London's new garden squares
London is already the greenest capital in Europe, with homeowners enjoying more than 600 garden squares. And the good news is that there are more to come.
As the BBC move out, Shepherd's Bush switches to a new programme
As Aunty leaves the Bush the borough seizes the opportunity to create a proper neighbourhood.
Spotlight on Camden Town
The shops and markets clustered around the high street and canal make Camden one of the most colourful of London's neighbourhoods. The area's period homes and loft-style apartments attract a mix of homebuyers.
Revealed: from Reading to Redhill – the top 20 commuter stations
Choose your route. Our exclusive property buyers’ guide shows travel times, costs and house prices.
My design London - Russell Norman
Owner of Polpo, Spuntino and Polpetto restaurants in Soho, and da Polpo and Mishkin's in Covent Garden, restauranteur Russell Norman opens up on his favourite London haunts.
Find a rated tradesman
Want to add value to your property, make your house a home, or sell your place fast? With 1,000s of tradesmen nationwide, rated and recommended by previous customers, this is the smart way to find a reputable tradesman.
Buy of the week: Camden Town
This two-bedroom flat has a pretty park on its doorstep, while buzzing Camden Town is only 10 minutes’ walk away. Big sash windows and high ceilings give a spacious feel and there’s a private garden with a studio/home office (£525,000).
Swap of the week: Willersey, Glouc
This little Cotswolds beauty is just across the road from the village green and duck pond. For £530,000 you get beams, exposed stone walls and an open fireplace, plus four bedrooms, a useful attic room and lush gardens to enjoy.
Life-changer: Trescowe, Cornwall
For a project brimming with potential, what about this coastal home, yours for £545,000? The family space includes six bedrooms, while its collection of outbuildings overlooking an acre of gardens could become income-generating holiday lets.
Spotlight on Camden Town
The shops and markets clustered around the high street and canal make Camden one of the most colourful of London's neighbourhoods. The area's period homes and loft-style apartments attract a mix of homebuyers.
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Royal Docks wins first Olympic gold
Hundreds of homes and a new community to be built ahead of 2012. By David Spittles
A scheme of 750 new homes next to the Thames Barrier in Docklands has been approved by Mayor Boris Johnson. Called Barrier Park East, it is the first big residential scheme in London to get the planning thumbs up since the credit crunch began in the autumn of 2007.Its currently derelict waterfront site is part of the Royal Docks area close to City Airport and in a key regeneration zone ahead of the 2012 Olympics.
'This will create a community on an important stretch of the Thames'
In keeping with the Mayor’s revised London Plan - the blueprint for housing in the capital - 130 of the new homes at Barrier Park East will be for families, with up to four bedrooms and surrounded by open, green space.
Located around the river bend from Canary Wharf, the scheme “will create a new community on an important stretch of the Thames,” the Mayor says. Recent extensions of the DLR to Woolwich and City Airport are boosting regeneration making this former frontier land for homebuyers a likely new hotspot once the market recovers.
The area’s major landowner is London Development Agency, part of the Mayor’s office, which wants to attract businesses as well as homebuyers by using high-quality urban design that will relate to Dockland’s mercantile past.
Already a Royal Docks hub has formed around the ExCel exhibition centre, where smart apartment blocks and a cluster of hotels have been built, though construction of nearby Silvertown Quays - a giant 5,000-home and commercial project that includes the Biota Aquarium designed by architect Sir Terry Farrell - has been delayed because of the economy.
Barratt, developer of Barrier Park East, is expected to start on site early next year, and the first homes will be ready before the Olympics.
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London’s epidemic of discounting
A combination of greedy sellers, nervous buyers and unscrupulous estate agents who promise sky-high prices in order to tempt clients, is being blamed for an epidemic of discounting in the London property market, where a third of all homes for sale have had their original asking price slashed.
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As the BBC move out, Shepherd's Bush switches to a new programme
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Kilburn: a central postcode with the lowest prices
Knocked off the property map by Notting Hill — but now Kilburn's time has come.
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Not even the best tenants come with a guarantee
The accidental landlord discovers that things can go badly wrong no matter how thoroughly you vet your renters.
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Farmer is milking me for road repairs
At my weekend house we have a right of way over a private road owned by a local farmer. The farmer has asked me to contribute half the cost of resurfacing the road, however farm traffic use it far more regularly. What can I do?
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Diary of an estate agent
This week's agent gets the silent treatment while being shown round a minimalist loft apartment in Camden by… a mime artist.
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London’s epidemic of discounting
A combination of greedy sellers, nervous buyers and unscrupulous estate agents who promise sky-high prices in order to tempt clients, is being blamed for an epidemic of discounting in the London property market, where a third of all homes for sale have had their original asking price slashed.
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There is such a thing as a VAT-free lunch
Shop savvily and you can still avoid VAT in some areas — when buying clothes, holidays and presents, for example. But start with a VAT-free lunch — by making it yourself.
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