020 7538 0102
30th October 2015
The Far East Consortium has submitted revised plans to Tower Hamlets Council for its triple tower development on the Isle of Dogs. Now known as Alpha Square, the scheme consists of a 217m, 65 floor main apartment tower, alongside two shorter towers of 20 and 34 storeys. In total, 634 homes will be created, along with a new school and health centre, along with a 20-floor hotel. It is just one of a number of proposed developments at Marsh Wall on South Quay, including Laing O’Rourke’s 220m tower on South Quay Plaza, Ballymore’s Arrowhead Quay, and LBS Properties’ Make-designed tower at Meridian Gate.
Construction Enquirer (27/10/2015)
30th October 2015
London house prices rose 9.6% in the year to September, meaning the average London property now costs £499,997, according to data from the Land Registry. Growth in the capital lifted house prices across England and Wales to their biggest rise in six months as prices rose 5.3%, compared to a 21-month low of 4.3% recorded in August, with the average house in England and Wales now costing £186,553. Prices in the capital are now officially five times higher than the North East, where they have fallen 0.3% to £99,559. Much of the new found bumper London growth is found in areas that had previously lagged behind: Barking and Dagenham, Bexley, Enfield, Greenwich, Harrow, Havering, Hillingdon, Newham, Redbridge and Waltham Forest have all recorded double digit percentage growth compared to last year.
The Daily Telegraph (29/10/2015)
30th October 2015
Analysis of the government’s plans to extend the right to buy scheme, and the forced sale of council houses in the housing bill, claims there will be more than 21,000 fewer affordable properties in London by 2020. The research, by Labour mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan, also says the proposals to enable the sale of housing association properties would likely result in the money being spent outside the capital, instead of being used to invest in more affordable housing within London. Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith said the aim of this bill was right, “extending the possibility of home ownership to a million people,” but added: “The details matter and the bill needs amending to ensure it works for Londoners.”
The Guardian (27/10/2015)
30th October 2015
ONS data shows that tenants are paying 2.7% higher rents than a year ago, with renters in London paying 4.1% more. The ONS notes the figure, which is the biggest increase since November 2012, “hides considerable regional variation: while all English regions experienced stronger rental price growth in the year to September 2015 than in the year to September 2014, annual growth in Wales and Scotland slowed." In England tenants are paying 2.8% more than in September 2014, or 1.9% more if the capital is excluded. In the south-east and east of England rents rose by 2.7%.
Financial Times (30/10/2015)
23rd October 2015
Mayor of London Boris Johnson has unveiled the City in the East masterplan, showing how east London is to be transformed over the next 20 years to accommodate a minimum of 203,500 homes and 283,300 jobs in the area stretching from London Bridge to the Isle of Dogs and the Greenwich Peninsula. The plan includes major developments already underway, such as Royal Wharf, West India Quay, Merchants Walk, Wood Wharf, and Harbour Central, as well as brownfield sites with development potential. The Mayor commented “This blueprint reflects identified areas of land in London to build on and it will allow us to coordinate not only housing and commercial developments, but significant transport infrastructure to ensure this part of the capital can continue to flourish. Hundreds of thousands of new jobs will help the capital to remain the best big city in the world”.
The Wharf (23/10/2015)
23rd October 2015
Barratt Developments will work on the conversion of West Ham's Boleyn Ground football stadium, having signed an agreement with Galliard Homes who bought the site from the football club ahead of its upcoming move to the Olympic Stadium. The firms are believed to be working on planning permission with Newham council.
The Daily Telegraph (18/10/2015)