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5th August 2016
The first images of the new homes set to replace Robin Hood Gardens, the brutalist estate in Tower Hamlets on the north side of the Blackwall Tunnel, have been released. Developer Swan Housing Association has enlisted Metropolitan Workshop and Haworth Tompkins to design two towers each, to replace the famed Alison and Peter Smithson-designed buildings. The 268 apartments in the four new mid-size blocks will be offered to local residents first, then to buyers across London three months later, before the sales process is thrown open to all.
Building Design (03/08/2016) Evening Standard (04/08/2016)
5th August 2016
Landowner Daejan has submitted a planning application to Tower Hamlets Council to build two tower blocks at 54 Marsh Wall on the Isle of Dogs, on the site formerly occupied by Natwest. The proposal for two buildings, of 41 and 16 storeys containing 216 homes, is a revised version of plans withdrawn last year after councillors objected to the scale of the build and the possible traffic congestion it could cause. The new plans lower the size of the towers, and reduce the building overhangs.
The Wharf (30/07/2016)
5th August 2016
Buying agents and estate agents are reporting that the new build market has experienced a significant fall in confidence and value after the Brexit vote. Agents are urging buyers to be cautious, especially with property in large-scale new-build schemes in London, amid concerns that it will take years of capital growth to recover the premium paid for purchasing new-build homes in a weak market. Anecdotal evidence suggests sales of new properties worth between £650,000 and £1m in the capital have slowed "considerably", although Richard Donnell, the insight director at the housing research company Hometrack, says outside London the impact has been "almost immaterial, with national housebuilders reporting near-normal market conditions".
The Times (30/07/2016)
5th August 2016
The mayor of London is to introduce a new and tougher definition of affordable housing as property policy in the capital diverges from the Conservative-led approach across the country. Sadiq Khan will tighten the definition of "affordable" in planning guidance to be issued this autumn, said James Murray, his deputy mayor for housing. The proposed level of affordable housing has been boosted from 33% to 40% and also requires “surplus profits” to be put back into the development to lift the level of affordable homes nearer to the Mayor’s eventual target of 50%.
Financial Times (04/08/2016)
29th July 2016
Ballymore has released the final two unsold penthouses at the Ontario Tower development, part of the New Providence Wharf scheme in Blackwall on the Isle of Dogs. Each home, on the 24th floor of the tower, offers over 2,500 sq ft of living space, with three bedrooms and fully-glazed lounge areas. Residents will benefit from a concierge service, an on-site gym, and access to pool and spa facilities within the neighbouring Radisson Blu Edwardian hotel. The east-facing property is priced at £1.95m, with the west-facing a little more, at £2.15m.
The Wharf (25/07/2016)
29th July 2016
The property developer behind the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel is building Manhattan Loft Gardens, a 42-storey residential tower in Stratford close to the Westfield shopping centre. Harry Handelsman, who also developed the Chiltern Firehouse restaurant, is working with Burj Khalifa-builder SOM, interior designer Studio KO, and landscape architect Martha Schwartz on the site. Uniquely, the cantilever-supported building has three gardens cut into its side, and is clad in glass and vertical terracotta sun baffles. Two hundred and forty-eight homes are available off-plan, ranging from £500,000 studios to a £10m penthouse. Building is due to finish in 2018.
Evening Standard (22/07/2016)