Wednesday 20 May 2020

BARGAIN PLANTSChelsea Flower Show sell-off:

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New cycle lanes, wide pavements, green space, the chance to walk to work and well-designed property will be priorities

PAGES 16 & 17

Search for a home in a safe borough

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16 WEDNESDAY 20 MAY 2020 EVENING STANDARD

Homes Property | New homes

BUYERS have a new set of criteria in their search for a home after lockdown. Two months of staring at their four walls and walking around the same neighbour-

hood have prompted Londoners to base their decision making on the safety of a district’s streets, easy access to green space and amenities, local community activities and a choice of ways to travel — including cycle lanes — in order to avoid crammed Tube trains.

Wider pavements will appeal to people living in fear of contagion and future lock-downs. Above all after Covid-19, buyers will associate space with safety.

“Buyers, who have spent a long time in their homes, will also question the quality of the architecture and how the design works,” says John Lewis, director at housing association Peabody. “The fundamental principles of good design in both residential developments and wider neighbourhoods will become implicit in their buying deci-sions.”

NEW PAVEMENT CAFÉ CULTURELondon Mayor Sadiq Khan has announced a new streetscape programme to include the rapid creation of pop-up cycle lanes and footpaths leading to town centres. Euston Road is one of the first major thoroughfares to get a temporary cycle lane.

“Covid-19 will have a profound effect on our streets,” says Professor Tony Travers of the London School of Economics.

He calls for local authorities to allow res-taurants and bars to create a pavement café culture this summer, serving more custom-ers out in the street while socially distancing.

WORKING HARD TO CREATE SAFER STREETS IN LAMBETHLambeth council has taken action to create safe passage for its residents when lockdown ends. Work began in April around Herne Hill and Loughborough Junction in Lambeth to widen pavements and calm traffic before restrictions are lifted.

Longer-term projects will follow to create safe streets leading to and from the town centres to keep residents safe and encourage them to shop locally.

“Coronavirus has dramatically changed the way people are using the streets,” says councillor Claire Holland. “Many people are walking and cycling to make essential jour-neys or exercise, to ensure public transport

Londoners search for safe boroughs

metres or more of non-road space in the form of pavements and grass verges. The City, Barking & Dagenham, Westminster, Brent and Harrow make up the top five bor-oughs by width of pavement.

CITY OF LONDON Average asking price: £1,125,343 (Rightmove)The Square Mile has the widest pavements in relation to road space of any London bor-ough, boasting the highest percentage of streets, at 51 per cent, with non-road space.

The banking district comprises mainly offices but there are new boutique apart-ment blocks springing up within walking distance of these workplaces as the residen-tial population grows.

HKR Hoxton in Hackney Road has 66 stu-dios, one-, two- and three-bedroom apart-ments. There’s a gym in the building, a landscaped garden and a roof terrace.

Hackney City Farm, Haggerston Park and Columbia Road Flower Market are on the doorstep and it’s a 20-minute walk to Liver-pool Street station. Prices from £499,999. Call Savills on 020 7531 2516.

The Denizen is a tower of 99 apartments in Barbican, with an on-site cinema, reading and games rooms and concierge services. Prices from £742,000. Call 020 3627 5770.

BARKING & DAGENHAM Average asking price: £317,185The closure of three power stations has left 443 acres of Thames-side brownfield land which is being converted into a new town. Barking Riverside has been designed around existing creeks, brooks, wetlands and ponds along a two-kilometre stretch of the Thames.

Developer L&Q will deliver 10,800 new homes with shops, healthcare facilities, restaurants, community centres and seven new schools. A London Overground station is set to open next year.

There are a few homes left in the current phase, with prices from £262,500. Call 020 8617 1744 for details.

Fielder’s Quarter in Barking is due to com-plete next year. Residents here will have access to a gym, concierge service, a cycle hub and electric car charging points.

It’s close to Upney Tube station on the District line, from where services take 40 minutes to Victoria. Prices start from £254,495. Contact Bellway Homes on lon-partnerships.sales@bellway.co.uk.

Meanwhile in Rainham, half of Beam Park, a 3,000-home development, is made up of green space. The River Beam runs through

Lockdown has focused home buyers’ minds on their top priorities — well-designed property, space inside and out, in neighbourhoods

with wide pavements and parks, says Anna White

Top: Lambeth councillor Claire Holland says coronavirus has “dramatically changed” the way we are using the streets, with many more people cycling and walking instead of taking the TubeAbove: widened pavement in Brixton helps with social distancing

the scheme, which has a seven-acre park at its centre. A new railway station is under construction.

One- and two-bedroom apartments are priced from £285,000 with Help to Buy available. Visit beampark@cpplc.com to contact developer Countryside.

WESTMINSTER Average asking price: £1,493,092Plans were already under way pre-corona-virus to pedestrianise areas of Westminster, particularly around Strand, Tottenham Court Road and Marble Arch, to create more space for shoppers, calm congestion and reduce air pollution.

Such projects will be “accelerated” to make more room for people to socially distance so the West End can reopen safely, according to Jace Tyrrell, chief executive of New West

is used only by people who need it.” There is a New York-style loft apartment on sale in the Embassy Works apartment block over-looking Vauxhall Park. The one-bedroom flat is on the market for £650,000 through Savills. Call 020 3402 1900.

Marsh & Parsons is selling a one-bedroom house at Imperial Mews in the heart of Brix-ton for £665,000, just a minute’s walk from Brixton Underground station on the Victoria line, and also close to Brixton station for trains into London Victoria.

BOROUGHS JUST RIGHT FOR SOCIAL DISTANCING Only a third of pavements across Greater London are wide enough for social distanc-ing, according to a study by University Col-lege London. However, there’s a handful of boroughs where half the streets have six

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From £412,000: apartments at Grand Union, a new 3,000-home canalside village by St George in Alperton, west London

From £499,999: studios and flats at HKR in Hoxton in Hackney Road. Through Savills (020 7531 2516)

£665,000: left, a one-bedroom house in Imperial Mews, Brixton. Through Marsh & Parsons (020 7733 4595)From £850,000: far left, flats and townhouses at Lyons Place, set back from Regent’s Canal in WestminsterFrom £303,000: below left, in Brent, new one- and two-bedroom apartments at Queensbury Square are near the Tube. By Fairview New Homes

End Company. There will be staggered reo-pening of different department stores and shop floors, while emergency talks are in progress to plan the safe management of queues outside stations including Oxford Circus, Tyrrell tells Homes & Property.

The boutique scheme Lyons Place is in a quieter part of Westminster. The low-rise block of 22 apartments and townhouses is set back from Regent’s Canal in Little Venice.

Prices for a one-bedroom apartment start from £850,000. Call Rokstone on 020 7580 2030 for details.

BRENTAverage asking price: £583,206Brent, the 2020 London Borough of Culture, stretches 17 miles from the suburb of Queensbury to Kilburn on the edge of cen-tral London. The biggest development is the

regeneration of Wembley Park. When it completes, the final result will be a 7,500-home rental village.

Well-established neighbourhoods include Queens Park, Kensal Green and Kilburn, while other new schemes include Grand Union in Alperton.

Grand Union is the redevelopment of a derelict industrial estate into a 3,000-home canalside village. Prices start from £412,000. Call 020 8733 2460.

There are one- and two-bedroom apart-ments at Queensbury Square in Honeypot Lane next to Queensbury Underground station, from where Jubilee line services take 25 minutes to Bond Street.

Queensbury Park and its wetlands are around the corner, as well 250-acre Fryent Country Park. Prices start from £303,000. Visit visit fairview.co.uk for more.

HARROW Average asking price: £557,782The pretty village of Harrow on the Hill is home to the historic boarding school while the rest of Harrow, with its rows of Thirties semis, spreads out below. A £2.2 million 10-year town upgrade is under way, to bring 5,500 new homes, 3,000 jobs, two new schools and public squares by 2025.

New residential schemes give first-time buyers access to the area. Eastman Village is the 2,000-home redevelopment of the former Kodak factory over 55 acres. Prices start from £325,000 with a £7,000 stamp duty discount. Call 0330 127 7586.

Four two-bedroom flats are left at Redrow’s Lyon Square in Harrow. It’s designed around a central garden and residents all get access to an on-site gym and cycle storage. Prices start from £480,000. Call 020 3733 0199.

New homes | Homes Property

18 WEDNESDAY 20 MAY 2020 EVENING STANDARD

Homes Property | Commuting

THE search for country homes has quadrupled since coronavirus struck but as with all panic attacks, once initial fears fade of the dangers of too much urban density, Londoners start to have second thoughts about being too far from the bright lights.

For home searchers who cringe at the prospect of a long commute, there is a “halfway house” — the semi-rural area offering village life and local charm, away from the heart of London yet still within easy reach of it.

One way to find such a haven without leaving the capital behind is to search for a country house conversion on an old estate with grounds and distant fields. And with Covid-19 hovering around, a new, sparkling-clean home becomes even more attractive.

Such country-in-the-city schemes offer the rural-style living that London-ers like, with low maintenance, no cracking walls or leaking roof, all set in ready-manicured gardens and often including on-site luxuries, such as a gym, that you’d have to drive a long way to find if you bought out in the sticks.

A WIMBLEDON WONDERAt Copse Hill south of Wimbledon Common, a former country estate built almost 300 years ago combines historic and modern. Wimbledon Hill Park is now a boutique development of houses and grand apartments.

The homes are on the site of a “coun-try” villa built by a wealthy London goldsmith in 1757. The house survived as a private home for more than 100 years, with residents including the sec-ond Duke of Wellington, before it was demolished in 1869 and replaced by the Atkinson Morley Hospital, a Victorian convalescent home. During the Second World War the hospital, by then a neu-rological facility, pioneered the world’s first CT scans.

The hospital closed in 2003 and in 2008 Berkeley Homes bought the site. The old hospital building has been con-verted into apartments, with another 140 new homes being built around it. Build quality is high, which is reflected in the prices. Flats in the current, final phase, The Mansions, start at £599,950 for a one-bedroom home and £875,000 for a two-bedroom property, complet-ing by the end of the year (the-man-sions.co.uk).

This site scores strongly on open space , with just over 25 acres to explore including the adjacent park, with the expanses of Wimbledon and Putney

Commons and Richmond Park just north of the site. The private grounds have been imaginatively landscaped with naturalistic meadows, parkland and a central garden square planted with flowers, herbs and mature trees. There’s an on-site gym and cinema, and

trains to Waterloo from the nearest station, Raynes Park, take just over 20 minutes. An annual season ticket costs from £1,400.

A BROMLEY MAKEOVERAnother mansion getting a modern makeover is Grade I-listed Sundridge Park in Bromley. Designed by John Nash, architect of Regency London, it was built in 1797 as a private country estate for a wealthy corn merchant.

It stayed in private hands until 1901, before being converted first into a hotel, then a management training centre. More recently it was a conference cen-tre and wedding venue. Now it has become 22 flats overlooking private parkland laid out by great 18th-century landscape designer Humphry Repton,

with sculptured gardens, woodland walks and Sundridge Park Golf Club, totalling 300 acres. Two-bedroom flats at The Mansion at Sundridge Park start at £950,000 (cityandcountry.co.uk).

Trains from Sundridge Park to Char-ing Cross take 44 minutes. An annual season ticket costs from £1,484.

H a re f i e l d P l a c e i n Ic ke n h a m , Uxbridge, a classic red-brick Georgian country house, was built in 1785 for Sir Roger Newdigate, the lord of the manor. It was later a hospital and offices, then became very dilapidated.

Now the house, on a private road in eight acres of landscaped grounds with views of Colne Valley Regional Park, is being extended and converted into 25 homes, priced from £1 million for a two-bedroom flat and £1.6 million for a

three-bedroom flat (struttandparker.com). The conversion, with a gym, swimming pool and tennis courts, will be completed later this year. The near-est Tube, a mile-and-a-half away, is Ickenham, in Zone 5 on the Metropol-itan and Piccadilly lines.

“Harefield Place is the perfect mix of old world charm in a tranquil setting, yet perfectly accessible for commuters,” says Charlotte Moxon, head of new homes south at Strutt & Parker. “This is exactly what our buyers want from a development like this — convenience with a charming village feel.”

LOVELY, LUSH MILL HILLIn deepest north London, Mill Hill is as close as the capital gets to “real” coun-tryside. It’s surrounded by lush green belt, with farmland and footpaths, rid-ing stables, golf clubs and spectacular open views, all within an easy commute of the city. Blackfriars is 31 minutes away and an annual season ticket starts at £1,400. There are useful shops, cafés, and restaurants at Mill Hill Broadway about a mile away.

Rosary Manor is a Grade II-listed for-mer convent, built in the late 17th cen-tury on the site of a much older country estate. It was later used as a school, which closed in 2007 and Bellis Homes took on its conversion into 11 flats.

These apartments, as large as a mod-est house, range from 1,800sq ft to 4,000sq ft, some with private terraces, and overlook more than 150 acres of open land. Prices start at £1.35 million for a two-bedroom flat. There is also a detached house within the original convent gatehouse, priced at £875,000 (glentree.co.uk).

Nearby and on a much larger scale, Ridgeway Views is a 47-acre scheme of 460 homes being built on the old National Institute for Medical Research site by Barratt London. The developer has encouraged wildlife with bird boxes and a special passageway for hedgehogs to cross the site, while communal ter-races overlook the 240-acre Totteridge Valley. All homes have private outdoor space plus floor-to-ceiling windows to make the most of the greenery outside. The site also includes a play area, a fit-ness trail and landscaped gardens fea-turing more than 4,000 trees.

Prices start from £669,500 for a two-bedroom flat and £2.1 million for a five-bedroom house. The first residents moved in last year and the development will be completed by the end of next year (barrattlondon.com).

Thinking of moving? Start your search on

You needn’t quit London to find a country retreatConverted manor houses on the outskirts of town offer new homes, a fast commute and rural-style living that lets you leave coronavirus anxieties behind. By Ruth Bloomfield

From £1 million: grand apartments at Harefield Place in Ickenham, west London, in travel Zone 5, come with residents’ swimming pool, inset, plus a gym and tennis courts

Prices from £950,000: left and right, two-bedroom apartments at The Mansion at Sundridge Park in Bromley, a period property with a modern makeover

Prices from £669,500: flats and houses at Ridgeway Views, left and right, on the former National Institute for Medical Research site in Mill Hill, NW7

EVENING STANDARD WEDNESDAY 20 MAY 2020 19

Outdoors | Homes Propertyhomesandproperty.co.uk powered by

THE bell on closing day at Chelsea Flower Show has long been the moment that sharp-elbowed plantaholics await with bated breath,

when the plants exhibited on the show stands are sold off, often for a song. This year is, unsurprisingly, different. RHS Chelsea has gone virtual this week with online content only — and the gates to the Royal Hospital Chelsea stay locked.

This means thousands of plants that were grown to fill the Great Pavilion and receive medals won’t get their place in the limelight. Many could go to waste. But you can give them a home. Order online from the nurseries that would have been exhibiting and you can snap up some show-perfect specimens.

From dahlias and delphiniums to gladioli and irises, these are expert-grown specimens ready to be planted out for spectacular colour, right now. So why not brighten up your back garden, or plant them out front to cheer up the neighbours as well as yourself — and support the UK’s independent nurseries, often small family-run businesses, at the same time?

Todd’s Botanics (toddsbotanics.co.uk) was growing thousands of irises, dahlias and cannas for its stand as well as for show gardens. “The RHS shows are 70 per cent of our income,” says owner Mark Macdonald. “If we don’t sell these, we won’t survive in the business.”

He cites iris Sable and Carnival Time as particular favourites, both in flower right now and available within two days’ despatch. Fashionable dahlias will flower within a month, from Crème de Cassis to Bishop of Llandaff and Rip City. And cannas, so great for adding instant tropical va-va-voom to any front garden or large pot can be snapped up, too. “Eric Neubert is looking fantastic,” says Macdonald.

Down in Devon, the 10,000sq ft polytunnels of Blackmore and Langdon’s (blackmore-langdon.com) are stuffed with towering delphiniums in blues, turquoise, pink and white. All were destined for the nursery’s prize-winning stand and have been coaxed into glory with heat, light and care for 18 months.

“We take about 120 up to the show,” says owner Simon Langdon, “but we actually grow about 600. It’s heartbreaking after all the work and expense to see them just sitting there.”

The big problem with a six-foot delphinium is they’re too big to send mail order, says Langdon, so for these

it’s collection only. “I’ve seen cars going out with the sun roof open and one sticking out the top,” he laughs. But, for mail order, he can send younger plants out that will be in flower by August.

Why not add some gladioli, too? Dame Edna Everage’s favourite flower is one of a wave of flamboyant, hot-coloured blooms that fashion-conscious gardeners are loving right now. Pheasant Acre Plants (pheasantacreplants.co.uk) was growing 500 pots of glorious magenta byzantinus gladioli for one of the show gardens. In flower now, you can snap these up online via the website along with bagged collections of dry corms, including a Chelsea Collection (£22.50 for 50 corms). “If you plant them now they’ll be in flower for early September,” says owner Rob Evans. “They die away in winter and reappear every year.” Succulents are

perfect for Londoners, crammable into window boxes or pots,

low-maintenance and exotic looking. Surreal Succulents

(surrealsucculents.co.uk) has lots of plants grown

specially for its stand at Chelsea this year that it

would love to sell. Looking particularly good right now, says the company’s Dan Michael, are aeoniums Velour, Sunburst and Pomegranate, available as The Chelsea Look Collection — enter The Chelsea Look voucher code for a 10 per cent discount. If you want a window box to

cheer up passers-by on their daily walk, it doesn’t get much

more spectacular than this.

⬤ To buy plants direct from nurseries that would have been

exhibiting at Chelsea this year, check out a full list at rhs.org.uk/supportournurseries

Your chance to buy Chelsea’s finestThousands of medal-winning plants are for sale online. Make a perfect summer garden and help to rescue nurseries, says Alex Mitchell

Grow a purple patch: tall bearded iris Sable is in flower now, available within two days (todds botanics.co.uk)

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THAbove: Rob Evans of Pheasant Acre Plants has magenta byzantinus gladioli for sale, grown for a Chelsea show gardenBelow: fashionable dahlias, including Rip City, will bring gorgeous colour to your garden within a month

Darling dahlia: Crème de Cassis, sporting pale lilac petals with purple backs, blooms from summer through to autumn

Bronze beauty: Iris Kent Pride, from Todd’s Botanics. The nursery is selling irises, dahlias and cannas grown for Chelsea

20 WEDNESDAY 20 MAY 2020 EVENING STANDARD

Homes Property | Outdoor DIY

PAINTING outside has never been easier, thanks to colourful, water-based finishes that are a cinch to apply. Lockdown has taught us to

value our outside space, no matter how small.

From balconies and yards to patios and gardens, every inch is important. Front gardens have become a showpiece space for families and for chats with the neighbours at a safe social distance.

DIY stores B&Q, Homebase and Leyland, with 61 London branches between them, are up and running again, for instant supplies (diy.com; homebase.co.uk; leylandsdm.co.uk). Designer brands do doorstep deliveries (farrow-ball.com, littlegreene.com; designerpaint.com). Ruth Mottershead, creative director at Little Greene says: “This is a golden opportunity to make an outside haven.”

There are a couple of basic rules. You must match your paint to what you are painting, checking if you need a primer for starters. Some

paints sit happily on several surfaces, others are pickier, being specialised.

Secondly, you must do your prep. “Make sure older surfaces

are dry, clean and in good repair,” says Craig Collins, head of

paint at B&Q. “Get rid of any mould,

algae or moss. Remove rust and sand smooth.” B&Q’s website has an excellent exterior painting guide, while Leyland has all the clever cleaners and primers a perfectionist might need. Factor in the weather, too. Aim for a fine two-day window so surfaces can dry out, then dry off. Avoid working in full sun, if possible.

Cuprinol is quick-drying, water-based and now comes in super-seductive shades. They have two fresh palettes: nature’s neutrals — think landscape, water and minerals — and nature’s brights, in flowery shades. Try using neutrals as base colours and then adding brighter “pops”, says Marianne Shillingford, creative director. Visit cuprinol.co.uk for ideas. Price is £25 for 2.5 litres at B&Q.

For small jobs, Ronseal Garden Paint comes in 24 good colours for wood, brick, metal and terracotta, £4 for 250ml, also at B&Q (ronseal.com).

“Style is what our customers want,” says Stephen Pitcher, gardens director at Homebase. Easy-grow plants are key, in boxes or tubs that you can jolly up with paint. Then add appealing furniture — great fake rattan, glossy metal, classic wood or your old repainted stuff. Finally, revamp surfaces, from decking and fences to walls and sheds.

Outdoor décor combinations can be low-key monochrome for a refined, natural, relaxed effect, or Miami-

meets-the-Med zingy. Use a single shade to unify a hotchpotch of surfaces, tying together brick, concrete and fencing, for example. The Homebase website has handy painting tips, plus simple DIY paintable “pallet” furniture ideas.

“Make your garden a home extension,” says landscape designer Tom Howard (tomhowardgardens.co.uk), expert in small London spaces. “Painted fences and render can tie inside and out together.” Like many pros, he loves Farrow & Ball, using exterior eggshell for smooth timber and metal, in shades such as Mole’s Breath, Worsted and Mouse’s Back. “But don’t use an expensive paint on rough timber, which just soaks it up.”

Paint a shed the same colour as a fence, to blend it in. Add chic blocks of colour with masonry paint on rendered raised beds, which can be easily made from concrete blocks.

Black is surprisingly useful, Howard adds. “It makes boundaries disappear, with the illusion of a bigger space. And a dark background makes the planting pop.” Reliable and low-cost is Cuprinol’s matt black Ducksback, £11 at B&Q for five litres, enough to cover about 10 fence panels.

Use colour for focal points, says Joa Studholme, Farrow & Ball colour curator. “Initially, keep brights for movable pots, watering cans or a single chair. Then you can experiment.” You could even use tester pots. To reflect the colour of your planting, Studholme suggests Brassica and Cinder Rose, with soft greens such as Vert De Terre on garden chairs.

London’s Katharine Pooley (katharinepooley.com), recently named Interior Designer of the Decade, disguises “blank, unloved walls” with painted trellis, also good for screens if you are overlooked. She suggests low-key Pavilion Grey, or Cornforth White, again by Farrow & Ball: “Classic neutrals are good in an urban setting.” Then wait for your climbers to grow, such as wisteria, jasmine or roses. Designer paint, however, is expensive. Farrow & Ball costs £29 for 0.75 litres (farrow-ball.com).

There are speciality paints for particular projects. Fortress satin and gloss finishes can go straight on to rust, £19 for 0.75 litres, as can Hammerite, at £19. both at B&Q. Rust-Oleum Garden Furniture Paint from Homebase, with a chalky finish in six low-key neutrals, could upgrade cheap plastic chairs. Or try chalky Frenchic paints (frenchic.co.uk). Zinsser primers block out stubborn stains, such as smoke damage, and prepare virtually all surfaces for painting, says Nick King, paint expert at Leyland (zinsseruk.com).

Paint yourself an outside

roomClockwise from above: Scree and Yellow-Pink walls, £71.50 for 2.5L exterior eggshell (littlegreene.com); jazz up pots with exterior eggshell, £29 for 750ml, or full gloss, £27 for 750ml (farrow-ball.com); at B&Q, Cuprinol’s Sweet Sundae on table, £20 for 2.5L, fence in Ducksback, £11 for 5L (diy.com); Farrow & Ball exterior eggshell and full gloss paints (as before)

Bank holiday is a great time to bring your outdoor space

to life with hot, zingy colours on walls, balconies, pots

and garden furniture, says Barbara Chandler

Black is surprisingly useful. It makes boundaries disappearTom Howard, landscape designer