Author: Diane

London has overtaken Hong Kong as the most expensive city to live and work in, according to a survey by Savills. says the article in the Metro today.

Is this actually a good thing? Probably not.

About a man showing people round his house…
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01d2q3z

Interiors
Johnny Vegas welcomes you to the tasteful home of Jeffrey Parkin.

“Now you may notice as we begin our tour in earnest that there are some design initiatives around the house that aren’t, strictly speaking, finished… I terms of the decor I’ve been playing around with some ideas. Not all the colour schemes have been finalised yet but I think you’d all agree, that’s a veritable bonus. Most of the hard work’s done so I’m basically handing you a colour-by-numbers dream home come true. You just paint in between the guiding lines that my vision has provided you with, and you’re laughing.”

Interiors shines a mis-wired spotlight on the structural flaws exposed in the recent demise of the British property market and sparks on the revelation that a house really stands up or falls down on the basis of its human contents.

Based on an original play by Johnny Vegas, Stewart Lee and Rob Thirtle.

Directed by Dirk Maggs
Produced by Sally Harrison
A Woolyback Production for BBC Radio 4

Affordable Homes Bill 2014-15 is making it’s way through parliament. You can watch the progress here

Mr George’s Private Members’ Bill will include: –
i) Extension of the Government’s ‘Help to Buy’ scheme or the creation of a new Affordable Homes Investment Bank to underpin the ‘intermediate’ market (shared equity/shared ownership/mutual housing) to construct a new lower rung on the housing ladder for those who cannot afford the full cost of full market ownership housing.
ii) Negating an effect of the spare room subsidy/‘bedroom tax’ – on basis that poor families are as entitled to a stable family home as better off families. This would limit the bedroom tax to exclude those who have been living at an address for more than 3 years and where disabled adaptations have been completed
iii) The introduction of a new ‘Use Class’ in the planning Use Classes Order for ‘non-permanent residential use’ (second homes) which would empower local planning authorities to control the number of second homes in their area.
iv) Enhance powers of compulsory purchase for local authorities where either developers land bank development sites or fail to use sites for which planning permission has been granted but developments not advanced or where need for affordable homes cannot be met on ‘exception’ sites through community land auctions/trusts.

Story here about Kate Bush’s house Grief cliff: Massive landslip leaves Kate Bush’s 17-acre home on Devon coast at risk of crumbling into the sea
House at risk since a ‘significant landslip’ last year

Devon County Council subsequently closed off a half-mile section of the coastline that runs by the foot of Kate’s land,

You could look through this list of footpath closures and see if you could track down where it was.

I’ve spoken to someone in the last week who is looking for land to place his pre-built Huf House. It’s in Germany costing him storage at the moment of about £250 a month.
He can’t sell his top floor duplex flat even though he’s dropped the price by 1/3 because of the high service charges.
He was looking at a bit of land near me with a view to buying it. Me? I just wondered if it was suitable for keeping bee hives on.
The land in question is enclosed behind houses and probably a very glass filled Huf House is not what planning would consider. They might allow a bungalow that wasn’t going to look in at anyone, but probably not a 2 storey building. The idea of squeezing builders lorries down the little alley, let alone getting services put on seems a nightmare. There was also the problem with people having adopted land over time.

Adverse possession – a very interesting subject! And not something I would want to embark on with solicitors fees!