy almost everything online, parents in search of fun and funky items for their children will be able to find and buy them more child’s easily with this book. It includes state-of-the-art strollers, LED nightlights,

WallCandy Arts puzzle furniture, cutlery trays, space-age sleep stations and colourful “learning walls” play (pictured left). Design news by Katie Law ▲ Bowled over ▲ Caroline Swift Cutting-edge giveaway worth £400 This multi-talented designer launched her first collection Zwilling at the autumn design A good-quality knife is an investment. The new Twin Cuisine exhibition Tent. It includes kitchen knives by German manufacturer Zwilling are super-sharp, delicate, unglazed milky- since they are made using special ice-hardened stainless steel. They white porcelain teaspoons, are designed with ergonomically shaped handles and come with a tea lights and bowls. The lifetime guarantee. Prices start at £43 for a peeling knife. small bowls start from For details of stockists, call 01923 635440. Zwilling is giving away a £18 each and the spoons are butcher’s block and eight knives worth £400. Visit www.homes £48 a pair. Swift also makes andproperty.co.uk/offers. The offer closes on 5 November. delicate hanging porcelain leaves and flowers in muted grey or off-white. Lust on the ledge Swift, who previously worked as WIN A SET OF HARRODS BED LINEN VALUED AT £138 head of knitwear for Benetton and Book offer Sisley, does a line in fine cashmere Harry Mount’s new book, A Lust for Window Sills — a Lover’s cardigans, too. Presentation and Guide to British Buildings from Portcullis to Pebble-dash (Little, packaging are key elements in her Brown, £12.99) is a charming Betjemanesque ramble through HOMES & Property is delighted to have a set design philosophy, making this Britain’s architectural gems, large and small. It is available for of Harrods’ own Supima cotton collection website an ideal source of gifts. Homes & Property readers for the special price of £10.99, double-duvet sets to give away to five lucky For more information, visit including free p&p (UK mainland only). Call 01832 737525 and readers. Each set, worth £138.90, includes www.carolineswift.com. quote offer ref LB057 with your credit-card details. a double duvet cover and two pillowcases. Supima cotton is a superfine and luxurious 100 per cent extra-long staple cotton with a 460-thread count. Only 0.5 per cent of the Win towels worth £115 world’s entire cotton crop makes the grade.

▲ During October, Harrods’ homeware and Balineum lifestyle floors are offering wonderful The weight of a towel is important, insists discounts, savings and offers with purchases. Sarah Watson, who set up shower-curtain There are also offers in the newly revamped company Balineum. Watson says her new sound and vision department. range of Anatolian towels, which weigh in at a mighty 820gs, should last at least HOW TO ENTER 10 years and dry better. For your chance to win, text HARRODS followed by your email address to 65600.

James Merrell Balineum is giving away five bales, comprising bath sheet, towel, hand towel, Texts cost 50p plus your standard network face cloth and bath mat (worth £115), to five rate. Lines will close at 23:59 on 4 November. readers. The offer closes on 5 November. Alternatively, visit www.homesandproperty. Visit www.homesandproperty.co.uk/offers. co.uk/offers. Supima bed linen has a 460-thread count 12 SHOPPING Evening Standard Homes & Property Wednesday, 22 October 2008 Check out the tartans

Witty and a bit wild, tartans and checks weave their way A mix of Scottish baronial and American country styles make up the Hudson Valley range from Ralph Lauren (www.ralphlauren.co.uk) into the latest home looks, says Barbara Chandler

ARTAN is having a fling this autumn. Girls love it in Stewart of Anta (01862 832477; www.anta.co.uk) has been jazz- scarves, skirts, shirts and handbags. After storming ing it up for 20 years. “Tartan includes a lot of colour but in an down the catwalk it has walked right into the high ordered way,” she explains, putting her pleasing low-key plaids street homeware shops in the shape of checks and onto fabrics, carpets, rugs, paint, stoneware, throws and Tfull-blown plaids for sofas, cushions, curtains, stair cushions. “Our tartans may be new designs but they’re based runners and carpets. on the old faithfuls. We just make them quirky and right “Tartan is wonderfully unisex, as well as cosy and for now.” Tartan is terribly good as the basis for a whole stylish,” says society decorator Nina Campbell. “It room scheme, she adds enthusiastically. Hers are in really is a great British classic, up there with paisley soft worsted wools with romantic names such as and chintz.” Ruaridh Waugh, Iain MacFadyen, Douglas Rae and Traditionally, those much-loved Scottish tartans Castle of Mey. have the same number of stripes in the cloth’s warp Louis In America, Ralph Lauren (the lengthwise threads) as the weft (the ones that Vuitton’s (www.ralphlauren.co.uk) turns out run across). This gives the patterns their famous posh tartan and checks, and has for tartans on “balance” and colour harmony. But the trick is to years. Newly arrived at his Bond box clever, subverting these great grids with high- show at Street shop is the sumptuous Hudson fashion colourways. Campbell (www.ninacamp Paris Valley collection, a mid-Atlantic, bell.com) used tartan for a bar in New York’s Fashion multi-layered melange of Scottish Grand Central Station. “But I lightened and Week baronial and American country with brightened the colours to scarlet, pinks and a few English antiques for good mea- yellows rather than those heavy blues, reds, sure. Walls are lined with a rich plaid greens and blacks.” in red, plum and green, offset with chequered Even Marcel Wanders (aka Wonders) is doing throws and gingham sheets. tartan this year. He’s that just-this-side-of-crazy catwalking.com And the swirl of the classic kilt captivates Dutchman who founded Moooi, which means interior designer Joanna Wood (020 7730 5064; beautiful in Dutch — “but with an extra o for www.joannawood.co.uk). “Traditional tartans extra beauty”. The Moooi mode adds wit and are fantastic for ‘walling’, stretched over battens imagination to everyday objects, shaped by the and cushioned with padding. Don’t be afraid to latest technology. So when Wanders goes for mix them with florals and a crisp white or tartan, you know it must be in. cream,” she says. Find chic tartan acces- The Lomond collection from Osborne & Little includes smart tartan Tartan is one of his wacky new couture sories, including rugs, at Wood’s own shop from £74 a metre (www.osborneandlittle.com) wallpapers, commendably commissioned ‘Tartan includes a in Pimlico, SW1. by those design-driven, old-time paper mer- But beware of tartan overkill, warns chants Graham & Brown (www.graham lot of colour but in Joanne Cassabois, whose curtain/blind BOOK OFFER brown.com). Recoloured in a choice of shop of Prét â Vivre is now at 20 All Saints pink, grey or charcoal, tartan is teamed an ordered way’ Road, Notting Hill, W11 (0845 130 5161; TARTAN by Jonathan Faiers, published by Berg, usually costs with vampish baroque and blousy florals in www.pretavivre.com). “It can seem £29.99 but Homes & Property readers can get it for the special price strangely muted colours but with shots of aggressive. Stick perhaps to smaller areas of £28 including p&p (UK mainland only) by calling 01202 665432 flashy yellow, boudoir pink, brash scarlet and glitzy gold. For such as festive table runners or cushions. Classic two-tone and quoting BT01, or by emailing [email protected]. once, hanging it is a doddle, as you paste the wall not the paper. checks and gingham are easier on the eye and will never go out Scotland, too, is tarting up its tartan. Indeed, designer Annie of fashion,” says Cassabois.

Toasty and warm SNUGGLE down and cosy up: a soft traditional checked blanket is the ultimate winter warmer. No one does it better than Toast, where rescued vintage originals are put back into production at old mills in Yorkshire, Gloucestershire and Wales. Top tip: use one or more blankets as a curtain over a draughty door — no hemming is needed, just sew on rings. For more information, call 0844 557 5200, or visit www.toast.co.uk.

Toast’s tartan wools are so cosy for winter, even the cat can’t resist it Evening Standard Homes & Property Wednesday, 22 October 2008 SHOPPING 13

The Louise collection by Louis de Poortere brings flamboyant modern designs to your floor. Rugs cost from £139 from Modern Rugs (0845 391 Anta’s highly coloured tartan in elegant colourways (01862 832477) 7907; www.modern-rugs.co.uk)

At John Lewis, furnishing adviser Shirley Nichols is also cau- Vibrant tartans tious. “Tartan and bold checks are wonderful for winter but cost from £74 a metre these are distinctive designs and you could be in overdrive. at Osborne & Little Stick to a single statement piece, such as a chair.” You can get (020 7352 1456; expert help from a furnishing adviser free at any John Lewis www.osborneandlittle.com) store (08456 049049; www.johnlewis.com). Tartan has long been a signature fabric at British fashion house Mulberry, where it has lined up market jackets and raincoats, and appeared as bags and generous totes. But the new Imperial collection (for furnishing), sheds tartan’s cosy image, and prints it onto a subtle and sophisticated silk taffeta, teamed with a finely printed linen chintz. Tamer, perhaps, than tartans are simple checks, such as the much-loved “utility” fabrics at Ian Mankin in SW6 and NW1 (020 7722 0997; www.ianmankinonline.co.uk). Laura Ashley is doing sofas and bed linens/throws in checks this autumn. Marina Guirey has brought cotton checks and ginghams from France in pretty blues, reds and naturals. She sells them off Check throws costs £95 the roll at her new Linen Works shop at 131 College Road, from The Dormy House NW10 (020 8961 4900; www.thelinenworks.com). (01264 365808; “Of course, in Sweden, checks can be very sophisti-

Ray Main.co.uk Ray www.thedormyhouse.com) cated,” observes Moussie Sayers, who has more checked fabrics at Nordic Style in Lots Road, SW10 (www.nordicstyle.com). “Typically, that elegant Gustavian Swedish furniture of the 18th Checklist century had checked seats,” she says. ■ Base a colour scheme on tartans. ■ Trim plain curtains and cushions with tartan ribbon and back them with ■ The Original range of Mix tartans with chintz and floral a check. cotton bed linen at “sprigs” for a lighter touch. ■ Do the same for the back, seat and Hästens costs from ■ £33 for pillow cases For that luxury look, add pictures cushions of a chair and sofa. with rich gilt frames. and from £161 for ■ Be bold with oversize checks or duvet covers. Visit ■ Paint a bit of junk furniture high- tartan for changeable throws, www.hastens.com gloss in a single tartan shade. cushions, or a lampshade.

■ Make sure tartans and checks are matched straight across a wall. Malabar’s Oska cotton checks cost FOR MORE INTERIORS IDEAS, VISIT £19.90 a metre. Call 020 7501 4200, or homesandproperty.co.uk/interiors ■ Line walls with tartan fabric. visit www.malabar.co.uk

READER EVENING Weave a spell

LLOYD Loom of Spalding is holding an exclusive The original factory was bombed in the Blitz but evening for Homes & Property readers at 6.30pm after 70 years, Lloyd Loom has a new showroom on 6 November in its Pimlico Road showroom. in London. Enjoy a drink and fascinating short talk about The company employs 64 skilled craftspeople in the history of Lloyd Loom and its place in the Lincolnshire. Each piece is made to order in a modern interior, and see an exclusive preview of range of fabrics and paints, including Farrow & new designs for 2009. There will be a 15 per cent Ball, and is used in the Royal Box at Wimbledon discount on orders placed on the evening. and in Claridge’s Hotel. The Lloyd Loom weave was invented in 1917 by American entrepreneur Marshall Burns Lloyd. To book: there are 20 places for this special First used on prams, by 1922 it was popular in the evening at the Lloyd Loom showroom, 20 Pimlico UK when made into furniture. Road, SW1. Tickets cost £5 and are available by Neither wicker nor willow, Lloyd Loom is woven sending an email to [email protected], or from twisted paper and wire, then upholstered calling 020 7730 6574. For more information, Lloyd Loom weaves are cleverly made from twisted paper and wire onto solid steam-bent beech frames. visit www.lloydloom.com. A sturdy woven chair that will last 16 SHOPPING Evening Standard Homes & Property Wednesday, 22 October 2008 A new homeware heaven

Lifestyle shopping zones and interior-design advisers will make Shepherd’s Bush’s new shopping centre a home-lover’s delight, says Katie Law Debenhams’ room sets at its new Westfield London store will sell “lifestyle shopping”

HOPPERS are to be invited names designing bed linen and other into a merchandising mecca accessories for the store, including when the Westfield London John Rocha, Jasper Conran, Julien A new line in stripes shopping centre in Shep- Macdonald, Betty Jackson and Orla Sherd’s Bush opens its doors Kiely. The store will be launching a on 30 October. The site, which dedicated customer service area is equivalent to four times the size for all home-related queries and Black Ruby cup and saucer costs £7.50 of Wembley Stadium, will have questions. from Marks & Spencer at Westfield 265 shops to choose from, above a car Other big names include House of park with 4,500 spaces. Fraser, with a home area of 6,582sq ft. Homeware shops have their own This will sell its popular Linea range, dedicated area down one side of the an in-house and affordable collection of homeware, along with bed linen, accessories and kitchenware by other Betty Jackson.black at ‘The look of Laura Ashley’s entire designers, such as Clarissa Hulse, Debenhams (0844 561 6161; Ghost, Missoni, Jamie Oliver and www.debenhams.com) includes Betty Jackson’s tall store is inspired by its newest Cath Kidston. the black-and-white stripy bowl vase costs £60 at The two other “anchor” stores are with rustic finish (£40) Debenhams collection for autumn’ Marks & Spencer and Waitrose. M&S will have a home section selling a well- main atrium and many have relocated chosen selection of technology and their flagship stores from other parts electricals, home accessories, kitchen- of London. ware, bed linen, bathroom accessories, affordable and creative Next Home, Oliver Bonas, Paper- The biggest is Debenhams, with soft furnishings, luggage and sta- which will occupy a floor of 10,000sq chase, L’Occi- 110,000sq ft of selling space. Its home tionery. There will also be a small ft. Dwell will come in with its first tane, Crabtree & department has been designed into range of furniture, which the proper boutique of own-brand, Evelyn, Soap & Co, room sets to sell “lifestyle shopping” company hopes to increase in size designer-style furniture, lighting Jo Malone, Neal’s to customers wanting inspiration and next spring. and accessories at a fraction of the Yard and Lush. the complete look. Spanish Zara Home hopes to realise usual price. This will be Dwell’s 12th For fans of home This department store has a higher- its full potential with the arrival of its UK outlet. electricals, there than-average range of well-known shop, and Next moves in with its very The White Company will open a is a Sony store, 1,800sq ft store dedicated to home and while Bose is fashion. Its latest collections opening its first The Linea collection for the include classic Thirties Art stand-alone store. bathroom includes a Deco-inspired bed And the des- square tumbler (£6); linen and home igner label names at Retreat face cloth (£4); the top end of luxury and towels from £10. will be Versace, De Beers, Extra- House of Fraser Calvin Klein, Swarovski, Tiffany, large floral (020 7003 4000; Mulberry, Tag Heuer, Mont Blanc, wall clock (£99) Joseph and Dior. www.houseof from Dwell (0845 The Westfield London concierge fraser. 675 9090; co.uk) team will organise “hands-free” shop- The ping, meaning you can collect every- www.dwell.co.uk) Shell thing from one location, or have items cushion delivered direct to your car or home (£25) is for a minimum charge of £10. from M&S

accessories in rich velvet, silk and READER OFFER cashmere, plus a range of sumptuous modern lighting and a new Winter fra- 10 per cent off at selected shops grance range. FROM 30 October to 12 November the following Habitat is relocating from Kensing- retailers at Westfield London are offering ton, while Laura Ashley is moving its Homes & Property readers an exclusive 10 per cent flagship store from Regent Street to off purchases. the centre, with 6,774sq ft of home- To claim, take this page with you to the shop or ware and fashion, and will also offer download and print it from the website. an interior-design service, starting at Stores taking part are: The White Company £150 a room. The look of the store is (offer excludes furniture), Dwell, Laura Ashley and inspired by its newest collection for House of Fraser. autumn called Metropolitan, which includes a range of sophisticated fab- rics, statement wallpapers and furni- FOR MORE SHOPPING IDEAS, VISIT ture, in varying shades of grey. homesandproperty.co.uk/shopping And among the smaller retailers are Evening Standard Homes & Property Wednesday, 22 October 2008 SHOPPING 17

One lucky reader can win REALLY USEFUL a colourful BiOrb Life ideas & bargains aquarium

Alison Cork takes time outside, finds bargains for the bathroom and gets cooking for winter on a smart range cooker DISCOUNT Reader offer Stand the test of time OF THE WEEK New World is offering one Celebrate the clocks going back with a good-looking outdoor clock. lucky reader the chance to win The Shapps & Coutts Edwardian-style timepiece (£28.95, plus £5 p&p) a fabulous range cooker and offers a touch of vintage style Fish for a calmer environment matching hood worth about by your front door. Homes IF YOU love fish, need to de-stress, or just want to brighten up a £1,000. This contemporary & Property readers can save room, a biOrb Life aquarium from Reef One fits the bill. A 24-hour 100DF model is available in a 10 per cent across the entire lighting cycle provides a healthy environment for fish and choice of two finishes — satin Shapps & Coutts range. fascinating night-time viewing for the owner, and the easy-to- steel or classic charcoal. It has To claim, enter BB45 at the change cartridge filtration system keeps the water crystal clear. eight gas burners on the hob, checkout or mention this Reef One is offering one lucky reader the chance to win an two large ovens and a separate article when you call 01923 aquarium from its biOrb Life collection, worth between £209 and electric grill. 826500, or 07508 409021. £269. To enter, visit www.homesandproperty.co.uk/offers, email To enter, visit www.homes For more information, visit [email protected], or text REEF followed by a space, your andproperty.co.uk/offers or www.shappsandcoutts.com. name and email address to 87233. Texts cost 50p plus your standard text WORLD followed by a Offer ends 20 November. network charge. Competition closes at midnight on 5 November. If space, your name and email you text after the closing date, you will not be entered but will still address to 87233. Texts cost 50p be charged. For more information on Reef One, call 01603 710339, plus your standard network or visit www.reef-one.com. charge. The competition closes Edwardian style from Shapps at midnight on 5 November. If & Coutts costs £28.95 you text after the closing date, you will not be entered but will still be charged. Your turn to recommend Win a New World cooker For more information, Here are some of the tradespeople you have call 0871 222 2635, or visit recommended this week www.newworldappliances.co.uk. ■ Please note that the prize does not include installation or ■Barry Holmes, carpentry services, covering all removal of the existing appliance. London. Call 020 8550 8572 or 07779 666381. ■Credeco, decorator, covering north, east and west London. Call 020 7635 2934, or visit www.credeco.co.uk. ■Seobo Carpenters, builder, covering north, west Let your home grow and south London. Call 07943 748138, or email ARCHITECT Your Home specialises in helping home-owners Seobo on [email protected]. realise the potential in their homes. Its initial consultation For your contacts book: will help kick-start your renovation by providing information For more recommended tradespeople and services and advice, plus a sketched design. Architect Your Home is local to you, visit www.problemsolved.co.uk. offering H&P readers Visit www.homesandbargains.co.uk for great-value a £100 discount on all shopping, and for companies and services, visit initial design www.thereallyusefuldirectory.co.uk. consultations booked during October. Call 0800 849 8505 and mention this page, or visit www.architect Post your feedback yourhome.com. IF YOU have read this page and would like to give feedback (positive or negative) on any of the companies featured, then give us your comments by emailing [email protected] and putting “Really Useful” in the subject line. A plumb line in bathrooms Go on — tell us what you think. Leading bathroom retailer Victoria Plumb specialises in providing luxurious bathrooms at unbeatable prices. Its THE companies listed here are wholly range of products spans complete bathroom suites to independent of the Evening Standard, a division shower heads and enclosures. For example, its 2.95ft of Associated Newspapers Ltd. While care is taken Quadrant Shower Enclosure, with a sliding door that has a to establish that they are bona fide, we cushioned magnetic closure, is only £149. recommend that you carry out your own checks For more information, call 0844 804 4848, or visit before entering into any agreement. www.victoriaplumb.com.

BARGAIN OF THE WEEK Book a new look CLEMARON Wood Interiors has a reputation across the South-East for affordable prices for bespoke studies. Book a free consultation at its Guildford workshop in Surrey to see what you can get for your money. Home to a huge variety of sustainably sourced woods such as zebrano, ebony and rosewood — the studio is perfect for producing bespoke and modern furniture. Clémaron Wood Interiors is offering Homes & Property readers 25 per cent off all its bespoke studies, bookcases and media/home entertainment cabinets until 20 November. To claim, call 01483 201080, or 07970 962151, ask for Claude Clémaron and mention this offer, or send an email to [email protected]. Clémaron Wood Interiors can build a library of your dreams For more information, visit www.clemaron.co.uk. 20 MY HOME Evening Standard Homes & Property Wednesday, 22 October 2008 MY HOME 21

Exposed brickwork and chunky windows contribute to the “industrial chic” look Ikea kitchen units helped interior designer Joanna Young create a home out of a warehouse shell with only a tight budget of £70,000 Factory of good ideas

On a tight budget, a busy mum with bags of imagination has turned a former Bermondsey leather warehouse into a glamorous family home, says Katie Law A Barcelona chair and stool sit comfortably among three important original features that Young insisted should be retained: a sturdy timber staircase, a Victorian iron pulley and an impressive pair of loading bay doors

HEN Joanna Young bought a 1,250sq ft open-plan area for cooking, eating and living. She wanted it to Joanna’s bedroom looks onto Tower Bridge to the right and below, though it is easily closed off with a roller blind. All the slice of a former Bermondsey leather ware- look clean and modern, while retaining original details, such as London Bridge to the left, and has its own tiny decked patio. doors have etched glass and bring in light but retaining privacy. house last year, she knew exactly what she rafters and brickwork, a set of loading bay doors and an iron Young’s compact en-suite wetroom saves space by having a Downstairs, the kitchen gently curves around the original out- was doing. With two teenage children at pulley, not to mention a huge wooden staircase right in the mid- rosehead shower in the centre of the ceiling, while storage side stairwell and has a central island with a hob and oven. The W school in Kent, she needed a home that was dle of the space. The building had been empty for 10 years, so space, with automatic LED lighting, is provided under the white-lacquered units come from Ikea, while the greyish-white close to London Bridge train station to make there was much to be done. rafters, behind white-lacquered wooden doors. polished granite was sourced from a funeral director in Kent. for easy commuting. The warehouse would also fulfil a long- Young says she was determined to keep the stairs. “The archi- Her bedroom leads onto a landing. On one side there is a cup- Neatly tucked away behind the kitchen is another compact wet- held ambition to live near the Thames and presented her with a tect suggested encasing the main RSJ through the middle of the board for utilities, which sits next to a family bathroom. The room and, on the far side, her daughter’s bedroom, which can satisfying design challenge. She had spent ages looking for such main room in stained wood to match. It was a great idea.” other side, with a glass balustrade, overlooks the floor below. At double as a guest bedroom. a project and she knew that this was The One. To achieve the requisite number of bedrooms, the architect the far end of the landing is her son’s bedroom, which is a The floor in the large living area was, says Young, her biggest Young’s brief to her architect, Richard Dudzicki, was to created an upper floor over half the space. Upstairs now has mirror image of own. Except that, since there is no patio, it has expense. It is made with oak boards, washed with grey to look create a three-bedroom home, with three bathrooms and an two of the bedrooms and two bathrooms. The view from a large internal glass window also overlooking the living space like driftwood. She is thrilled with the results and says it was

Inexpensive ‘If you get the walls and the floors right, white tiles in the three then you can do what you like bathrooms helped keep everywhere else’ costs down

money well spent. “If you get the walls and the floors right, then you can do what you like everywhere else,” says the 44-year-old. And she should know, having previously worked in the textiles and fashion industries but now establishing herself in London as an interior designer. She found most of the furni- ture and accessories in auction houses in Kent and Sussex, HOW to get the look where much of her life has been spent, and she has recently begun investigating the antique market in Bermondsey. ■ Architect: Richard Dudzicki at RDA Architects (020 8299 2222; www.rdauk.com) ■ EEPING to her budget of £70,000 was crucial, she says, Kitchen units from Ikea (www.ikea.co.uk) but only achievable by sticking to the Ikea and basic ■ Oak flooring: from Natural Image (01580 895489; Neff appliances in the kitchen and by using affordable www.stoneandwoodfloors.co.uk) materials throughout the flat — from white tiles to lino. ■ Granite worktops from Burslem of Frant, East Sussex KApart from the oak floorboards, other wood floors were (01892 750120; www.burslem.co.uk) simply painted white. The results, however, look a great ■ Kitchen appliances from Neff (www.neff.co.uk) deal more expensive: the triumph of style over spending. ■ For auctions in Kent and Sussex, visit www.bentleysfineartauctioneers.co.uk; www.rye auctiongalleries.co.uk; and www.denhams.com FOR MORE FABULOUS HOMES, VISIT homesandproperty.co.uk One of the bedrooms has an internal window that overlooks the living area The oak-board floor in the main living area was the single most expensive element of the renovation. Money well spent, insists Young Off the main bedroom, Young has built an attractive rooftop terrace Pictures by Robert Parrish 22 OUTDOORS Evening Standard Homes & Property Wednesday, 22 October 2008 Leaf it to autumn Gardening news by Matthew Appleby

Spend wisely Published by Kyle Cathie at £16.99, The book of the moment is The Homes & Property readers can buy Thrifty Gardener, by Alys Fowler. The Thrifty Gardener for £14.99 Fowler recommends that other thrifty (including free p&p, UK mainland gardeners go to Columbia Road or buy only) by calling 01903 828503 and A walk in the Great Park bits and pieces from hardware stores, quoting ref. KC TG/HP. Or email and seeds from pound shops. [email protected] The rich diversity of trees and shrubs in The Royal Landscape, in Windsor Great Park (above) will create magnificent displays of colour and form for visitors to enjoy this autumn, reaching their peak this month. Cut your costs in the garden with Alys Fowler’s new book The Savill Garden’s recently refurbished Queen Elizabeth Temperate House has taken on an autumnal theme with cyclamen, chrysanthemums and drifts of Chinese Lantern, and ornamental pepper plants supporting a display of homegrown pumpkins, squashes and gourds. In the 250 acres you will find colourful Japanese maples, sweet gums, tupelo, red and scarlet oaks, birches, hickories and fothergillas. Visit the gift shop, exhibition area and restaurant. The garden is open 10am-6pm until the end of October, 10am-4.30pm November to February. Last admission to the garden and restaurant is 30 minutes before closing. Admission prices: adults £7; seniors £6.50; family £18. See www.theroyallandscape.co.uk.

Knife work Gardening Autumn is a great time to week tackle larger projects around ■ Aerate and the garden.Heavy-duty tools are top-dress lawns. essential and Spear & Jackson’s new ■ Think about utility knives are ideal. winter tree Homes & Property readers can win surgery. Visit one of 12 heavy-duty knives designed to www.trees. fit maintain a firm grip when tackling org.uk for tough materials. The price is £8.99. To enter, recommended visit www.homesandproperty.co.uk/offers. contractors. Competition closes on 31 October. ■ For more information, call 0114 281 4242, or visit Transplant www.spear-and-jackson.com. shrubs when leaves drop.

For more by Matthew Appleby, visit Diary dates www.geocities.com/matthew_appleby ■ B&Q is supporting RSPB National Feed the Birds Day with buying opportunities over this weekend. Look out for bargains in birdtables, Tonight birdbaths and food. Call 0845 8500175, or see THERE are a few tickets left for www.rspb.org.uk/feedthe Clifton Nurseries’ season of wine birds or www.diy.com. tastings, held in conjunction with specialist merchants The Winery, ■ in Clifton Road, W9. The inaugural Autumn The series comes to a close with Gardening Weekend is their final event for this year, on at Loseley which is this evening. The tasting House, near will be held in the indoor plants Guildford, this and palm house, at Clifton weekend. The focus will be on Nurseries, 5a Clifton Villas, garden maintenance, end-of- London W9 (nearest tube season bargains, perennials, Warwick Avenue) from 6pm to bulbs, roses, winter bedding, 8.30pm. Tickets cost £20, or £15 herbs, heathers, trees and for Friends of Clifton. To get your shrubs. There are also ticket, call Guy Pullen now on Christmas and Halloween 020 7432 1866 or email decorations and [email protected]. seasonal gourmet foods. Entry is £2, with accompanied children under Gardman 16 free. For more information, FOR MORE GARDENING ADVICE, VISIT Oriental call 07876 645355, or visit homesandproperty.co.uk Hanging Bird www.greatgardening Table (£12.98) show.co.uk. Evening Standard Homes & Property Wednesday, 22 October 2008 OUTDOORS 23 Clive Nichols/Clare Matthews Clive Nichols/RIckyard Barn, Northants GAP Photos/Elke Borkowski

Hyacinths Purple Passion and Woodstock look dramatic Crocus White Beauty complements a silver-toned trough Orange dwarf tulips and violas make a vibrant, novel combination Bulbs light the way

OR a sizzling flower show next spring, pack GAP Photos/Elke Borkowski bulbs into pots now. You can plant them For an uplifting closely for maximum flower power, whereas in the ground, bulbs need more space. You can display of spring Fnurture them, giving them optimum growing colour, plan and conditions and know for sure you are not going to accidentally spear one with a garden fork or lose it to waterlogged ground. Best of all, you can pot up now, says build up a whole bulb border by pushing the pots together and lining them along the edge of a bed, Pattie Barron down the front path, in the porch or on the patio, shifting them around as flowers peak and fade. You don’t need exceptional bulbs to put on a drop- Work out a colour scheme, planting one type of bulb dead display. What you do need is lots of them. If one per pot, all the same colour, so you can pull your stash bowl of grape hyacinth looks pretty, imagine the of containers close together to create your chosen impact of five more, one on each garden step, making palette. The most basic bulbs make cheery paintbox- a stream of azure blue. Now picture each one part- bright colour combos; daffodils and scarlet tulips nered with a potful of dwarf daffodils such as sunny, such as Red Riding Hood are the acceptable face of several-headed Tête-à-tête — you wouldn’t want to red and yellow in the garden. Hyacinth Ostara, which rush past such a glorious colour splash. has an RHS Award of Garden Merit, brings a strong, You don’t need green fingers but you do need a rich blue to the mix; daintier grape hyacinth Valerie planting plan; it’s a lot easier than planning a border. Finnis will add a softer shade of sky blue. Gather together your roomiest containers and, if you For something more subtle, consider a peachy display need more, buy terracotta machine-moulded flower- of creams and apricots, courtesy of pink-cupped dwarf pots; if inspiration fails, five or six in a row, planted daffodil Kaydee, peach-shaded hyacinth Gipsy Queen with identical bulbs, is a can’t-fail showstopper. and tulips Apricot Impression or Apricot Beauty.

‘When flowers fade, move the pots into the wings so you don’t need to face looking at messy foliage for weeks’

To guarantee action from early spring to early Hyacinths Purple Passion and Woodstock together summer, pick up Iris reticulata and crocus; hyacinth, with dark, sultry Queen of Night or rich orange both chunky and grape varieties; dwarf daffodils Princes Irene will make the mixture truly sumptuous. such as Jetfire and Jack Snipe; short, stocky tulips For more inspiration, look at the colour-co-ordinated such as fiery Orange Nassau and early-flowering, bulb collections at Avon Bulbs; Currant and Plum soft pink Ancilla. Avoid tall daffodils that take up too Stirabout with Crushed Meringue Topping provides much space and will keel over, and keep long- five varieties of tulip, including Blue Diamond, that stemmed tulips for high, roomy pots and troughs. Be all have deep, velvety shades of wine and garnet. For sure to include the later-flowering parrot or viridi- elegance, Avon’s Orange and Lemon Sorbet tulip pair- flora tulips such as raspberry and white Carnaval de ing is hard to beat: lime-streaked Orange Emperor and Nice; although their flamboyant, feathered appear- primrose-streaked white Purissima. ance makes them impossible to place in the border, Use bricks or upturned flowerpots to make plant Above, tulips and daffodils, crammed into containers, make a colourful spring show; they look sensational solo. stands so you can adjust the flower heights. When flow- ers fade, move the pots into the wings so that you don’t below, purple Passionale violet Candy Prince and pink Foxtrot tulips have to face looking at messy foliage for weeks. Either treat the bulbs as bedding to live another season, when you can repot them in fresh compost, or GIVEAWAY bury them into bare patches of soil, where they will spring up next year. Protect potted bulbs over winter with a thick mulch of grit. If squirrels are a problem, add a crown of chicken-wire netting or an inverted SPICE up your containers next metal hanging basket, attached firmly. spring with a free parcel of Be sure to include Crocus tommasinanus Ruby bulbs courtesy of the Giant, a purple-flowering early spring star which has International Flower been voted 2008 Spring Flowering Bulb of the Year by Bulb Centre. the International Flower Bulb Centre. The IFBC’s We have 60 packages of spring concise how-to-plant tips includes the following: bulbs to give away, each “Plant bulbs pointy end up…” For lashings of colour containing either 20 bulbs of next spring, it really is that simple. award-winning purple Crocus Ruby Giant, beetroot-coloured Hyacinth Woodstock or deep

BEST OF THE CATALOGUES GAP Photos/Juliette Wade wine tulip Queen of Night. For your chance of winning, ■ Avon Bulbs: 01460 242177; www.avonbulbs.co.uk email your postal address ■ Jacques Amand: 01736 335851; to [email protected], writing www.jacquesamand.com Homes & Property Giveaway in ■ Sarah Raven’s Kitchen & Garden: 0844 884 6474; the subject box, by 30 October. Clive Nichols www.sarahraven.com Group pots closely together to create a mass of flowers 24 MONEY Evening Standard Homes & Property Wednesday, 22 October 2008

Name: Marsha Sorrell-Smith, 37. Job: social services local council manager. Home: one-bedroom £295,000 flat in Battersea. Has an offset mortgage with Intelligent Finance, balancing £7,000 savings Cash against a £261,000 home loan, paying interest of 5.09 per cent. Splits payments down the middle with her partner – her share is £780 a month. Assets: a share of any increase in value on a shared one-bedroom flat in Battersea plus £7,000 Marsha had been putting aside in Halifax cash Isas. Debts: £161,000 mortgage shared with partner. goes Pension: generous final-salary pension scheme. Cover: life insurance of three times salary.

THINGS TO DO ■ Get out the calculator. Marsha’s breakdown of finances leaves at least £400 of “missing” cash to be accounted for each month that could be saved, maybe in a cash Isa. Number-crunching will missing reveal other areas where expense is higher than imagined and savings are possible. Be honest and account for every penny. Even with a £10,000 rise, one young ■ Learn to live with a mortgage. Huge home loans are a modern way of life we just have to live with — look upon it as council officer wonders where the investment in an asset that should hopefully get easier over time. Marsha’s savings may well do better by switching from an money goes. Toby Walne offers advice offset deal to a more suitable mortgage vehicle, but be wary of exit penalties and limited offers. ARSHA Sorrell-Smith recently got a pay rise but ■ Build a safety net. It is sensible to worry about what might now feels worse off than ever. The 37-year-old

Aleksey Lapkovsky happen in the future if you become ill or lose your job. Californian came to London a decade ago. She Fortunately, a great public-sector pension is a bonus — ask if it works in social services for her local council and might help if early retirement is needed. Life insurance and an shares a one-bedroom £295,000 flat in Battersea M income-protection plan are worth having. Another mortgage with her 37-year-old art-director partner. deal may release cash to help foot the extra expense. Marsha explains: “I just can’t understand it. A year ago I was managing to save between £200 and £300 a month but as soon as I got a promotion the spare cash just seemed to evaporate and I now have a hard time just paying the bills. Any advice avoid financial arguments. Marsha also enjoys going home to San Savings and investments on how I can dig myself out of this predicament would be Francisco for a three-week holiday once a year, and the couple hope gratefully appreciated.” to marry in a couple of years but on a modest shoestring budget of All the advisers agree that getting a handle on monthly outgoings Recently divorced but with no children, Marsha wants to save as about £3,000. They have no plans to have any children. is essential, by making a detailed and honest account of every she fears there is not enough set aside for rainy days — penny spent. “The ‘missing’ money needs to be identified and particularly against future illness that may stop her working. She What the experts say allocated to savings,” says Bamford. This may eventually mean cutting back on little luxuries. He suggests opening an internet Martin Bamford, joint managing director at Informed Choice, bank account where Marsha can transfer cash between current ‘Before the promotion I managed to save says: “The main priority is to get a handle on where all the money and savings accounts. The offset mortgage is not ideal as she does goes — especially as much seems to go missing. There is no not have huge savings, points out Whitehead. She may be better cash but now it’s tough just paying the bills’ financial sense in having an offset mortgage with such small putting spare cash into a tax-free cash Isa every month. Marsha savings. I would suggest income-protection insurance over critical should realise the pension is a great savings asset. already salts away £200 a month from her salary into a generous illness cover.” salary-related pension scheme with the council. Before the James Norton, director at Evolve Financial Planning, says: Property promotion she was earning almost £10,000 a year less. “Although Marsha does not get much benefit from an offset “Before I got the pay rise I was spending only £400 a month in mortgage she wouldn’t get a better rate elsewhere at the moment. “Investing in UK property is still a worthwhile proposition,” says rent living in a nearby flat. At the time it seemed that buying a She has a great asset in a final-salary pension — the likes of Whitehead, who points out that those hefty mortgage payments are place made good financial sense. But after taking the plunge I now which are very rare in the private sector — and might consider buying an asset. She hopes Marsha will take heart from realising find my share of the mortgage is £780 — it has wiped out any topping it up.” this and that, although it is soaking up all her cash now, payments chance of saving, and extra cash from the promotion doesn’t seem Ruth Whitehead of Ruth Whitehead Associates says: “It is should get easier in the future. However, like the other advisers, she to have made a difference,” she says. infrequently the case that offset mortgages are the best for first-time is not convinced an offset mortgage is a good deal for her. The Californian does not have a lavish lifestyle, although she and buyers. Their entire financial focus is on meeting these mortgage her partner enjoy going out for modest meals three times a week. payments, so all outgoings must be reviewed. Health and life cover is Protection and pension They cut all costs — including mortgage — down the middle to a priority at the moment — it is tough now but should get better.” The final-salary scheme from the council is an asset. “The likes of this are sadly very rare in the private sector these days,” laments Have a free money makeover Norton. He points out that her recent pay rise will also benefit IF YOU would like to be considered to be featured in a money to Money Makeover, Homes & Property Editorial, Evening that pension nest egg. Norton believes her best plan is to speak to makeover in the magazine, in which our team of experts will advise Standard, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5EE, or email the pension department to see if she can top it up and whether you on how you might manage your finances better, send a brief [email protected]. Please don’t send documents. they might allow early retirement on health grounds if necessary outline of your current situation, adding a daytime phone number, If we follow up your story, we will contact you. rather than just signing up for private critical illness cover or income-protection insurance.

No other website has all the properties from the countryʼs leading estate View over 400,000 prime UK agents. and international properties. Evening Standard Homes & Property Wednesday, 22 October 2008 EXPERT 25 Diary of an estate agent

A Putney agent is mauled by a labradoodle, has to hide from a client’s ex-husband-to-be and shows a property at 5am

Monday chain withdrew. After much unannounced, just as I was to-ing and fro-ing, our client at being shown the top-floor bath- My post-holiday inner peace was the top of the chain agreed to room. The wife asked me to soon shattered when I was buy the house at the bottom to remain where I was while she attacked by an unruly labradoo- keep things moving forward. “dealt” with the situation. dle while pitching for a semi- He’d planned to keep a London A blazing row erupted down- detached period house in Putney. base anyway. stairs as I was left wondering Unbelievably, the owner With some sadness, I waved how I could convince the hus- barely batted an eyelid as the goodbye to a couple whose band I was not a co-respondent, dog ran riot. She even admon- house we have sold as they are especially as I didn’t have my ished my colleague and me for retiring to Cornwall. They had folder or business cards. I didn’t not approaching the animal in lavished love and money on the dare move as the floorboards the “correct” way. Apparently house, which had a huge futur- squeaked. Much to my relief, the bending down to say hello to it istic plasma-screen TV. front door slammed and he was threatening. They insisted at every viewing drove off at speed. We withdrew from the fray, that we play a DVD of the intro mauled and dishevelled. From to James Bond’s Goldeneye. The Friday there we went to value a Victo- surround-sound was amazing. rian cottage that turned out to Most people loved it and the I was delighted when a vendor be quite extraordinary inside. buyer turned out to be a film fan. who had been courted by several The owner had totally remod- other agents decided to instruct elled it and had installed a glass Wednesday us. Coincidentally, it was a wall between the sitting room neighbour of another house we and the garage so he could sit We were surprised to be sold earlier this year, owned by a and admire his Jaguar XK. instructed to sell the labradoo- delightful couple who had a bald, dle’s house. I suspect that my free-range parrot. When I first Tuesday colleague and I survived better met them, along with my col- than some of our more nervous league Caroline, the parrot was We had two completions and an competitors. Our immaculately ing to contend with the beast. a house a while back. The owner Thursday chugging across the kitchen exchange of contracts today, an behaved office dog, Olive, an Buyers will not be relaxed even of the house was abroad and the floor. Caroline froze. I hadn’t encouraging achievement. My English Bull Terrier, could if the dog is in the garden, its lawyer was due to fly to the US I was asked to drop everything realised she has a phobia pleasure was short-lived, how- teach the vicious one some paws up against the patio that morning. He had been most and value a house in Roehamp- about birds. ever, as a sale we have been nur- manners. The delight at win- doors, foaming at the mouth. impressed when I offered to ton but to arrive without the turing for more than six months ning this instruction was I had a call from a potential show it to him at 5am. He didn’t usual clipboard. I was curious Alex Howard Baker is a hit the buffers this morning. almost immediately over- buyer, recommended by a lawyer buy it, but he had remembered but soon discovered the reason. director at Savills in Putney The buyer at the bottom of the whelmed by the dread of hav- friend of his to whom I’d shown our willingness to help. The future ex-husband arrived (020 8780 6112). Does size really matter?

I live in a building split into three flats, Q all owner-occupied and with a shared freehold. We occupy the largest of the flats, a three-bedroom garden property; the remain- ing flats are both smaller one-bedroom prop- erties. The buildings insurance is split equally. The new occupier of one of the smaller flats wants to pay a lower proportion of the cost. The three-way split was in place before I took over the administration and in my previ- ous property, when I occupied a smaller prop- erty, the set-up was identical and I paid the same amount for insurance as the larger flat, without complaint. What is the legal position?

Leases should always contain adequate A insurance provisions relating to the premises themselves — the individual flats and, where rele- vant, the common parts of the building — and state who is responsible for arranging it. The insurance provisions in a lease should comply with the requirements ofˇ the Council of Mortgage Lenders to ensure it is mortgageable. Under the terms of most leases the landlord is responsible for insurance and the tenants pay a contribution towards the insurance premium. The tenants’ share of the insurance can be divided by the number of flats, or according to the floor area of the flats, or whether each is over one or two floors. You must look at the terms of your lease but as you all own a share of the freehold you could agree to vary the terms of the lease and point for the formal process is that the new lease are likely to be more than the premium for the new Homes & Property lawyer change the existing arrangement. Legal advice should be based on the existing one. Changes can lease itself. In summary, the rent and term are should be taken if you decide to follow this route. be agreed with the landlord, though, and some- fixed, so there can be no dispute there but the LVT Fiona McNulty times the process is used to modernise an out-of- can make amendments to the other terms if you I bought a flat in 1984 and want to sell it, date lease, or to correct errors or omissions in it. If can justify them and afford to pay the costs. answers your questions Q but the lease is now too short for anyone terms cannot be agreed, an application can be to get a mortgage. My landlord is being made to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal (LVT), obstructive about a new lease and my legal which has some powers to change the terms from What’s your problem? Comments in this column are only a brief summary of the costs are increasing. Should I make an appli- the existing lease. relevant issues and do not constitute legal advice on which you IF YOU have a question for Fiona McNulty, email should rely. The Evening Standard and Thring Townsend Lee cation to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to Apart from the LVT proceedings, where each [email protected], or send your & Pembertons will not be responsible for any actions (or lack of determine the matter? The premium for the party pays its own costs, tenants have to pay not question to Legal Solutions, Homes & Property, action) taken in reliance on this column. If you have a related new lease has been agreed at £10,000. only their lawyers’ costs but also the reasonable 2 Derry Street, London W8 5EE. We regret that issue, you should take specific professional advice. costs of their landlord. Issuing proceedings can questions cannot be answered individually but A tenant who meets certain criteria is entitled put pressure on the landlord to agree matters (or we will try to feature them here. A to a new lease for a peppercorn rent that face incurring costs it cannot recover). Fiona is a partner in the property team at expires 90 years after the existing one ends. There The LVT is best avoided (except perhaps where FOR MORE LEGAL ADVICE, VISIT Thring Townsend Lee & Pembertons Solicitors is a formal process to secure this but always try to the lease is a very valuable one) as the costs add homesandproperty.co.uk agree matters with the landlord first. The starting significantly to a tenant’s outlay. In this case, they (www.ttuk.com). Evening Standard Homes & Property Wednesday, 22 October 2008 | 27

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Member Ombudsman for Estate Agents DANIEL COBB FOXTONS SHOREDITCH HUDSONS www.ribres.co.uk (updated daily) 020 7033 1414 Specialists in Central South London FOXTONS CANARY WHARF Sales & Lettings & Property Management 020 7133 7777 for Sales, Lettings & Management Fitzrovia, Bloomsbury, Soho, Covent East London Garden & Marylebone. Kennington: T: 020 7735 9510

TEL: 020 7323 2277 London Bridge: T: 020 7357 0026 HURFORD SALVI CARR Member Ombudsman for Estate Agents Westminster: T: 020 7222 1000 City Living, Sales & Lettings, Investment, MOVELLO www.hudsonsproperty.com www.danielcobb.co.uk Commercial & Management. City, Docklands, Canary Whart, Royal Docks

Barbican, Clerkenwell, Shoreditch & Greenwich, Bow, Surrey Quays BENNETT WALDEN Kings Cross Sales – 020 7473 9531 HURFORD SALVI CARR Hackney Sales & Lettings Specialists Sales 020 7250 1012 Lettings – 020 7473 9532 Sales & Lettings, Commercial & Since 1994 GREEN LOCATIONS Lets 020 7490 1122 Management – 020 7473 9530 Management Fitzrovia, Bloomsbury T: 020 7275 7177 Specialists in Letting & Mgmnt. www.hurford-salvi-carr.co.uk Soho & Covent Garden www.movello.com E: [email protected] Tel Battersea: 020 7738 1538 Tel: 020 7299 3322 CHASE EVANS www.bennettwalden.co.uk Tel Wandsworth: 020 8672 9007 www.hurford-salvi-carr.co.uk Tel Balham: 020 8767 9700 CANARY WHARF OFFICE FOXTONS ISLINGTON CALLUM ROBERTS PROPERTY 020 7704 5000 STIRLING ACKROYD Properties to buy & rent around -www.greenlocations.co.uk CONSULTANTS Residential and Commercial canary wharf Bloomsbury, West End, City & Central Sales, Lettings and Property Management West London Tel: 020 7515 1000 Sales & Lettings Bankside Office: 020 7940 3888 [email protected] T: 020 7242 9977 KEATONS RESIDENTIAL Clerkenwell Office: 020 7549 0606 www.chaseevans.co.uk www.callumroberts.org Sales and Lettings Shoreditch Office: 020 7749 3838 [email protected] Bow Office: T: 020 8981 7788 www.stirlingackroyd.com CHASE EVANS LDG SALES AND LETTINGS [email protected] ANGEL LETTINGS DOCKLANDS OFFICE Specialists sales and lettings. Fitzrovia, Hackney Office: T: 020 8525 7788 Islington, Clerkenwell, Hackney & FINLAY BREWER Properties to buy and rent in & around Soho, Covent Garden, Bloomsbury, [email protected] Sales & Lettings docklands Marylebone Central London T: 020 7580 1010 Stratford Office: T: 020 8534 7788 T: 020 7831 8337 Brook Green & Brackenbury Village Tel: 020 7510 8444 www.ldg.co.uk (updated daily) [email protected] Email: [email protected] W6, W12, W14 [email protected] NAEA/ARLA/O.E.A members www.keatons.com www.angellettings.co.uk www.finlaybrewer.co.uk www.chaseevans.co.uk to advertise please call: 020 7938 7247 32 AFFORDABLE Evening Standard Homes & Property Wednesday, 22 October 2008 Through the housing maze ONFUSED about affordable hous- What does ‘affordable outright, you get an interest holiday of ing? Think you do not qualify three to five years on the equity loan and unless you have a very low housing’ really mean? there are no restrictions when you sell. Laura Pye bought a 25 per cent share in her Earlsfield flat income? Bewildered by all the var- Downside: not suitable for those on low Cious schemes on offer? You are not Do you qualify? incomes. ‘No one knew about shared ownership’ alone. Richard Donnell of market Products: OwnHome and MyChoice analysts Hometrack says: “I think people Jane Barry explains HomeBuy, offered through housing associ- WHEN Laura Pye decided to buy a 25 per cent share in understand there’s an option to rent from a ations, where you choose your home on the a £325,000 two-bedroom flat in Earlsfield through Assettrust, private landlord, or to buy on the private open market. First-Time Buyers Initiative she had problems convincing her friends and family. market. But there’s a lack of awareness of Who qualifies and HomeBuy Direct are offered by devel- “They didn’t have a clue what shared ownership was,” says the options in the middle.” opers on new-build properties. Laura, 27, a retail manager. “They thought it was council Miriam Morris of housing association All first-time buyers with joint incomes up housing. People were really surprised and my parents were Places for People agrees. “There’s a big con- to £60,000 are now eligible. What is rent-to-buy? very cautious. But once I explained, they were really happy fusion between shared ownership and for me to go ahead.” equity loans,” she says. What is shared ownership? This is a new product. You rent a new-build One problem is that most of the schemes home for an agreed period, then get the are called HomeBuy: NewBuild HomeBuy, You buy a share in a property — 25 per cent chance to buy the property. If you decide MyChoice HomeBuy and HomeBuy Direct to 50 per cent — and pay rent on the part against buying, you can carry on renting. The Government and so are easy to confuse. The Housing you do not own. As your financial situation Upside: no worries about negative equity gave Sinoj and improves, you can “staircase”, ie buy fur- and you get to “test-drive” the property. Amitha an ‘There’s a lack of awareness ther shares up to 100 per cent. Downside: not widely available yet and interest-free loan Upside: no need to raise a big mortgage. schemes vary greatly. for 25 per cent of the options’ Downside: you do not own the property Products: under East Homes’ Rent Now of their

outright and face restrictions when you Buy Later scheme you rent for three years France Tim purchase price Corporation, which funds affordable hous- come to sell. at 80 per cent of the market rent, then get ing, explains: “The reason they are all called Products: NewBuild HomeBuy — the chance to buy a share — 25 per cent or ‘Equity loan scheme was perfect for us’ HomeBuy is to signify they’re government- property on new developments, usually more. With Places for People’s Try Before backed, which means they’ve been thought from housing associations, although two You Buy, you rent for a year at market rent, SINOJ and Amitha Sadanandan felt they needed a house as they through from the consumer’s point of view.” private companies, Assettrust and Bellway then, if you decide to buy, the rent you have hope to start a family. The answer was OwnHome, the equity But names that describe what schemes Housing Trust, also offer NBH. Social paid becomes your deposit. loan scheme run by Places for People, which lets first-time actually deliver would help. Morris feels HomeBuy offers a share in your present buyers purchase on the open market. there are now too many different schemes. rented home. People can get mortgages The couple got a Co-operative Bank mortgage for 75 per cent “The Government needs a national product of a two-bedroom 1903 house in Hayes, west London, costing and a national brand.” What is an equity loan? “Yes,” says the Housing Corporation. “No £213,000 and an equity loan, interest-free for five years, for the Donnell says: “It seems a shame there’s problem,” says David Knight of financial other 25 per cent. not a campaign for raising awareness of You pay part of the cost of your new home, analysts Moneyfacts, although he does add: “We found a home that is perfect for us,” says Sinoj, what the options are.” usually 40 per cent to 50 per cent, and the “Things are changing very quickly and a 30-year-old chef. “If there was no loan from the Government So here is Homes & Property’s quick and Government lends you the rest. we’ve got things one day that aren’t there it would have been very difficult.” easy-to-follow guide through the maze. Upside: Eventually, you own your home the next.” Richard Stone of brokers SPF Sherwins is also upbeat. He says he still has deals that offer 90 to 95 per cent finance and Silver Dock Court, even a couple at 100 per cent. “It’s definitely Silvertown, not a problem but it’s more important than Newham. One- ever to go through an intermediary.” bedroom Rent ■ Now Buy Later SPF Sherwins: 0800 652 2365; flats from East www.sherwins.co.uk. ■ For information on affordable homes, Thames, £640 a contact Housing Options: 0845 230 8099; month, minimum www.housingoptions.co.uk. income £22,000. Call 0845 600 The Locks, Berkhamsted: shared ownership from Bellway Housing 0830, or visit FOR MORE MONEY ADVICE, VISIT Trust on a canalside development. One-bedroom flats from £219,995, www.east homesandproperty.co.uk minimum share 25 per cent, minimum income £20,000. Call 0845 676 -homes.co.uk. 0261, or visit www.bellwayhousingtrust.bellway.co.uk 36 SMART MOVES Evening Standard Homes & Property Wednesday, 22 October 2008

ONDON’S largest borough, Bromley, covers an area of 59 square miles, most of which is green belt running into Kent and Surrey. Packed with leafy avenues and her- Litage villages, the area also has fast train links to central London, making it popular with well-heeled career professionals and self- made businessmen living in big family houses. Break into Take Chislehurst. With its ponds and common, quaint high street, well-regarded schools, riding stables, golf courses and 25-minute commute to Charing Cross, the place has always appealed to aspiring types keen to leave behind grimy From £264,995: homes at Cricketer’s London. On a good day, car-driving Canary Wharf View in Beckenham. Call 0845026 5570 workers can reach the office in 30 minutes. Kingswood Chase is a discreet scheme of 39 houses and apartments sitting in a secluded Bromley six-acre plot off a private road. The listed 19th century mansion, in mock-Tudor style and built by a Victorian merchant, has been split into In London’s largest borough, Middle-aged downsizers and young locals seven grand apartments. trading up from first-time-buyer flats are likely From Alongside are a refurbished coach house and green-belt land is no longer purchasers. GP surgeries, a nursing home and £199,995: gardener’s lodge, both listed, while in the land- affordable housing will be built, too. The first homes at scaped grounds are new-build Arts and Crafts- sacred, says David Spittles phase of 120 private homes will be released next Biggin Hill. style cottages, town houses and a low-rise block year. For more information, call 01689 806610. Call Bryant of apartments. Prices start at £675,000 for the You can see the sort of homes Asprey builds at Homes on mansion apartments and rise to £2.25 million for scheme of 800 homes. The land — some 34 acres nearby Keston Reach (call 01689 856221), where 0845 671 a huge (more than 5,000sq ft), detached new-build — used to be mainly sports fields and includes a 14 three-bedroom timber-clad houses are priced 9071 house. Completion is due in early 2009. For more travellers’ fairground and much-loved allot- from £369,500. information, call 0870 850 1522. ments. Bromley council opposed the develop- Not all of Bromley’s sacred green belt is a no-go ment but Asprey won an appeal after a public EVELOPER Bryant Homes is focusing zone for developers. At Bromley Common, local inquiry, arguing that the scheme would dramati- on this part of the world, too. Schemes builder Asprey Homes has won consent for a cally reduce the borough’s housing shortfall. include Holwood, 78 apartments Green-belt land is not always beautiful and this nestling in 74 acres of protected wood- is not the prettiest of locations. The site lies about Dland in Keston. Flats are arranged in a mile south of Bromley town centre. Asprey three crescents that form a bull-ring intends building a linear park to mask the busy shape. From the upper floors there are views A21 that runs alongside and says it will avoid over the treetops to the open Kent countryside. “pastiche suburban new-build architecture” by Prices range from £349,995 to £799,995. For infor- reinventing Kentish vernacular design — that is, mation, call 0845 671 9064. traditional-looking homes with different exterior Leavesden is being built on the site of former treatments. “We are bringing the qualities of a RAF living quarters at Biggin Hill. There are From £349,995 : flats around crescents niche builder to a large-scale development,” says 97 homes in 17 acres. Prices range from £199,995 at Holwood, Keston. Call 0845 671 9064 managing director Philip Langford. to £379,995. For information, call 0845 671 9071. A mix of houses and apartments will be built in Cricketer’s View is a development of 55 homes clusters to prevent the development looking like opposite Kent County Cricket Club in Becken- FOR MORE SMART MOVES, VISIT From £369,500: three-bedroom homes at Keston a monolithic estate and homes will be pitched at ham. Prices start at £264,995 and information is homesandproperty.co.uk Reach. Call Asprey Homes on 01689 856221 the middle market. available on 0845 026 5570.