Spa towns like Ilkley in West Yorkshire, which boasted the highest premium of all, Boston Spa in Lincolnshire and Bath in North Somerset, have been shown to have signficantly higher house prices.
The report by Lloyds TSB indicated the spa town house prices were around 27% or £48,123 higher than neighbouring towns, averaging at £275,397 last year. Spa town homes now cost typically 8.3 times gross annual earnings.
Following the closure of MJN Colston just a week ago, Bristol based firm All Mass Cladding Systems has been placed into administration.
Both firms were working on Leadbitter’s £28m Blaenau Gwent Colege project in Ebbw Vale and up to 25 people are now thought to have lost their jobs. The company reputedly turnedover around £10m per year.
More information is available here.
Following our article on the subject in February’s newsletter (which can be found here), Liverpool has now decided to elect a Mayor for the city.
The move follows the striking of a so called ‘City Deal’ which will grant Liverpool considerably greater power over its own future. This deal is the first of its kind and includes such measures as the provision of a single investment pot of funds and a new enterprise zone for North Liverpool.
More can be read at this link.
Birmingham Surveyors – A Grade II* Listed, Gothic style country mansion was apparently eyed up by Hitler as he set plans to invade Britain.
Apley Hall, located in the beautiful Shropshire countryside near Birmingham in the West Midlands, is said to also be the inspiration for P. G. Wodehouse’s famous novels the ‘Blandings Castle Stories’. The author did indeed stay in the castle in the early twentieth century.
Fortunately Hitler never realised his ambitions, but perhaps you can with the property listed on Savills at £1.75m.
Birminghambuildingsurveyors – Birmingham City Council is planning to develop 400 homes for market rent on public land in partnership with a housing association and developer.
The cabinet will receive a report next week outlining proposals to develop the homes on the St Luke’s estate in Highgate through an innovative partnership with housing association WM Housing Group and developer Willmott Dixon.
The development is understood to use a new funding model where the developer and council will both take an equity stake in the homes, with the aim of selling them on to an institutional investor within a five to 10 year time frame.
Further information is available from the source, here.
CardiffBuildingSurveyors.co.uk – Cardiff concrete floor specialist Mike Amodeo (Contractors) is set to close after 26 years of running and a repertoire that includes Cardiff City’s Football Stadium.
The firm, along with Mike Amodeo Group and Mike Amodeo Haulage, is expected to go into voluntary liquidation at a creditors’ meeting next week.
The meetings for creditors of the three companies will take place on 28 February at the Cardiff offices of corporate recovery firm Begbies Traynor.
More information can be found here.
caerphillysurveyor.co.uk – Tenants have voted out plans to transfer homes to a housing association comprehensively by 65 per cent to 35 per cent.
Caerphilly Council had planned to transfer the 10,980 homes to a new not-for-profit community housing mutual, Castell Mynydd.
The ballot ran from 21 January to 17 February and transfer could only go ahead if the majority of tenants who voted in the ballot were in favour of the proposal.
The ownership and management of the homes will now stay with Caerphilly Council.
Read the rest here.
Yorkbuildingsurveyors.co.uk – Working in partnership with Ushida Findlay Architects, the York Museums Trust have launched into a £6m refurbishment scheme to restore one of the most recognisable and historic buildings in York.
Situated near the banks of the River Ouse in one of York’s biggest attractions, a beautiful open area flanked by York Crown Court and Clifford’s Tower, the Art Gallery is a major source of tourism in York. Work should begin soon on creating a new ‘secret gallery’ and opening up a thus far hidden area of York, to become a new landscape garden and arts area.
Damien Hirst, one of Britain’s most famous artists, plans to use part of his considerable fortune to construct, on land at near Ilfracombe, on the edge of Exmoor at Winsham Farm and two surrounding farms, a settlement of 500 eco friendly homes.
He is reputedly sick of ‘anonymous, lifeless buildings’ and wishes these homes to be of the sort and quality he would be happy to live in. He hopes that the plans will assist in regenerating Ilfracombe, acting as a gateway into the town.
Follow the links to find a local surveyor that could advise you on a property purchase of any type of home in the Ilfracombe or Exmoor areas.
Pests are a common problem amongst UK properties seen all too frequently by Chartered Surveyors of the propertysurveying.co.uk network. All kinds of pests can cause problems in your property, but your local council may well be able to provide you with a cost effective way of getting rid of them.
Read the rest of our advice in nuisance pests here.
