Will House Prices & Mortgage Difficulties for First Time Buyers change London’s “pull”?

In 1982 after an “experiment” of living in London, Mrs H and myself came across an old, unmodernized 3 bed Victorian terraced house in Wembley for sale at £22,500. We were close to the 10 per cent deposit needed to get a mortgage and with some help from our parents and grandparents we cobbled together enough and then sold some of the furniture that was being left to pay the conveyance fees.

Like many young couples owning a property was something that we felt was a must. We saw home ownership as a way to “stop wasting money” on renting, as a cheaper alternative to renting, and as a way to enjoy a bit creative home improvement.

I didn’t predict a riot, but…

Any right minded person is saddened by the events of the last week. The mindless violence and wanton destruction is totally abhorrent and inexcusable. The immediate response from the government to promptly bring the perpetrators to justice is welcome but it’s the long term that we should all start to think about and act on quickly.

We should celebrate Britain’s role in clubbing.

See full article in The Independent here

Club culture in the UK is now a multi-million-pound industry, with the likes of once-underground club Ministry of Sound appearing all over our tellies selling the distinctly non underground Running Trax CDs to the fitness community, while DJs and dance producers who have grown out of a clubbing background contribute to the UK’s balance of payments by performing and producing internationally.

As we enter the final decade of the first 100 years of British club culture, I thought we should celebrate the contribution that this culture has made to our lives, at the Vintage at Southbank Centre festival at the end of this month, and attempt to assemble the most complete collection of seminal DJs ever.

Habitat

At Vintage we really hope that Habitat as a brand gets through its current sad woes. They deserve the support of the creative community for flying the flag of design since 1964. The new owners only seem to be keeping 3 London shops open and then taking the brand online….

I for one hope that Habitat rises like a phoenix from the ashes. Here’s a taster of classic Habitat…

Habitat Scoop chair & plastic coffee tables

1974 Stun seating Habitat

1974 Habitat pendant lamps

1973 Habitat flop chair sofaHabitat Stop in Sofa and Sturs chair 1974

Poundbury… does it deserve the vitriol it sometimes gets?

It’s been about 4 years since I last visited Poundbury, and in those 4 years I seem to be reading and hearing fewer criticisms of “Prince Charles housing estate”. However it is still held up by many in the housing industry as being pastiche at its worst.

Walkable + Bikeable Cities… are they arriving in Britain?

The Dutch and the Danish have “got it” for a long time. Urban areas that are pedestrian and cyclist friendly are happier, healthier, safer, cleaner places to live. But Britain with its powerful pro car lobby and with its sad addiction to bloomin Top Gear has been lagging behind. But we may be reaching the tipping point. Car use in Britain is on the decline and I have a hunch that it’s not just that cash is tight and folk are being careful.

Bringing Empty Homes Back to Life

I keep reading that there are a million empty homes at the moment in the UK  (and a further 300,000 empty commercial buildings). And we all know how there is a major, growing housing shortage.

I am not suggesting that it is easy to convert all these empty properties into homes but as a nation I don’t think we are doing our best.

Many commentators say that the majority of the empty homes are in the wrong location either in towns where there are no job opportunities or in the “wrong part of town”. But we have a growing creative industries sector (second largest employment sector in the UK), a sector that by its very nature and its early adoption of mobile technologies has made it  more footloose and fancy free than most sectors. Many “creatives” can run their businesses from home using Skype, Microsoft Mobile Office and the like.

What is more, for many of us “creatives” the idea of upcycling an old building is at the forefront of our planning for a home …ahead of a new build house.