A big
splash
of colour
Design trends
Page 14
Homes&
Property
Wednesday 12 August 2015
RING THE CHANGES: BOW P7 BOXPARK PEPS UP CROYDON P8 GROW VEG ON YOUR ROOF P24 SPOTLIGHT ON BISHOP’S STORTFORD P26
The only way
to commute
Living on the waterfront becomes
a lifestyle, with 100,000 new
homes and a fleet of river buses
DANIEL LYNCH
Page 4
London’s best property search website: homesandproperty.co.uk
2
WEDNESDAY 12 AUGUST 2015 EVENING STANDARD
Homes & Property Online
homesandproperty.co.uk with
This week: homesandproperty.co.uk
news: that’s another £28k
first-time buyers have to find
£350,000: an Art
Deco conversion
one-bedroom flat
in Denmark Road,
Camberwell, with
parking, is in a
rare pocket of
good value
O Visit homesandproperty.co.uk/denroad
THE true extent of the financial challenge facing London’s
first-time buyers is revealed today in a study showing the
price of an average starter home has risen £28,000 in a year.
This, in turn, means that young buyers seeking a sharedownership deal will need to raise £67,000 — up £7,000 —
simply to secure a quarter share of a first home, according to
exclusive research by Savills for Homes & Property.
Struggling first-time buyers should steer clear of
Hammersmith & Fulham, Lambeth, Barnet and Ealing. All
four boroughs have seen starter home prices leap 20 per cent
in the past year, more than double the London average.
Property
search
Trophy buy of the week
super-home fit for the guv’nor
£4.25 million: this handsome pile could easily be mistaken
for a Great Gatsby mansion in The Hamptons, except it’s in
Stapleford Tawney, a village three miles from Ongar, Essex.
Set at the end of a sweeping driveway, in nearly four
acres of clipped gardens, the property has a lake, a koi
carp pond and an outdoor swimming pool.
The seven-bedroom, 9,000 sq ft house has another
swimming pool indoors, a gym, snooker room, a huge
garage and a separate tractor store. Through Hetheringtons.
O see homesandproperty.co.uk/trophy
London buy of the week loft-style flat
close to the station and delis in Brockley
O Read Ruth Bloomfield’s full story at homesandproperty.co.uk
£450,000: find bags of lofty appeal
in this smart two-bedroom flat in
Brockley, SE4, just a stroll away from
the East London line.
The open-plan reception room has
wooden floors and über-high ceilings,
the kitchen/breakfast area is well
equipped, and a skylit mezzanine
floor would make a perfect home
see our video: Crossrail —
the homes hotspots to watch
On track: the
impact of
Crossrail, due to
be completed in
2018, is already
being felt in the
housing market
CROSSRAIL doesn’t arrive until 2018, but the planned
high-speed rail service is already boosting house prices
along its route — and is set to add £5.5 billion to property
values across the capital.
New Crossrail stations are being built, many with homes
above, with the first owners moving in at Royal Arsenal
Riverside this week. We’ve been down with the tunnellers
to check on the project’s progress and we have asked
London property experts where’s best to buy.
office or study. Two double bedrooms
and a sleek bathroom complete the
package.
Brockley station, with Overground
and national rail services, is a short
walk away, along with a selection of
delis and cafés. Through Foxtons.
O homesandproperty.co.uk/botw
Life changer run a boutique
B&B near the Norfolk coast
£800,000: this country home in pretty Burnham Market,
close to the north Norfolk coast, is currently a popular
holiday cottage, but would be ideal as a boutique B&B.
With masses of character and 3,700sq ft of space, it has
five en suite bedrooms, charming sitting and dining areas,
a spacious kitchen/diner complete with an Aga, and a bright
sun room leading out to colourful gardens. Through Abbotts.
O homesandproperty.co.uk/lifechanger
By
Faye
Greenslade
O Visit homesandproperty.co.uk/crossrail
Facebook:
ESHomesAndProperty • Twitter:
Editor:
Janice
Morley
#
VISIT homesandproperty.co.uk/
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Splash out on a designer pool
LUXURY spa suites, fabulous
swimming pools and on-site leisure
centres are the hot trend for summer
at London’s newest apartment
blocks, offering buyers exclusive
access to their own health resort.
We take a tour of the latest new
homes across the capital where
buyers can keep fit in style — all
year round.
O Visit homesandproperty.co.uk/pools
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Editorial: 020 3615 2524
Advertisement manager:
Jamie McCabe
Advertising: 020 3615 0266
Homes & Property, Northcliffe
House, 2 Derry Street, Kensington,
London W8 5TT.
Light show: above, the stunning pool
at 190 Strand in the West End,
St Edward’s exclusive new apartment
scheme; left, the heated pool in the
health club at the Goodman’s Fields
development in the City, where prices
start from £735,000
3
EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 12 AUGUST 2015
News Homes & Property
homesandproperty.co.uk with
the island of Martha’s Vineyard off the
coast of Massachusetts is thought to
be the holiday destination of choice
for US President Barack Obama — and
if he likes it that much, he could buy it.
The six-bedroom house overlooking
the Atlantic Ocean has an outdoor
kitchen, basketball court, infinity
pool and a fitness centre. There are
also 9½ acres of woodland, along
with a private beach and dock.
Mr Obama, wife Michelle and their
two daughters stayed there in 2013
and it’s believed they returned this
summer. The house is on sale for
£14.5 million. Tom Wallace, of
Sotheby’s International Realty, says:
“It’s the perfect family island retreat.”
O For more amazing pictures, visit
homesandproperty.co.uk/Obama
By Amira Hashish
Got some gossip? Tweet @amiranews
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O For more celebrity gossip, visit
homesandproperty.co.uk/gossip
GETTY
Obama’s luxury escape on sale for £14.5m
É GORDON RAMSAY has been making
the most of his new £4.4 million
Cornish holiday home.
The celebrity chef’s purchase was
one of the most expensive ever
recorded in the county. But even so,
estate agents say the five-bedroom
cottage, below, needs sprucing up.
The kitchen is modest compared to
Ramsay’s super-luxe London cooking
space, but that hasn’t stopped the
Hell’s Kitchen star and his wife Tana,
above, visiting the fashionable village
of Rock for their great escape.
ÉLONDONERS who
dream of escaping to a
private island could buy
one in the warm waters off
Central America for less
than the price of an
average one-bedroom flat
in the capital.
A seven-acre plot off
the coast of Belize — close
to the island of Blackadore
Caye, far left, which is
owned by Titanic star
Leonardo DiCaprio, inset —
is for sale at £492,510 with
7thheavenproperties.com.
It can be reached by sea
and by air and would make
an ideal site for a luxury
home. Just 12 miles west of
the town of San Pedro, it is
perfectly placed for
exploring the magnificent
Belize Barrier Reef, a
world-class diving and
snorkelling destination.
LUMIRE
A development of suites, one, two and
three bedroom apartments.
To be presented at Lumire Marketing
Suite, Barking Road, Canning Town, E16 1EQ
By appointment only between 2pm - 7pm
020 7476 2198
www.lumire-london.co.uk
Computer Generated Image for illustrative purposes only
Computer Generated Image for illustrative purposes only
SWNS GROUP
GETTY
Buy an island for less than the
price of a one-bed London flat
4
WEDNESDAY 12 AUGUST 2015 EVENING STANDARD
Homes & Property New homes
DANIEL LYNCH
homesandproperty.co.uk with
Plain sailing: river buses offer hassle-free commuting, Tube strike or no Tube strike
Another 12m
reasons to
love our river
Live on the Thames waterfront and commute
by Clipper. This is how 12 million Londoners will
get to work by 2020, says David Spittles
T
HE Thames has been
described as London’s
“forgotten highway”, but a
new initiative aims to turn
the river into a key transport artery, serving up to 100,000
homes being built in riverside districts
during the next decade.
Plans unveiled by Mayor Boris Johnson and Transport for London reveal
proposed new river bus routes and
marinas that will see passenger numbers double from six to 12 million a year
by 2020. Waterfront neighbourhoods
and office districts will be designed to
make it much easier for people to get
to and from work using the Thames.
The river’s profile as a leisure and
recreation destination will be boosted
by new promenades, pontoons, performance spaces, pleasure boat moorings, floating restaurants and nature
retreats, such as the Garden Bridge
between Strand and the South Bank.
Plantation Wharf in Battersea is the
first place to benefit. A new pier opens
next month, coinciding with the launch
of a fresh fleet of fuel-efficient catamarans, boosting capacity on the Putney
to Blackfriars run. City Hall planners
are determined to avoid recreating the
sterile neighbourhoods, with no shops
or facilities, that typified the first wave
of Docklands regeneration 30 years
ago. Thoughtful architecture is helping
to make the riverbank a more convivial
place. Glass-clad apartments have large
terraces and winter gardens, allowing
residents to enjoy the sweeping vistas
and big, colour-changing skies.
“Demand for what might be called
‘property-upon-Thames’ has never
been so strong,” says Candice
Matthews, director of property consultant DTZ.
RIVERSIDE LIFESTYLE
“Londoners have always gravitated
towards the river, but the riverside
lifestyle is a recent phenomenon,” says
Matthews. “People can now buy into a
prestige development with amenities
on the doorstep, a 24-hour concierge,
spa, security, underground parking
and a long lease.”
This applies even in distinctly unposh parts of the riverbank — such as
Deptford, where the giant 3,500-home
Convoys Wharf development is coming soon. Call 020 3296 2222.
There is always a premium to pay for
a river-facing home, according to
estate agent Savills. Apartments within
100 yards or so of the Thames typically
cost about 21 per cent more than similar-size homes in the vicinity.
COMMUTE IN COMFORT
Better river transport is an extra incentive to buy a home at a waterfront
development — and a river bus trip is
the best way to check out the numerous
housing schemes springing up along
the banks of the Thames.
Currently, there are two main river
bus routes along the central Thames
— Putney to Blackfriars via Chelsea
Harbour, and from the London Eye to
Woolwich via Canary Wharf. There are
19 piers in total. In addition, there is a
Tate-to-Tate — Vauxhall to Bankside —
service, plus a spur from Rotherhithe
to Canary Wharf, linking two parts of
Docklands either side of the river.
MBNA Thames Clippers is the main
commuter operator. When the service
launched in 1999, only 87 passengers
a day used it. Now there are more
than 10,000 passengers a day — nearly
four million a year.
Boats depart from central London
piers every 20 minutes. All passengers
are guaranteed a seat and, unlike
the Tube, you can get an internet connection. There is also an on-board
bar, where you can buy coffee and
alcoholic drinks. Adult single tickets
cost from £3.90, and you can tap in and
out with an Oyster card. Annual season
tickets cost from £752.45.
“It’s relaxing, reliable and faster
than most people realise,” says Tom
Burke, of Savills Waterfront. He adds
that the western shuttle route from
Putney to Blackfriars — a journey of
42 minutes — is a boon for City-bound
bankers. The extra hop to Canary
Wharf takes only another 15 minutes.
From £796,995:
apartments at
Fulham
Riverside,
formerly the
Kops Brewery
PUTNEY TO CHARING CROSS
This stretch of the Thames embraces
the most coveted riverside homes —
splendid period properties along
Chelsea Embankment, modern developments such as Imperial Wharf and
Montevetro, and new addresses such
as Nine Elms-Vauxhall. At long-disused
Lots Road Power Station, 706 homes
are being built at Chelsea Waterfront,
alongside gardens, three pedestrian
bridges across tidal Chelsea Creek and
a 660-yard riverside promenade. Prices
from £1.7 million. Call 020 7352 8852.
The new Plantation Wharf pier will
serve a string of developments along
the Battersea to Wandsworth stretch
of waterfront, where the river bus is a
much-needed transport link because
there are no Tube stations. Battersea
Reach has a series of dramatic glassfronted apartment blocks with giant
terraces overlooking the river. Prices
from £775,000. Call 020 7978 4141.
Residents at Riverside Quarter,
further west, have their own river bus
pier, Wandsworth Riverside. The
scheme sits on a bend of the Thames
known as the Wandle Delta, a noted
wildlife habitat, and the tranquil setting
5
EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 12 AUGUST 2015
New homes Homes & Property
homesandproperty.co.uk with
DANIEL LYNCH
DANIEL LYNCH
‘
Easy rider: Putney to the City commuter Tim Skipper is a river bus veteran
‘A GUARANTEED SEAT, COFFEE AND FREE WI-FI’
Bank on it:
clockwise from
left, 706 homes
will be built at
Chelsea
Waterfront; the
Thames Clipper
arrives at
Cadogan Pier,
Chelsea;
breathtaking
night-time views
are promised at
Riverwalk, along
from Tate
Britain, with 113
homes in two
new blocks — one
17 storeys high —
priced from
£1.25 million
APTLY named Tim Skipper is a river
transport veteran. He has been using
river boats to get to work for more
than a decade, even before there was
a dedicated commuter shuttle
between his home in Putney and his
office in the City.
“In the early days, the boats were
mainly pleasure craft vessels — old
and quite slow. If the tide was going
the wrong way, it added 20 minutes to
your journey,” he says. “One time, I got
stuck in a sand bank. But there has
been an enormous improvement in
the quality of boats and the service.”
He uses the Thames Clipper Putney
to Blackfriars route, which takes
about 42 minutes and has free wi-fi.
seems a million miles away from
nearby traffic-clogged Wandsworth
town centre.
Five Riverside, the latest phase, has
99 apartments in a 15-storey glass-clad
tower. Two-bedroom flats cost from
£705,000. Call 020 8877 2000.
New homes are also springing up on
the north bank of the river opposite,
around leafy Hurlingham. With 68
mansion block-style flats, Hurlingham
Walk is set around landscaped court-
yards. Prices from £700,000. Call St
James on 020 8246 4199 for details.
The former Kops Brewery has been
reincarnated as Fulham Riverside,
with 401 homes due for completion
from 2017. The open area facing the
river will have a central podium garden, with a 10ft-high waterfall feature
and provision for a croquet lawn, table
tennis tables and garden chessboard.
The façade of the old brewery, marked
by a blue plaque, has been retained.
There is a fitness suite, badminton
court, 24-hour concierge and underground parking. Prices from £796,995.
Call Barratt on 0844 811 4334.
Until recently, the prized strip close
to the Palace of Westminster was a
home-free zone, but developers are
unlocking sites for luxury apartments.
Riverwalk House, along from Tate Britain and soaring Millbank Tower, was
occupied by the Government Office for
London. The Sixties building has been
“Door to door, my journey is a little
longer than taking the train, but it is
a much better way to commute. I
always get a seat. I have a coffee on
board, send emails and make phone
calls. Sometimes, I have business
meetings on the boat. Clients love it.”
Skipper, 48, owns a recruitment
company, Totum, specialising in
office personnel for law firms.
“It’s a really convivial way to
travel,” he adds. “I’ve met at least
five people, regular travellers like
me, that I now consider close friends.
Sometimes on summer evenings, we
hop off at Chelsea Harbour on the
way home and go for a drink before
boarding another boat.”
bulldozed to make way for Riverwalk
— two curvy new blocks, one 17 storeys
high, connected by a central podium,
providing 113 homes. Prices from
£1.25 million. Call 020 7409 8756.
Meanwhile, the former headquarters
of Royal Pharmaceutical Society will
soon become Palace View, a Taylor
Wimpey development of 69 flats at the
foot of Lambeth Bridge.
O NEXT WEEK: Westminster to Woolwich
6
WEDNESDAY 12 AUGUST 2015 EVENING STANDARD
Homes & Property Commuting
homesandproperty.co.uk with
The Chiltern Hills are
closer than the
Cotswolds and a
better investment
long term, says
Ruth Bloomfield
upgraded line, and a season ticket
costs £4,140.
“West Wycombe is a beautiful village,
very well preserved, and with a nice
atmosphere,” says Robert Lomas,
manager of Thompson Wilson estate
agents.
But property is not easy to find.
Homes in the heart of the village are
rented by the National Trust and those
for sale are most likely to be on the
outskirts.
A village centre cottage would be
about £300,000 to £350,000, while a
detached family house on the outskirts
with perhaps an acre or two would cost
closer to £1 million.
T
GETTY
CHESHAM
Honey pot: 15th-century cottages in West Wycombe, a village largely owned by the National Trust and popular with tourists
The Chilterns go the distance
head in 2019, commuters will be able
to travel from the Hambleden Valley to
the West End or City with ease.
CLIVE BARDA
and a nursery and pre-school. The
village is at the bottom of the valley,
where you can climb to the surrounding villages of Christmas Common,
Northend and Ibstone.
TURVILLE
“Turville is equidistant to the pretty
The Hambleden Valley has a sprinkling
and busy Thames-side towns of Henley
of gorgeous villages, including
and Marlow, within striking distance
Hambleden itself and Skirmit.
James Shaw of buying agenc y of the M40 and, outside of rush hour,
it’s under an hour by car to London,
Prime Purchase, who has lived in the
Chilterns for a decade, favours Turville, making the capital’s nightlife and
a half-hour drive from Maidenhead and culture extremely accessible.
“In a nutshell, you have everything
five miles north of Henley.
on your doorstep, but sit within the
“It is a quintessential English village,
famed for its use in various television heart of the Hambleden Valley, feeling
a million miles from anywhere.”
dramas such as Midsomer Murders,
Turville is also handy for the annual
Jonathan Creek and The Vicar of Dibley,” he says. “Its ever-popular pub is Garsington Opera festival held four
miles away at Wormsley Park, with a
the The Bull and Butcher, it has a pretty
church on the green, woodland walks stunning concert hall set in the magnificent landscaped acres of the Getty
family home.
Wormsley Park also has its own
cricket ground, one of the most beautiful in England.
House hunters will have to accept that
the Cotswolds does steal a march on
the Chilterns architecturally. Instead
Star village:
of cottages built of golden Cotswold
Turville, left,
stone, Turville has red-brick homes
where TV series
with clay roof tiles, and many in local
including
Midsomer Murders flintstone. A t wo-bedroom cottage would cost £350,000 to £400,000,
and The Vicar of
Dibley were filmed, while a four-bedroom house would cost
from about £750,000.
is handy for the
Pre-Crossrail, commuters can travel
Garsington Opera
from Henley or Marlow to Paddington
festival, below
ALAMY
HE beautiful Chiltern Hills
are home to picturesque
villages, 324 square miles of
open countryside, great
commuter links, good
schools — and they are closer to the
capital than the Cotswolds. So why do
so many Londoners leapfrog them in
favour of their rural rival?
It’s a mystery to estate agent Lindsay
Cuthill, who says he does not know why
the Cotswolds have established themselves in the public mind as the most
aspirational location.
“One is not more beautiful than
the other — and the Chilterns are nearer
to London,” he says. “I suppose
that living in Buckinghamshire or
Bedfordshire does not have the same
glamour as Gloucestershire and
Oxfordshire, but it is not a fair or
accurate comparison.”
The Cotswolds, of course, have a roll
call of famous residents — assuming
you want to queue behind the likes of
Samantha Cameron and Liz Hurley for
a loaf of seven-seed sourdough at the
fashionable Daylesford organic farm
shop — but Cuthill sees many benefits
in the Chilterns.
House prices in the Chilterns are
more expensive due to the location —
averaging £533,876 compared with
£365,596 in the Cotswolds, according
to Savills — but property also appears
to be a better investment, with prices
up 9.9 in the past year, more than
double the 4.7 per cent rise seen in the
Cotswolds. Over the past five years,
prices in the Chilterns have risen by
almost 22 per cent, compared to just
under 15 per cent in the Cotswolds.
The coming of Crossrail could
improve the Chilterns’ performance
still further, particularly in the towns
and villages in the south of the region.
Once trains are running from Maiden-
in just over an hour. A Henley season ticket costs £4,356, while travel
from Marlow is marginally cheaper,
at £4,104. Turville does not have a
school, but Cadmore End CofE
School, rated “good” by Ofsted, is a
mile and a half away. For seniors, High
Wycombe’s grammar schools are about
five miles away.
WEST WYCOMBE
While Crossrail will turn the spotlight
on the Hambleden Valley, new rail links
are less welcome news for the north of
the Chilterns where, it is proposed, the
High Speed 2 line will cut through open
countryside from Amersham to Wendover. Happily, this should not have an
impact on one of the true beauties of
the Chilterns, West Wycombe.
The village is largely owned by the
National Trust, along with the Grade
I-listed West Wycombe Park and its
marvellous gardens dotted with follies
and temples.
The A40 runs through the village, and
it’s a walkers paradise, so weekends in
summer can be busy, but the visitors
have inspired a good range of pubs and
restaurants.
West Wycombe also has a school —
West Wycombe Combined School —
rated “good” by Ofsted, and for seniors,
schools in High Wycombe are three
miles away. Trains from High Wycombe
station take about half an hour to
Marylebone, thanks to a recently
£350,000: two-bedroom terrace
cottage in Chesham (Bairstow Eves).
Visit homesandproperty.co.uk/chesh
A good-value choice for commuters is
Chesham, which is on the Tube network, at the furthest reaches of the
Metropolitan line.
Daniel Shurey, sales manager at
Hadlands estate agents, says 60 per
cent of his buyers move to Chesham
from the London suburbs for more
space and schools. In Chesham, you
can buy a Victorian two-bedroom
cott age for about £260,000 to
£300,000, while a four-bedroom house
costs about £500,000.
The town also has a lot to offer. It has
traditional pubs — The Queen’s Head
is a good bet — small cafés and an excellent monthly farmers’ market. An arts
centre, The Elgiva, has a film club, café,
children’s summer schools, comedy
and theatre. There are two swimming
pools, Lowndes Park has regular events
from summer proms to carnivals and
pop-up restaurants, and there are
many country walks nearby.
Schools in the area are sought after,
with Chesham Grammar School and
Dr Challoner’s Grammar School both
rated “outstanding”.
Chesham is in London Underground’s
Zone 9 — yes, you read that right — and
journeys take well over an hour to central London, but many commuters
travel one stop to Chalfont & Latimer
for Chiltern Line trains into Marylebone that take 35 minutes. An annual
season ticket from here costs £3,008.
Shurey says: “It is a good place to
relax. You are high up in the Chilterns,
surrounded by the green belt, and
away from the hustle and bustle.”
£625,000: a two-bedroom cottage in
Henley-on-Thames (Property Eagle).
Visit homesandproperty.co.uk/hen
£499,950: a three-bedroom period
house in Beaconsfield (Hamptons)
Visit homesandproperty.co.uk/beac
7
EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 12 AUGUST 2015
First-time buyers Homes & Property
homesandproperty.co.uk with
This perfectly placed
East End district has
first-time homes
from £140,000, says
Ruth Bloomfield
Railway station — which is in Zone 2.
It is just five stops away from Canary
Wharf where, from 2018, it will be
possible to pick up fast Crossrail
services to the City, West End and
Heathrow.
While the local shops aren’t
fantastic, you can be at Stratford’s
huge Westfield shopping centre in
less than 10 minutes via the DLR.
Alternatively, it is a 15-minute walk
to Bromley-by-Bow station to take the
District line to central London.
Peglau is confident that the flats will
impress buyers — they are light and
airy, with modern bathrooms and
kitchens, and most have balconies.
A number of the homes overlook the
DLR tracks, which might be an issue
for some buyers, although there are
others that will look on to new
landscaped gardens.
At the moment, the area has little in
the way of facilities, save for some
basic shops and old-fashioned East
End boozers in Devons Road.
Peglau says: “Eventually, this will
change and there will be a community
with shops and cafés for the planned
500 new home owners — which is
crucial for the development of this
part of east London.”
Waterside
location: there
are walks and
cycle paths to
enjoy along the
River Lee in Bow
Light and airy:
new Merchants
Walk flats, below
and below left
THE KNOWLEDGE: BOW
Past: in the 17th century, Bow’s slightly creepy
claim to fame was as the home of fine porcelain
made from the ground-down bones of cattle
slaughtered at nearby abattoirs.
Future: St Clement’s Hospital, a former mental
health unit, is due to become London’s first
Community Land Trust, which will deliver
affordable homes for local people.
Trivial pursuit: living in Bow won’t make you a
Cockney — the adage about being born within
earshot of Bow Bells in fact refers to a church
in the City.
What it costs: the average property in E3 will
set you back £421,696, up 5.6 per cent in the
past year, while the average monthly rent for a
two-bedroom flat is £1,728, says Zoopla.
U
NTIL recently, Bow was
overlooked in the great
east London property
boom, which is strange,
since its well-placed
location — midway between Stratford
and Canary Wharf, with the fringes of
the City just to the west — is hard to
better.
However, regeneration is finally
coming to Bow in the shape of new
developments such as Merchants
Walk by Peabody (peabodysales.co.
uk), which will give first-time buyers
the chance to buy into homes in
Zone 2 from £140,000.
Over the next three years some
549 homes will be built, plus shops,
cafés, studios and offices, to create
what Andrew Peglau, marketing
manager at Peabody, describes as a
“complete community”, built on the
site of a former industrial estate with
private and shared owners, as well as
renters, all living there.
The first phase of 40 sharedownership homes at Merchants Walk
go on sale tomorrow, with prices
starting at £140,000 for a 50 per cent
share of a studio flat with a full market
value of £280,000. One-bedroom flats
are priced from £147,500 for a 50 per
cent share, and a half-share in a twobedroom flat costs £232,500.
Priority will be given to people who
are already living and working in
Tower Hamlets and the maximum
household income for eligibility is
capped at £71,000.
For most buyers, first-time or
otherwise, proximity to transport is a
major selling point. Merchants Walk is
close to Devons Road Docklands Light
ALAMY
Bow is ready
to ring the
changes
First-time buy: a two-bedroom, two-bathroom
modern apartment, which has a balcony with
river views, is on the market with eMoov for
£360,000.
Landmarks: the sadly dilapidated Art Deco
Poplar Town Hall.
Eat: superlative pub food at The Morgan Arms
in Morgan Street.
Drink: at one of the moderately traditional East
End boozers on the A11 — try The Bow Bells.
Buy: polish up your bartering skills at Roman
Road market.
Walk: in Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park, a
restored Victorian cemetery with nature
reserves and woodland — not nearly as
unnerving as it sounds.
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8
WEDNESDAY 12 AUGUST 2015 EVENING STANDARD
Homes & Property Area watch
homesandproperty.co.uk with
Shipshape:
right, Boxpark
Shoreditch has
proved popular
with young
shoppers, with a
version heading
for Croydon, left
and below left
Pop-ups to give Croydon pizzazz
Boxpark shops, restaurants and bars, loved by young
Londoners, will pep up Croydon as it prepares for a
youthful transformation, says Ginetta Vedrickas
S
KIPS and Starbucks were
once signs that a neighbourhood was on the up, but
today’s gentrification is often
rubber-stamped by the
growing number of pop-up malls
appearing across the capital.
Boxpark Croydon, the latest such
retail hub, will open next summer on
the site of the proposed £1 billion
Ruskin Square development, next to
East Croydon station.
It is the second venture for
Boxpark, whose Shoreditch scheme,
which opened in 2011, was given a
seal of approval for the East End’s
regeneration. Backed by developers
Stanhope and Schroders, Boxpark
Croydon intends to be part of the
youthful transformation of the town,
with 80 recycled shipping containers
set around a covered courtyard
housing shops, food and drink bars,
plus an event space for 2,000 people.
It is hoped the new developments
will inject some imagination into the
dreary skyline with its sad Sixties
architecture. “Things are changing
rapidly,” says Tony Newman, leader
of Croydon council.
Newman watched Shoreditch’s
revival with interest and hopes that
Boxpark does the same for his
borough. “People are now seizing
the opportunity and investing here,”
says Newman, who hopes the
construction of 9,000 homes over
the next few years will transform
Croydon into a “modern European
city on London’s edge”.
Westfield is part of regeneration
plans to take the area upmarket and
5,000 jobs will be created when the
group’s shopping centre is built in
2019. But, in the interim, Newman
says Boxpark will give workers and
Burger me: Tom Reaney, inset,
and his Old Street pop-up eatery
Burger boss’s
bear necessities
TOM REANEY raised £36,000
through Kickstarter crowd
funding to get his gourmet burger
and music outlet, Burger Bear,
installed in the new Magic
Roundabout pop-up at Old Street
roundabout, Shoreditch.
Donated free by storage firm
Mobile Mini, Reaney’s recycled
shipping container now houses
his quirky diner on a cheap lease,
enabling him to keep costs down.
He says: “I love the look of the
containers, they’re robust,
cheaper and more fun. How else
could I have started a restaurant
for £30,000?”
incomers more choice, and will
change the demographics.
Boxpark founder Roger Wade isn’t
worried about Croydon’s dowdy
image. “We’re criticised for only
appealing to Shoreditch hipsters and
now for moving into an area that’s
not hip enough,” he says. “People
living or working in Croydon are
poorly served. Let’s face it, everyone
likes good food and drink.”
Wade says Croydon is one of
London’s last boroughs to be
developed and has more to offer than
Stratford and White City. “I want
everyone to rethink their view of
Croydon,” he adds.
Some 27 million passengers a year
travel through East Croydon station.
It is 14 minutes into London Bridge,
the fastest trains from Brighton can
get to East Croydon in 36 minutes,
and the borough is being considered
for the proposed Bakerloo line
extension.
Local retailers queuing up to rent
units in Boxpark include Mark
Russell, owner of The Cronx
Brewery, who is planning a pop-up
bar. “Like the Bronx, things are
changing. This will definitely bring
people in,” he says.
Voodoo Ray’s sells New York-style
pizzas at Shoreditch and is also in
talks to rent a Croydon container.
“We’re hoping for cheaper rents,”
says co-owner Matt Tucker.
The nine-acre Ruskin Square
development will ultimately deliver
650 new homes, plus 1.25 millionsq ft
of offices and 100,000sq ft of retail
space and restaurants. Two-bedroom
apartments at first-phase block Vita
start from £402,500 and will be
ready next year. Call 020 8681 8132.
Not everyone wants shipping
containers for neighbours, but it’s a
formula that appeals to a young
crowd who are moving into the area.
Gavin Elliott, director of architecture
for BDP, the design team behind
Boxpark Croydon, rejects
accusations that pop-ups are scruffy
On the rise: above
and top, flats at
Ruskin Square,
next to Boxpark,
start at £402,500.
Left, Voodoo Ray’s
pizza restaurant,
Shoreditch, is
set to open a
Croydon branch
and transitory. “As a designer with a
long-standing enthusiasm for
creating memorable structures,
we’re intent on delivering something
amazing,” he says.
“We will build on the experience of
Boxpark Shoreditch, but take it to the
next level in the heart of Croydon.”
10
WEDNESDAY 12 AUGUST 2015 EVENING STANDARD
Homes & Property Homes abroad
homesandproperty.co.uk with
Leave the Côte d’Azur
behind and discover
the real France inland
£1.18 million: villa with separate guesthouse in Roquefort-les-Pins. Through Savills
ALAMY
T
Tucked away: an alley in the village of Tourrettes-sur-Loup
Traditional: a stone-built property in Seillans (Home Hunts)
HE south of France needs
little introduction. Royalty,
celebrities and millionaires
h ave t r a n s f o r m e d t h e
sweeping bays of the Côte
d’Azur into a much-photographed
summer playground for the rich and
famous. Yet turn inland from the glossy
super-yachts packed along the waterfront and you can find the real France
at a much more realistic price.
“Nine months of almost guaranteed
good weather, a fabulous quality of
life and a location that is easy to reach
for a weekend from London make
the south of France an easy choice,”
says Nic Brennan, of Savills France
(savills.com). “A 90-minute flight from
London means that within four hours
of leaving the office on Friday, you
could be on your terrace in France. It’s
quicker than going to Cornwall.”
Sleepy fishing village-turned-celebrity
magnet St Tropez remains a bestseller,
with buyers attracted to the fizzing
party atmosphere, but it is striking just
how much more you get inland. Savills’
average sale price in St Tropez is about
Find low-priced
village homes and
the French good life
30 minutes from
Nice airport and the
coast, but well away
from the crush, says
Cathy Hawker
£2.12 million, but last year sales up to
£17.5 million were achieved. Inland,
£1 million buys a substantial five-bedroom house with a pool, a garden and
true privacy, but it might only get you
a flat in St Tropez.
WHERE TO BUY
Character-packed villages and small
towns with local markets, offering a
taste of gentle Provençal life, attract
British buyers, including Valbonne,
High society:
above, the
hilltop village of
Tourrettes-surLoup is becoming
popular with
Britons seeking a
second home
Saint-Paul de Vence, Tourrettes-surLoup and Roquefort-les-Pins.
Tim Swannie, of property specialist
Home Hunts (home-hunts.com), points
out that while price falls inland have
helped to boost interest, many Britons
actively prefer being away from the
frenzied coastline pace. He has seen
sales surge by 90 per cent this year
compared with last.
“A village environment with local
shops and restaurants is top of many
people’s dream list,” says Swannie.
“They want to be part of a community.
The beauty of a holiday home inland,
aside from the financial savings, is that
you can dip in and out of the coast,
but not get caught in the busy summer
traffic. You can relax by your pool,
visit markets to buy local food and
SUMMER SALE
UP TO
50%
OFF
FULHAM | CHISWICK | EAST SHEEN
TOTTENHAM COURT ROAD | KINGSTON
HAMMERSMITH | CHINGFORD
SUM M E
R
BEDS, FURNITURE, MATTRESSES,
BEDDING, BED LINEN & ACCESSORIES
SALE
EXTEND
ED
www.featherandblack.com
11
EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 12 AUGUST 2015
Homes abroad Homes & Property
homesandproperty.co.uk with
ALAMY
ALAMY
Rustic charm:
right, an old shop
in Valbonne.
Below, a fourbedroom villa in
Fayence, on the
market for
£293,000 with
Leggett
Immobilier
HEAD WEST
Further west, 30 minutes inland
from St Tropez and still within 45 minutes of Nice airport, villages such
as Seillans and Fayence in the Var
offer even better value. Three-bedroom family homes here start from
£318,000 and these prices have
ensured there is plenty of renewed
British and American interest, says Tim
Clark of Leggett Immobilier. Leggett
(frenchestateagents.com) has a pretty
three-bedroom village house in the
centre of medieval Fayence at
£162,000, and a detached four-bedroom home in half an acre of gardens
o n t h e e d ge o f t h e v i l l a ge f o r
£371,000.
Oscar-winning English actress Dame
Helen Mirren deserted the celebritystudded coast for a home in St-Paulen-Fôret more than a decade ago.
She has restored half a traditional
Provençal stone farmhouse into a
three-bedroom home, leaving scope
for further renovations. This spring,
she put the house up for sale for
£449,500 and, after an agreed sale fell
through last month, it is back on the
market through Home Hunts.
THE PERFECT STORM
SUBDUED property prices,
a resurgent pound against
the euro and recent
changes to France’s tax
regime have created the
perfect storm for anyone
with money to spend.
President François
Hollande’s muchheralded social charge
was reversed and, for
many, the property
wealth tax can be
bypassed by taking out a
mortgage. There is no tax
on assets (less all
outstanding debts) of up
to £565,300, 0.3 per cent
on homes up to £919,000
and 0.7 per cent on
property worth £919,000
to £1,816,000.
“Capital gains tax has
recently been reduced
for non-residents
following an EU court
ruling which also
removed the social
charge element, bringing
the charge down from
34.5 to 19 per cent,” says
Nic Brennan, of Savills.
ALAMY
wine and enjoy days out to the sea
or mountains.” He tips the thriving
village of Opio between Grasse and
Valbonne, 15 minutes from the coast,
40 from the nearest ski resort and
under half an hour from Nice airport.
There are three international schools
nearby and a range of restaurants, from
Michelin-starred to local pizzerias.
Provençal pearl: the medieval town of Saint-Paul de Vence
Honestly, a totally professional installation and a product that’s the best in the business.
The elegant beauty of window shutters
adds an air of style to any home.
For a free brochure
packed full of great design
ideas Freephone
0800 975 5757 or visit
appealshading.com/info
Appeal offers a range of shutters and blinds to match
virtually any home shading requirement. Trendy blinds for
bi-fold doors, lantern roofs, gable ends, larger glazed areas
and awkward shaped windows. Also specialist energy saving
thermal blinds designed to keep rooms cool in summer and
reduce heat loss and energy bills in winter. With optional
features, such as remote control electric operation, you can
trust Appeal to custom make your home shading to your
exact specification. And for complete reassurance, check
out what people think of Appeal on the independent review
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www.feefo.com
WINDOW SHUTTERS
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14
WEDNESDAY 12 AUGUST 2015 EVENING STANDARD
Homes & Property Design
1
homesandproperty.co.uk with
2
Make a bold
statement
Allow abstracts into your home this summer with
splashy colours and swirls on silks, ceramics,
glass and plastic, says Barbara Chandler
1
FINNISH DESIGNER Jonna
Saarinen trained at Central Saint
Martins College and the Royal
College of Art, and is now based in
south London. Works showcasing
her colourful prints include this tray,
which costs £22 from the Royal
Festival Hall shop in the Southbank
Centre, SE1. Call 020 7960 5228 or
visit shop.southbankcentre.co.uk
4
DESIGNER Susi Bellamy creates
abstract prints in her Newcastle
studio which have inspired a
range of cushions. “I call them art for
your sofa,” she says. The designs are
printed on to a silk-like polyester,
with a plain backing. Each cushion is
50cm square with a feather filling,
£95 each, from susibellamy.co.uk
5
GRAFFITI STRIPE is an
arresting and colourful pattern
by Scottish design duo Timorous
Beasties. It comes as a wallpaper —
138cm wide — at £99 a metre, or as a
glowing cotton velvet at £150 a metre.
Call 0141 959 3331 or visit
timorousbeasties.com
LONDON designer Justin Van
Breda has returned to his native
Cape Town to put together a
collection of designs by South
African artisans. This glass bowl,
£950, develops its pattern during the
blowing process. Visit World End
Studios, SW10 by appointment, call
020 7349 7089 or visit j-v-b.com
3
6
2
EVERY cushion and lamp shade
made by artist Laura Slater is
screen-printed by hand on to
fine linen, combining elements in a
multitude of ways to make each
item different. Rectangular cushions
cost from £54, with square ones
starting at £60. Lamp shades start
at £75. Call 07929 599215 or
visit lauraslater.co.uk
SCOTTISH designer Fi Douglas,
known for her splashy fabric
florals, has done panels for
British appliance maker Dualit
that you can attach to its Architect
kettle or toaster. This kettle is
£79.96 and the four-slice toaster is
£99.95, with panel packs available
at £24.95. From dualit.com and
bluebellgray.com
15
EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 12 AUGUST 2015
Design Homes & Property
homesandproperty.co.uk with
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20
WEDNESDAY 12 AUGUST 2015 EVENING STANDARD
Homes & Property My home
ADRIAN LOURIE
homesandproperty
Art of glass: Niloufar Bakhtiar-Bakhtiari in her Chelsea sitting room, with bevelled mirror wall and pink Yves Klein coffee table
A TOAST TO MY
COLOURFUL LIFE
Philippa Stockley meets a designer who turned two flats into a
family home full of colour and style — with a sizzling basement bar
Photographs:
Andrew
Beasley
Quality street:
BakhtiarBakhtiari was
delighted to find
the house for sale
in a road she had
long admired
A
SUPPER for four that often
becomes 14 — all sitting on
Philippe Starck Ghost
chairs — is no problem for
Swiss-Iranian interior
designer Niloufar Bakhtiar-Bakhtiari.
Fabulous Iranian hospitality is wellknown, but the thinking behind it less
so. “We have a saying,” she explains.
“Treat any stranger well who comes to
your home, in case they turn out to be
an angel.”
When she and her husband first
came to London they lived at her
grandparents’ house, saving for three
years before buying a tiny flat in
Fulham with a 37-year lease. “I did it
up with a carpenter,” she says.
It was there that the design bug took
hold. Bakhtiar-Bakhtiari was running
a bed linen company, making bespoke
linens for designers, when a client
asked her to design the interiors for a
ski chalet. After that, word of mouth
led to other jobs and she just kept
going, turning a passion into a career.
The couple then moved to a bigger
house in Fulham, where they stayed
for 10 years, before spotting BakhtiarBakhtiari’s current home, in Chelsea,
in an agent’s window in 2011.
“I always loved this street,” she says.
The house was divided into two flats
with a little entry hall, and the
interiors were very white and Nordic.
She planned to revert the flats back to
a single property, and with six months
to wait between exchange and
completion, she had time to plan the
whole renovation and design job, and
to buy all the materials required. Once
she had set to work, the whole project
was completed in six months. “I put in
17 steel beams,” she explains.
The house is colourful and
welcoming. “Colour can enhance your
mood and your life,” she says.
CLASSICS AND BRIGHTS
Modern pieces of art sit alongside a
casual mix of bespoke chairs and sofas
in rich, warm colours and velvety
textures, plus French armchairs
inherited from her grandparents.
A striking Yves Klein coffee table,
filled with vibrant pink pigment, vies
for attention with a dining table she
designed, its antique mirrored top
drawing everything on it together.
A bevelled wall of mirrors behind the
fireplace adds focus and catches
reflections of the high-walled garden —
a lush oasis of pleached crab apples,
jasmine, roses and buxus balls
irregularly placed. There’s a gravel run
for playing pétanque, while the lawn is
fake, so her 15-year-old son, Alexandre,
can play football. Using classic design
elements with a striking colour palette
is the key to the whole house. Two little
bathrooms are magical. One is
completely black — it has a black
lavatory, black walls, even black loo
paper — with one mirrored wall, on
which hangs a gorgeous French nickel
basin and taps, plus pretty lamps. “I
don’t like to see white ‘white goods’,”
Bakhtiar-Bakhtiari explains. “Black
toilets are elegant. I design the nickel
basins, which are made in France.”
She doesn’t like to see radiators,
either, so boxes them in and adds
narrow storage units to either side so
they disappear into a streamlined run
of shallow cupboards. Underfloor
heating is added for good measure.
Cupboard doors are upholstered and
walls hold art worth looking at, even in
the children’s rooms. On the landing are
portraits of her Iranian great-grandfathers, in the uniform of their own army.
“We are a tribe, from the south-west of
Iran. One of the last nomadic tribes in the
world,” she adds.
GOING UNDERGROUND
The biggest surprise is in the
basement, half of which has been
turned into a serious bar. Painted cosy
crimson, with deep-red velvet bespoke
armchairs and sofa, as well as a
mirrored bar, it makes you want to
21
EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 12 AUGUST 2015
My home Homes & Property
ANDREW BEASLEY
y.co.uk with
ANDREW BEASLEY
ANDREW BEASLEY
Eye-catching: walls display art that’s worth looking at — even in the children’s rooms
Neutrals and accents: orange is the colour-pop contrast with soft grey for a bedroom
Warm and
welcoming: the
sumptuous cellar
bar in shades of
red, with a velvet
sofa, armchairs,
and the drinks
store set into
a wall
sink into the sofa and drink Martinis, a
world away from the bustling streets
above. Bakhtiar-Bakhtiari took away
the supporting wall to the corridor,
replaced it with four massive steel
columns, and then inset a double-glass
wall, containing a temperaturecontrolled wine store.
Bakhtiar-Bakhtiari was raised in
Geneva by her mother, a judge. She
went to Paris to study law, where she
met her now-former husband. After
six years there, in 1996 the couple
came to London, where her family had
settled, having left Iran in 1979-1980.
B
Perfectly
formed: the
small bathrooms
are tastefully
decorated,
with elegant
fittings and
pretty lamps
AKHTIAR-BAKHTIARI loves
London and is taking British
citizenship. “I’m a real
Londoner,” she says. “My
friends, work and family are
all here and my daughter, 10-year-old
Maxine, wants to be prime minister.
“London is really cosmopolitan —
much more than Paris.”
Design is the perfect job for BakhtiarBakhtiari — “I could draw you plans of
my homes when I was five” — and she
has always been passionate about
warm, rich colours. “Colour is your
friend, especially if you are on a tight
budget,” she insists. “If you don’t like
it, what is the worst thing that can
happen? Just change it.”
HOW TO GET THE LOOK
What it cost:
estimated cost of works in 2011,
including interior design, at trade
prices and excluding fees: £500,000
Bakhtiar-Bakhtiari’s design tips:
use colour. How people describe
colour varies from person to person.
One person’s orange is different from
another’s, so I get clients to show me
objects with the colour they mean.
Paint is great. If you have wooden
floors and you cannot afford to carpet
wall-to-wall, paint the floorboards.
Luxury today is having things made
bespoke, rather than having
production line stuff from China. There
are superb craftspeople in England.
Buying bespoke isn’t as expensive as
you think. I design all our sofas and
make them using the same company
and they cost half the price of a big
sofa company. Everyone needs a
super-deep sofa that all of you can
snuggle up on to watch movies.
Put the big money into getting the
structure and services right. Then add
accessories that you can change with
the seasons — such as lampshades,
sofas and cushions.
The designer’s little black book:
some of the upholstery fabrics are
from Claremont, Chelsea at
claremontfurnishing.com
Yves Klein coffee table: try modern
antiques sales or ebay.co.uk
Kitchen: Mowlem (mowlemandco.com)
White quartz composite silestone
worktops: from silestone.co.uk
Reflective tiles in main bathroom:
Topps Tiles (toppstiles.co.uk)
Oak and leather flooring: Element 7
(element7.co.uk)
Black lavatory and nickel taps: by
Lefroy Brooks (lefroybrooks.co.uk)
Nickel basins: made by Jandelle,
Paris (jandelle.com)
Glass pendant lights in bathrooms:
by Best and Lloyd, King’s Road
(bestandlloyd.com)
Glass doorknobs: from Haute Déco
(hautedeco.com)
Black (and other coloured) loo
paper: from Renova (myrenova.com)
Paint in bar: Rectory Red, from
Farrow & Ball (farrow-ball.com)
Garden design: Jonathan Snow
(jonathansnowdesign.co.uk)
O Niloufar Bakhtiar-Bakhtiari at
nbbdesign.com
22
WEDNESDAY 12 AUGUST 2015 EVENING STANDARD
Homes & Property Reader promotion
homesandproperty.co.uk with
Alison
Cork
Factory-chic shelf
Choose
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Smart, energy-saving windows chair
SAVING energy never
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doors, above, have
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As specialists in replacing
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come with insuranceapproved multi-point locks
as standard, plus a
guarantee of up to 30 years.
For 10 per cent off, visit
ayrtonbespoke.com, call
020 8877 8920 or visit
the showroom in Merton
Road, SW18 5AD, and use
code AYRES1208 before
August 31.
WITHIN’S chic Chloe occasional
chair in velvet, above, is sprung for
comfort and features decorative
deep buttoning.
Available in a choice of grape, slate
and truffle velvet for only £295,
readers can save an additional 15 per
cent by quoting code VELVET.
Matching Burford end-of-bed
ottomans are also available, priced at
£356 in the Made in Britain sale.
Discounts on British-made
upholstery apply to non-sale items
only. To order, visit withinhome.
com/velvet or call 020 7087 2900
before August 26.
INDUSTRIAL-STYLE furniture and
accessories in a range from Vincent
and Barn include this metal shelf unit.
At 60cm in diameter, it is ideal for a
bathroom or any neglected wall space.
Priced at £105, readers can claim
10 per cent off, as well as free
mainland UK delivery, with code
CUAROUND at vincentandbarn.co.uk
before August 26.
Bargain news
Throw a hen party
in your garden
Swede dreams
PUT visitors up in comfort with this
slick but practical Recast sofa bed
from Onedeko.
Taking its Scandinavian flair from
the style pioneered by young Danish
and Swedish designers in the Fifties,
it converts into a full-size double bed.
It comes in either the soft pacific
pearl shade shown, or cobalt blue,
with dark-stained wood and a matt
black powder-coated steel base.
Normally priced at £981, the Recast
is available to readers for only £751,
using code ALISONATHOME.
Visit onedeko.co.uk or call 020 7377
5900 before August 23.
MAKE your garden more fun with a
collection of outdoor hens from
One Regent Place.
The hand-painted decorative birds
are reduced from £59.99 to only
£28.99, and include the Audrey
Henburn, left, the Maid Marihen, the
Doris Lay and the Sophia Laurhen.
Made from sheet steel, each piece
has an antique finish and is about
35cm in height.
To order, visit oneregentplace.co.uk
or call 020 7087 2907, Monday to
Friday, before August 17.
O The companies listed here are wholly independent of the Evening Standard. Care is taken to establish that they are bona fide, but we recommend that you carry out your own checks prior to purchases and use a credit card
where possible. To offer feedback on any of these companies, email homesandproperty@standard.co.uk with “Bargain News” in the subject line. For more bargains, visit alisonathome.com or homesandproperty.co.uk/offers.
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24
WEDNESDAY 12 AUGUST 2015 EVENING STANDARD
Homes & Property Outdoors
homesandproperty.co.uk with
Plot-to-plate
rooftop
gardens are
on the up
Copy Coutts bank and grow a
feast of vegetables on your roof.
It could be a great investment
Pattie
Barron
T
HE Pinot Meunier grapes are
ripening on the vine and the
six varieties of raspberry are
likely to beat last year’s 66lb
bounty, in what is probably
London’s finest kitchen garden.
This is no suburban allotment, however. The bees that work the borage
flowers fly over from the Garrick Club’s
rooftop hives in Garrick Street, and you
could practically lob a beefsteak
tomato at one of the Charing Cross station commuters four storeys below.
For this is the Coutts Skyline garden,
on top of the bank’s HQ in the Strand,
and the violet French beans, kiwi fruits
and other desirable edibles that crowd
the narrow walkways are used in the
company’s restaurant kitchens one
floor beneath, so going from plot to
plate in a matter of moments.
“You get an extra vibrancy of colour
and taste when you can pick produce
fresh from your larder on the roof,”
says Coutts executive chef Peter Fiori,
who grew tired, five years ago, of looking out of his fourth-floor office window and seeing a grey, unused space.
He asked his great friend, the grower
Richard Vine, who pioneered the micro
Harvest festival:
flowers, herbs,
vegetables and
fruits flourish in
the warm
microclimate
four floors up
Gardening
problems?
Email our RHS
expert at: expert
gardeningadvice
@gmail.com
herbs revolution at Le Manoir aux
Quat’Saisons in Oxfordshire, to plant
up a box of edibles, and presented it to
the Coutts board, promising them that
they would ultimately save on shopping bills by having their own market
on the roof.
The board agreed and Vine got the
prisoners at HMP High Down to knock
up some planters from decking boards.
With Vine tending the garden, Fiori’s
vision became reality.
Sadly, Vine died last year, but the
garden and his legacy live on. Other
restaurants with rooftops have followed
suit, such as The Dairy, Clapham, where
herbs are grown in supermarket crates,
Pied à Terre in Charlotte Street and Kit
Kemp’s Ham Yard Hotel in Soho, where
the raised beds sit between olive, apple
and pear trees. The original, however,
is arguably the best. Who else grows
The garden’s creators: Peter Fiori, executive chef at Coutts, with his friend, the late Richard Vine
Douglas fir so they can bring a lemony
zing to fish dishes by blending the
needles with sea salt, or gets a kick —
literally — by grating wasabi root pulled
from a deep planter? “That thrilled the
Japanese delegates,” recalls Fiori, who
stresses that the produce is here to eat,
not to look beautiful.
However, these edibles are chosen
for their on-the-plate good looks as well
as their flavour. There are baby
rainbow carrots, Black Truffle and
Highland Burgundy Red potatoes,
fragrant white as well as red alpine
strawberries and russet mustard salad
leaves with a horseradish tang.
Seeds are sown successionally, three
times a year, so that there isn’t one
bountiful harvest, but continuous pickings. Everything is used — beetroot
leaves are blackened in butter, courgette flowers are stuffed with crabmeat
and aioli, French and English lavender,
grown to pull in the pollenators, is used
in ice cream, honey and biscuits, while
the variegated leaves of nasturtiums,
as well as their orange petals, add a
peppery flourish.
The space — which warmed by heat
from the walls of the building can reach
over 40C — is used wisely. Each of the
long walkways on four sides has its own
garden. The sunniest side, at the front
of the building, is for fruit, including
tomatoes by the air-conditioning vents
that whoosh warm air on to them. Runner beans, growing on tripods in big
black buckets, are tucked into alcoves
to protect them from winds, while
vines twine around the handrails,
grapes dangling invitingly.
There are other advantages of growing on high, says the Skyline’s current
gardener Jack Astbury, who created
The Culpeper restaurant’s rooftop
kitchen garden in Spitalfields and was
head grower at London’s first commercial roof garden, above Budgens supermarket in Crouch End.
“There are no slugs and snails or damage from pigeons because the seagulls
Sound economy:
nothing is
wasted. Even the
edible scarlet
flowers of runner
beans are used
to decorate
dishes
Photographs:
Marianne
Majerus
attack them,” says Astbury, who has
introduced new edibles to the garden
such as Vietnamese coriander, which
doesn’t run to seed. He will soon be
adding a wormery for the ultimate in
composts.
“Otherwise the rules for growing up
here are the same as any place where
edibles are grown — fresh compost,
watering, feeding. What stops people,
I find, isn’t the lack of space, it’s a lack
of imagination.”
25
EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 12 AUGUST 2015
Outdoor design Homes & Property
homesandproperty.co.uk with
2
1
3
Little space, big impact
One large, stand-out
sculptural piece can
really give a small
garden that extra
wow factor. Pattie
Barron tracks down
some show stoppers
5
4
I
NSTEAD of scaling down in a
small garden, courtyard or
patio, scale up with one terrific
feature that will transform your
outside space — especially in
August when vibrant summer colour
is fading and a boost of something
extra will be welcome, to carry the
interest through to autumn.
6
1 CARVED from a block of natural
2 A BRIGHT red sofa, pitched against
a white patio wall, has similar impact
to a field of scarlet poppies. Resol’s
Bob outdoor sofa — made of wipedown, UV-protected polyethylene,
with painted aluminium legs — looks
great indoors or outdoors. At 113cm
in length, the Bob costs £600, or opt
for the chair at £349.99 (01489
557600; llcliving.co.uk).
7
sandstone, the large Bliss sphere
makes the perfect contemplative
piece. Water trickles from the central
infinity pool, cascading over the
surface and highlighting the many
shades in the stone. With reservoir,
pump and cobblestones to set it on,
the Bliss water feature costs
from £699 for a 50cm-size sphere
(0345 605 2505; worm.co.uk).
3 THE Modern Garden Company’s
hemisphere side table, made of
double-walled zinc, has an inset
cooler bowl carved into one side to
keep the bubbly and crudités nicely
chilled. The Zinc Cool table measures
just over a metre in diameter and
33cm high, and costs £1,753 (01279
653200; moderngardencompany.
com).
4 TRANSFORM a small, dark
courtyard with a dramatic panel of
verdigris bronze latticework that
overlays a surface of mirror-polished
stainless steel. During the day the
panel reflects available light, while
at night, LED lighting converts the
piece into an illuminated wall
sculpture. Measuring 148cm x 50cm,
it costs £7,110 (01235 859300;
davidharber.com).
5 SCREEN off your outdoor space
with mobile dividers that hold
planters so flowers can push through
the patterned trellis. Elmas Mobile
Planter Trellis, by Michael Koenig for
Flora, is available in galvanised sheet
metal or powder-coated white and
has fixed and swivelling castors. Buy
them in two different sizes from £547
(02392 410045; encompassco.com).
6 TRADE the scrappy flowerpots
for stylish architectural planters
in Corten steel, the landscape
designer’s material of choice that
flatters both foliage and flowers.
The Box is on wheels and ranges in
sizes that suit plants from a single
geranium to a tree. Priced at £169
for size 55cm x 43cm. From
Encompassco (as before).
7 ONE exquisite piece of sculpture
can make a striking focal point when
set on a lawn or in a border.
Peter M Clarke’s petalled shape
with tapering stamens, called Copper
Pod Form V, comes in shimmering
copper but is also available in a
verdigris finish as well as different
sizes, starting at £1,900 for
size 1.4m, which includes an
oak plinth (020 7435 0510;
maureenmichaelson.com).
8 TAKE a campfire made
from a bunch of sticks,
upgrade it to tubes
of stainless steel and you
have a cool,
contemporary outdoor
fireplace, whether lit or
unlit.
The Stix, designed
by acclaimed
Barcelona-based
designer Hiroshi
Tsunoda, is 78cm x
55cm and holds a
reservoir for
biofuel, which is
included in
the price — £1,999
(020 7834 1677;
smartfireuk.com).
8
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26
WEDNESDAY 12 AUGUST 2015 EVENING STANDARD
Homes & Property Property searching
homesandproperty.co.uk with
B
USY and attractive, the
Hertfordshire commuter
town of Bishop’s Stortford is
on the verge of major expansion, with 2,500 new homes
planned north of the town centre and
the possibility of another 550 in two
developments around the train station
and The Causeway.
This ancient market town, which
oozes history, lies 40 miles north-east
of central London by road, with a fast
train service to Liverpool Street station
that takes a little over half an hour.
Bishop’s Stortford was shaped by the
River Stort, which today provides
lovely waterside walks. The Saxons
settled around a ford in the town, and
the Normans built a castle defended by
the river. Water mills powered flour
mills and, in 1769, after the town’s
major industry supplying malt by
horse-drawn cart to London brewers
went into decline because of the poor
state of the roads, the Stort was made
navigable.
New canal basins and maltings were
built, barges took over from the carts
and the trade was rescued.
With a landmark Corn Exchange
overlooking the town square, the architecture of Bishop’s Stortford reflects
its history. There are period cottages,
Victorian and Edwardian terraces and
more modern houses.
WHAT THERE IS TO BUY
Justin Godfrey, of Savills estate agents,
says the town has everything from twobedroom period cottages selling for
about £300,000 to substantial modern
five-bedroom houses in the leafier
roads for up to £1.5 million.
There is also a good selection of flats
for first-time buyers in new developments close to the station that start at
about £200,000. House hunters will
find more expensive period and newbuild homes in the villages around the
town, but most buyers come looking
for modern four-bedroom family
houses that sell for between £315,000
and £625,000. The price per square
foot varies between £350 and £450,
depending on location.
Staying power: London buyers often
trade up to larger houses in the surrounding villages.
Up and coming: Godfrey tips the
modern detached houses in the
Bishop’s Park and St Michael’s
Spotlight
Bishop’s Stortford
Sweet treats: Hannah Clark on duty at the popular South Street Pantry café
Take a fast train
home to historic
market town
Shaped by the lovely River Stort, this thriving
spot is getting thousands of new homes,
discovers Anthea Masey
Mead developments. Four-bedroom,
t wo-bathroom houses here sell
from about £550,000.
WHERE TO SHOP
AND WHERE TO EAT
Bishop’s Stortford has an extensive
town centre along High Street, Bridge
Street, Potter Street, North Street and
South Street, with a mix of major
chains and independent shops. The
main shopping centre, Jackson Square,
has Sainsbury’s, Argos, Clarks, New
Look, Next, Starbucks and The Body
Shop, among others. Florence Walk
mainly offers independent shops —
Mosaic and Blink are good for gifts,
while Cura Apothecary has luxury
beauty brands including REN and
Bamford.
For furniture, try interiors shop
Lathams Home, while Coopers of Stortford is a family-run home and garden
store. There is a general market on
A moment’s peace: there are lovely
walks to be had along the River Stort
Thursdays and Saturdays. Also on
Thursdays, there is a farmers’ market
behind the Half Moon pub.
The Cross Gallery sells jewellery and
artwork of a professional standard by
people with epilepsy or learning difficulties, as part of the Jewellery Project, a
scheme run by St Elizabeth’s Centre in
Much Hadham, a local village. For
coffee lovers, there is plenty of choice
in South Street, with cafés such as
Coffee Corner and the South Street
Pantry. Opposite them, Thirst Café is
an imaginative take on a youth club.
Chain restaurants such as Zizzi,
Prezzo, Carluccio’s and Pizza Express
are represented, with branches of Bill’s
and Côte opening soon. Host is a smart
cocktail bar and restaurant in the Corn
Exchange building, with a rooftop
terrace overlooking Market Square. A
WHAT’S ON THE MARKET?
£910,000
£330,000
£415,000
£649,950
A CHAIN-FREE family house with five
bedrooms, heaps of parking space and a large
mature garden in Stansted Road, Birchanger,
Bishop’s Stortford. Through DreamPad.
O homesandproperty.co.uk/stanroad
THIS fully modernised, two-double bedroom
cottage at The Almshouses in Manuden
village, near Bishop’s Stortford, is said to date
back to the 15th century. Through Intercounty.
O homesandproperty.co.uk/almshouses
A THREE-BEDROOM house, imaginatively
extended, at Knights Close in the Bishop’s
Park area of town, has just come to the
market through Intercounty.
O homesandproperty.co.uk/bishopspark
IN COUNTRYSIDE but within good reach of
schools and commuter trains, this bungalow
with four bedrooms is in Birchanger Lane,
Bishop’s Stortford. Through Wright & Co.
O homesandproperty.co.uk/birchangerlane
To find a home in Bishop’s Stortford, visit homesandproperty.co.uk/bishopsstortford
For more about Bishop’s Stortford, visit homesandproperty.co.uk/spotbishops
F
27
EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 12 AUGUST 2015
Property searching Homes & Property
homesandproperty.co.uk with
CHECK THE STATS
Keeping busy:
clockwise from
left, Pete Williams
of Thirst Café, a
charity project for
young people;
Alex Johnson of
De Rosa Music,
incorporating a
shop and music
school in Water
Lane; Bishop’s
Stortford Golf
Club in Dunmow
Road
■WHAT HOMES COST
BUYING IN BISHOP’S STORTFORD
(Average prices)
One-bedroom flat £176,000
Two-bedroom flat £268,000
Two-bedroom house £290,000
Three-bedroom house £417,000
Four-bedroom house £502,000
Source: Zoopla
RENTING IN BISHOP’S STORTFORD
(Average rates)
One-bedroom flat £614 a month
Two-bedroom flat £943 a month
Two-bedroom house £982 a month
Three-bedroom house £1,134 a month
Four-bedroom house £1,517 a month
Source: Zoopla
GO ONLINE FOR MORE
O The best schools in and around
Bishop’s Stortford
O All the latest local housing
developments
O The lowdown on the rental
market
great spot for afternoon tea is Rosey
Lea café and tea rooms in Market
Square. It is just a few paces away from
Unico, an Italian restaurant in the converted Drill Hall. The Lemon Tree in
Water Lane is the closest the town gets
to fine dining.
Open space: in addition to those walks
beside the Stort, Sworders Field and
Castle Gardens offer the old castle
mound, a children’s playground, two
skate parks and a newly opened
paddling pool. There are forest walks,
a lake with boats to hire and an outdoor
café in the National Trust-owned
Hatfield Forest.
Leisure and the arts: the Rhodes Arts
Complex in South Road, which includes
the Bishop’s Stortford Museum, is
named after Cecil Rhodes, who was
born in the town. The businessman
was the founder of De Beers mining
company and the African territory of
Rhodesia. The centre puts on a varied
programme of theatre, exhibitions,
film, dance, music and comedy, while
Empire in Anchor Street is the local
multiplex cinema.
For swimmers, Grange Paddocks
Leisure Centre in Rye Street is the
council-operated facility, while there’s
a private swimmming pool at the
Nuffield Health Fitness & Wellbeing
gym in Anchor Street. Golfers have a
local choice of the Bishop’s Stortford
Golf Club in Dunmow Road, or Great
Hadham Country Club in Much
Hadham.
Travel: the M11 runs close to the town,
giving access to London, Cambridge,
Stansted airport and the M25. The
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE
How does Bishop’s Stortford link Cecil
the lion with that other alpha male,
former US President Bill Clinton?
Find the answer at
homesandproperty.co.uk/spotbishops
Stansted Express provides a fast train
service to London, with services to
Liverpool Street taking 38 minutes.
Some commuters change at Tottenham
Hale for the Victoria line. An annual
season ticket to Liverpool Street costs
£3,696.
Council: Bishop’s Stortford comes
under East Herts district council, which
is Conservative-controlled.
The Band D council tax for this year
is £1,512.57.
Photographs:
Daniel Lynch
For home and
garden wares:
Marc Hollingsworth
at Coopers of
Stortford
department store
RSVP FOR THE LAUNCH
THIS WEEKEND
STYLISH 3 & 4 BEDROOM HOUSES FROM £515,000
• Spacious family homes
• Contemporary specification
• Private gardens
• Off street parking
• Walk to Hayes station, with direct trains
to London Bridge in 35 minutes*
Computer Generated Image
*Travel times approximate only.
Prices and information correct at time of print.
2 BEDROOM HOUSES COMING SOON
BOURNE VALE, HAYES, BROMLEY BR2 7PR
CALL TO BOOK YOUR VIEWING, 10AM - 5PM
0845 600 6692
SALES@THEGREEN-BR2.COM
WWW.THEGREEN-BR2.COM
30
WEDNESDAY 12 AUGUST 2015 EVENING STANDARD
Homes & Property Letting on
I
’VE never thought of myself as
racist, but I think from next year
some landlords will be wary of
letting to foreigners, or at least
to anyone from outside the
European Union. That’s appalling,
I know, but I think it’s inevitable due
to a new government scheme.
Personally I don’t care whether my
tenants come from Tooting or
Timbuktu — their nationality is no
concern of mine. All that matters is
that they pay their rent on time and
behave themselves.
However, the Government’s
confirmation earlier this month that
it intends to make landlords
responsible for policing illegal
immigration — and fine or even
imprison those of us who let to
tenants who don’t have a legal right
to live in the UK — will make many
landlords less comfortable about
taking tenants who require visas.
A Right to Rent scheme will be
rolled out across England from 2016,
which will mean that landlords will
have to check that every tenant who
doesn’t have an automatic right to
live here has a valid visa.
If we don’t know whether they need
a visa, or if we’re unsure that the visa
we are shown is valid, we will have to
check with the Home Office, which
will take a few days. That’s not too
onerous, assuming we are not duped
into accepting a forgery.
What is more of a worry is that
when our tenants’ visas expire, or
if their application for asylum is
rejected, we will have to evict them.
homesandproperty.co.uk with
Why foreign
tenants may
get frozen out
Victoria Whitlock believes measures to
clamp down on illegal immigrants will make
landlords wary of accepting non-EU renters
The
accidental
landlord
To make it easier to boot out asylum
seekers, the Home Office will issue
landlords with a notice when their
tenant’s application has been
rejected. This notice will allow the
landlord to evict the tenant without
the need to go through the usual
lengthy and expensive process of
obtaining a court order.
However, it hasn’t said how
landlords should go about evicting
tenants whose visas have expired.
I often let rooms to some of the
thousands of young travellers and
students who come to London every
year to work or study, and I can see
these new rules creating a massive
problem for them.
By law, landlords must offer tenants
a minimum six-month contract, so
how will those tenants whose visas
are due to expire in less than six
months find accommodation?
Landlords might not want to
accept them any more because one
law says we are not allowed to evict
them until six months are up, but
another says we must if their visas
have run out. There are lots of people
£725 a week: this bright and spacious, one-bedroom, open-plan apartment at
Pelham Court, close to Brompton Cross in SW3, is available to rent through
Residential Land. Visit homesandproperty.co.uk/alrent
who take on tenancies for longer
than the duration of their visa
because they intend to apply for an
extension or renewal, but in future
they might struggle to find
accommodation because landlords
won’t want to risk being forced to
evict them if their application fails.
Quite rightly it is illegal to
discriminate against tenants based
on their nationality — guidelines on
Right to Rent make it clear landlords
should not refuse to let to someone
with a “time-limited right to stay in
the UK”. Landlords who discriminate
can be prosecuted under the
Equality Act 2010 and fined.
But once these new rules are
applied, I can see some landlords
discreetly choosing tenants from
Britain and the EU over those who
require visas. If that is racist, then
I think it is the fault of Right to Rent.
O Victoria Whitlock lets three
properties in south London. To
contact Victoria with your ideas
and views, tweet @vicwhitlock
Find many more homes to rent at
homesandproperty.co.uk/lettings
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TOWNHOUSE PRICES START
FROM £895,000
For further information please call
Stubbings Property Marketing
on 020 8569 7449 or visit
www.brentfordlockwest.co.uk
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32
WEDNESDAY 12 AUGUST 2015 EVENING STANDARD
Homes & Property Inside story
homesandproperty.co.uk with
Learn origami to
conceal a secret bid
MONDAY
The office is already buzzing with activity as the week kicks off, with landlords
and tenants emailing questions, sending back paperwork, dropping in keys
and — my favourite part — discussing
offers following a busy weekend of
viewings.
There are 44 new emails, 16 of which
are enquiries from prospective tenants
hoping to book viewings for properties
we have advertised online. My phone
is flashing with new voicemails. I have
three new properties to prepare to
send out, 36 potential landlords to
contact and four offer forms on my
desk. Oh, and it’s only 8.45am — time
to start my morning meeting. It’s a busy
summer.
TUESDAY
Every morning, we run through our
diaries and discuss the previous day’s
viewings. It’s not only a chance for my
team to have a quick coffee to wake up
before hitting the phones, but also to
get together to discuss the various
applicants they are working with, so
we can find them a suitable property.
Today, there is a huge amount of
excitement over a four-bedroom house
we currently manage, which came back
on to the market yesterday. We already
discuss the progress of each of our letting negotiators. While working our
way through the daily load of valuations, instructions and offers, we find
some time to focus on the training and
management of our team of negotiators, to ensure that targets are met and
our standards are maintained.
have four offers and two second viewings scheduled for this afternoon. I’m
always amused by the array of offer
forms I receive — some folded almost
into origami in an attempt to conceal
the details.
As I return to my emails, I see two
more offers from our local offices on
the same property. We now have 24
professionals, aged between 23 and 27,
all competing for the same property.
It’s a great time to be a landlord.
FRIDAY
WEDNESDAY
My first client meeting is at 11.30am.
The property on our books is one of
my favourites, and it’s coming back on
the market. From exposed brick walls
to the roll-top bath and the beautiful
White Company interior, it’s stunning
— I remember it well and I know it is
going to be popular.
As we step on to the roof terrace and
soak up the breathtaking views across
the city, I feel a pang of relief that the
house is still as immaculate as it was
the first time I saw it. Within an hour,
we have eight viewings booked in for
tomorrow.
Between appointments, I manage to
get through to the landlord of the fourbedroom house from yesterday. Having
had a total of seven offers within 24
Diary of
an estate
agent
hours of coming to the market, he’s a
little overwhelmed. After some time to
think about the offers and a couple of
calls back and forth, we agree to accept
an offer above the asking price, with
an immediate move-in, on a two-year
lease. I seal the deal with one final
phone call, delighting both tenants and
landlord, as I park up on my driveway
at 8.36pm.
THURSDAY
Our Northcote Road branch is the
venue for our 8am weekly pipeline
meeting to catch up on the scene in
Battersea and Clapham. It’s a chance
for all the negotiators to run through
the homes they have rented out over
the week, and to discuss the hottest
properties on the register. The managers are treated to a quick coffee — and
an almond croissant, if we’re lucky —
with the lettings director, where we
Following the catch-up with each of the
13 negotiators from our three offices
around Clapham Common — Clapham,
Balham and Battersea — we have a great
opportunity to let our landlords know
how hard we are working.
I update them on the number of viewings we have had and what is coming
up, we discuss any potential works or
maintenance issues, and I prepare
them for any offers that may be bubbling away. Feeling relieved that it’s
Friday, the boys whizz over to the local
Ginger Pig to collect their high-protein
delicacies, while the girls re-energise
over edamame and sashimi.
I finish the week with a quick look
over my deal book to summarise the
week’s progress. We have 73 new
potential tenants registered, seven
properties rented, five of which had
competing offers, three with offers in
under 48 hours, two over the asking
price, and we’ve been instructed to let
nine new properties — I think that
deserves a nice glass of wine tonight.
O Nichola Denman is an associate
director and lettings manager at
Marsh & Parsons in Balham
(020 8673 4377).
34
WEDNESDAY 12 AUGUST 2015 EVENING STANDARD
Homes & Property New homes
Eurostar puts Kent
towns on track
Traditional: a home in The Vale
development in Southfleet, Kent
EBBSFLEET VALLEY in Kent is a key
location if St Pancras and Paris
loom large in your life.
Its Eurostar station, Ebbsfleet
International, has helped put the
area back on the map, opening up
villages and towns along the banks
of the Thames Estuary to commuters.
The hub offers six trains an hour
into Stratford, while services to
St Pancras take about 18 minutes.
Nearby towns such as Dartford,
Gravesend and Southfleet are all
improving, too, with the impact of
better transport infrastructure.
The Vale in Southfleet is a
collection of 32 semi-detached,
detached and terrace homes, built in
traditional Kentish style. A classic
oast house has also been converted.
Completions are due in spring and
summer next year. Call Millwood
Designer Homes on 01474 230160.
homesandproperty.co.uk with
By David Spittles
Smart mo
o
A chance
to design
your
own
home
C
HISWICK MALL is one of
west London’s hidden
gems. Tucked away
behind Lamb Brewery
Studios alongside Great
West Road, this riverside stretch is a
charming jumble of period houses
ranging from gorgeous Georgian
residences to quirky 20th-century
infills.
Francis Stickney, of River Homes
estate agents, says: “Very few of the
houses have been split into flats,
and homes are normally passed
down to the next generation, so they
are always sought after.”
The community spirit is fostered
by a shared concern of flooding.
Some houses have a garden patch
bordering the Thames and there is a
local warning system to prevent cars
from being marooned.
Water, of course, was the reason
brewers set up business in this part
of London. The Lamb Brewery
building, which loomed over the
local medieval parish church at the
entrance to Chiswick Mall, was the
brewhouse for Bedford House, a
35
EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 12 AUGUST 2015
New homes Homes & Property
homesandproperty.co.uk with
grand mansion built by the Russell
family, the earls of Bedford, in the
mid-17th century.
The brewery was rebuilt in 1901 and
boasts a splendid water tower, but
brewing ceased in 1922 and the site
became a warehouse. Now it is being
redeveloped into lofts and offices.
There are charming Crittall metalframed windows, but the spaces are
fairly basic — not the refined, polished
finishes you get in fashionable central
London enclaves. The draw is the
location. Prices from £995,000. Call
0800 074 0750.
From £995,000:
apartments, left,
at Lamb Brewery
Studios, above,
overlooking
Chiswick Mall
PUTNEY is enjoying a renaissance. In
the 18th century, it was a riverside
parish popular with wealthy London
merchants, some of whom built
estates on former royal parkland.
With the 19th-century railway
boom came substantial homes for
middle-class commuters.
The 20th century added flats, both
conversions and purpose-built, and
during the past decade fancy riverside
apartments and office-to-residential
schemes have been added to the mix.
Younger singles and couples tend to
Out of bed and
on to the Tube
choose east and central Putney, which
is cheaper, whereas families look
further south and west within the area.
Tileman House, above, in Upper
Richmond Road is the latest arrival,
with 56 flats, all with outside space,
plus a communal podium garden. East
Putney Tube station is a five-minute
walk away. Prices from £699,995. Call
Crest Nicholson on 020 3640 7577.