Recently in Hertfordshire Category

Chelmsford

Analysis of market conditions and prospects.

Helen Hamilton, freelance writer, 01568 709155, hamiltonhelen7@gmail.com


Garden Cities

With David Cameron clamouring for more Garden Cities how have the original ones fared?

Mark Simmons, freelance writer, 07787 561032, msimmons@sourceform.co.uk


Infrastructure

Analysis of prospects and opportunities

David Thame, freelance writer, 01544 262 896

dthame@clara.co.uk


Market healthcheck

Number crunching and predictions for offices, industrial and retail across all three counties.

Please provide a soundbite by email answering: with figures for the first half of 2012 showing the market had a difficult start how has the second half panned out and what are the prospects for 2013, who will do well and who will suffer?

Please email to Stacey.meadwell@estatesgazette.com and nadia.elghamry@estatesgazette.com

Retail: Analysis of recent activity and future plans
Contact: Helen Hamilton, freelance writer, 07758 833 735 bluesomeh@gmail.com

Market in Numbers: Send up to date stats for offices, industrial and retail plus a soundbite (max 50 words) to Stacey.meadwell@estatesgazette.com


 

You can't move this week for announcements on Local Enterprise Partnerships. We are still a full two weeks away from the final submission date to government (which is officially the 6th September) but around the country the troops are being rallied.

Below's a round up of who's said what and where from around the country and who's joining up with who - and in some cases some people are being quite greedy and joining up with more than one LEP.

But keep watching here, we hear that there are already ructions in some regions, and in one part of the country the private sector has already fallen out with the the public sectors plans and is threatening to go off and form its own private LEP.

Now, quite how that works nobody seems to know.

Birmingham: In the West Midlands, everyone appears to be playing nicely according to the Birmingham Post. Burton and District Chamber of Commerce has become the second Staffordshire chamber of commerce to join the proposed Birmingham and Solihull LEP.

Meanwhile Yorkshire, which had been tipped, along with Manchester as one of the spearheads of the LEP, things are moving a bit slower. The Business Desk says council leaders have "opened the door for a Yorkshire wide partnership ...but have stopped short of endorsing the plan".

PUBLISHED 4th  September 2010

Development

What's in store for the property market across all three counties?

Simon Jack, freelance writer, 01225 444 780, simon@sdjack.freeserve.co.uk

 

Industrial

A look at key issues and trends

Simon Jack, freelance writer, 01225 444 780, simon@sdjack.freeserve.co.uk

 

Residential

An analysis of the local market including up to date stats

Graham Norwood, freelance writer, 01392 875415, graham.norwood@btinternet.com

 

Market in numbers

Figures and forecasts across all three counties covering offices, retail, industrial and investment

Please send up to date statistics and forecasts to Nadia Elghamry, deputy regional editor at nadia.elghamry@estatesgazette.com

Please contact writers by 10th August 2010

 

A few images have come through of how Watford's Colloseum will look.



The council is pushing ahead with the redevelopment of the entertainment venue which will include some office space. And, unlike virtually every other public project that seems to get reported on these days, it says it has the budget set aside and today signed contracts with Kier London to begin construction.

Watford council's website takes 24 hours to update but I'll post a link to the full release as soon as its available. 

In these hard times property landlords are grateful for any extra cash they can generate from empty buildings. But not all will be lucky enough to have such an unassuming asset as this Watford restaurant catching the eye of the TV and film industry.

It belongs to Punch Taverns and has already been used by one international film crew - presumably they worked their Hollywood magic on it - but it must have stuck in the mind of the location manager as it's been requested again.

This time the restaurant, which is on the market, has been requested for use by the BBC for a new sitcom "Episodes" starring Matt Le Blanc of Friends fame.

And, while it may be earning the landlord a bit of extra cash while it's on the market, sadly the agents can't use the possibility of spotting an A-list celeb as an incentive to get viewings. Ross Kirton of Colliers International, which is advising Punch Taverns, explained to me that on filming days the restaurant is strictly off limits.

I wonder if whoever buys it will be tempted to use "As seen in...." in their own marketing though?

OK I'm a sucker for baby animal stories, even more so when there is a cute picture attached, so this one from a business park in Letchworth is right up my street.

A family of blue tits has made is home in the wall-mounted ashtray of YSI Hydrodata's new premises in the Hertfordshire town.

Seven or eight chicks are believed to have hatched in the ashtray after ditching all the fag butts and replacing them with more traditional nesting material.

Andrew Burton YSI's Service Manager said: "We were confused by all of the cigarette butts that suddenly appeared on the floor a few metres from the ashtray."

And now the birds have moved in, it is a strictly non-smoking residence with smokers using alternative facilities.
 
And the property angle? Well I could make a joke about how the space is going for a song but instead I'm plumping for the fact that it's, well, it's a commercial property...