October 2007 Archives

Bob and Ricki Husick from Pittsburgh, USA are very keen to sell their house, so keen in fact that they've come up with a very special deal. Buy the house from them now and get your money back when they die! Furthermore if you're prepared to look after them in their dotage they'll chuck in their retirement home in Arizona for free.

After a record number of entries (1) I am pleased to announce that we have a winner for the Pint of Milk Test Picture Quiz. A slightly used copy of One Red Paper Clip (Kyle MacDonald tries to trade one red paperclip for a house) is on its way to Andrew from Sutton. Congratulations Andrew hope you enjoy it. As for the picture, well it wasn't taken in the Elephant and Castle as many may have suspected but outside Vauxhall Station. It used to be the site of the Elephant and Castle pub but now operates as a Starbucks.

A 41 unit scheme on the outskirts of Uxbridge is currently being built without any affordable housing provision, unusual given that at the time of consent the threshold for the borough was 25 units. A quick call to the council revealed that when the Secretary of State granted outline consent no stipulation was made that affordable housing should be provided. When reserved matters were submitted the council's hands were tied, whilst the developer's were presumably wringing with glee.
The building should be ready for occupation in September 2008.

There was a lot of talk in the press about population growth and long term house building last week. The Optimum Population Trust's predictions are pretty grim...

There have of course been other plans for the Potters Field Site. The Hill (below) is one of my favourites:

The Greater London Authority Act got Royal Assent this week which means that mayor Ken can now determine all planning applications over 150 units if they fail to follow the London Plan or there is a delay in making decisions... which is good news for the mayor and might take his mind off the Potters Field situation.

Berkeley want to develop 350+ flats on the site. It's got the planning permission. It's got the architect (Ian Ritchie). It's even got the backing of the mayor. But it hasn't got the land, the majority of that is owned by the main objector to the development, the London Borough of Southwark. Now Southwark is refusing to sell the site because it wants, and I quote, an “iconic cultural venue and mixed-tenure housing” to be built there. Ken, meanwhile, used his time on stage at the Labour Party conference to tell Southwark to stop “faffing around”, acused them of "blocking the development" and then threatened to slap a CPO on the land. Southwark then countered by entering into talks with the Design Museum (amongst others) to formulate alternative plans for the site. So why all the fuss, what's the big deal about this site in particular? Well as the old adage goes, it's all about location, location, location.

Just as their 800+ student housing scheme in Kings Cross comes close to completion, Nido Student Living (aka The Blackstone Group) is about to do it again in Spitalfields. Nido Spitalfields is going to provide accommodation for 1,204 students together with retail units, office and a gym. But it won't come cheap, single rooms start at around £720 per month.

This is what the site looks like now:

And this is what all those lucky students can expect:

Following on from a blog in April regarding Cheyne Wharf on Lots Road in Chelsea, it appears that the scheme has now been bought by Anthea Turner's husband Grant Bovey. His company, Imagine Homes is now in talks to sell on the development to a single investor. This is what it looked like last Tuesday...

Where in London would you find this?

If you try and get on to the site of the Olympic Village in Stratford, this is probably as far as you're going to get before being turned away. The buildings at Clays Lane are still standing, but the residents are gone, leaving only their satellite dishes behind....

Radioactive waste HAS been found on the Olympic site.

Architects Gaunt Francis begin work this week on a zero-carbon home at the BRE Innovation Park in Hertfordshire. The house is being built by Barratt.

Last month it was Thomas Heatherwick's ventilation system for an underground electricity substation underneath St.Paul's...now Antony "Angel of the North" Gormley's at it with this piece on the corner of Shoe Lane and St Bride Street in the City.

Resolution

Alan Camp Architects go for the prefab option with their development on Union Street. The new build element was made in Lithuania and shipped to Southwark.