Blog

Easter Maintenance & Emergencies

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY:

  • In the event of a gas leak please call National Grid on 0800 111 999.
  • Should you have a total loss of power please contact UK Power Networks on 0800 028 0247.
  • Should your water supply be interrupted please call Thames Water on 0800 714 614.
  • If your property has had a break in contact the Police. They will record the crime number for insurance purposes.

If Findlay are the managing agents for your property and you have a genuine out of hours emergency, please contact our out of hours contractors on 07759 954 934.

Our office hours are Mon – Fri 09.30 – 17.30, Sat 09.30 -17.00

Please note only the below issues are classed as an emergency:

– Blocked or totally unusable WC if only one in property
– Breakdown of property security
– Heating system breakdown during cold weather
– No hot water supply
– Flooding or serious water penetration

If our out of hours contractors are contacted for any other issues that are not on the above list, they will not be able to assist you. If they attend and the issue is not classed as an emergency you will be liable for the cost of the call out.

If you have any questions or concerns at all, please get in touch via email.

FT Feature: King’s Cross

The FT ran a feature on the regeneration of King’s Cross over the weekend. The statistics for King’s Cross Central come thick and fast: there will be 20 new streets, 10 major public spaces and 50 new buildings. Meanwhile, 20 historic buildings and structures are being restored and refurbished. There will be 8m sq ft of mixed-use space and 22 per cent of King’s Cross Central has even now been “taken” with staff and students from Central St Martins College of Art and Design having already moved in.

Kings Cross - click to go to FT article

King's Cross - click to go to FT article

Norman Foster Outlines Thames Estuary Airport Plans

Architect Norman Foster has released details of a self-funded proposal for a huge airport in the Thames Estuary. Here are the most striking details of the plan:

– Flights operated 24 hours a day
– Capacity for 150 million passengers per year
– Four runways, each 4KM long
– 30 minutes from Central London on high speed rail
– The railway station could become the UKs busiest handling 300,000 per day

Click link for full report

Click link for full report

ECB cuts interest rate to 1.25%

ECB officials, meeting under the presidency of Mario Draghi for the first time, cut the benchmark interest rate by 0.25 of a percentage point to 1.25 per cent.

The decrease in the ECB rate will see the cost of a typical €250,000 tracker mortgage fall by about €32 a month.

Annual construction of new homes falls to half the level needed to keep up with demand – adding further pressue to London rental market

Government statistics show that the number of newly built homes fell last year to just under 120,000 – half the level needed to keep up with growing national demand. London saw the largest decrease (27 per cent) in new home building with just 18,000 new properties coming on to the market. Overall the UK now has a shortage of around a million homes, with the deficit rising by 100,000 homes a year as people live longer and increasingly live alone. This will surely add further pressure to the rental market. Read more at the London Independent’s website.

UK population will be largest in EU by 2043

Britain will become the most populous country in the European Union within a generation, thanks to the fastest population growth since the baby boom.

By 2043, the population will have swollen to more than 74 million, outstripping France and Germany.

Two thirds of the expansion will be due to immigration, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The landmark figure of 70 million could be reached in 16 years after officials yesterday revised upward population projections.

Over the next decade, the population will increase by the equivalent of a city the size of Leeds every year. Officials estimate the population will swell by 0.8 per cent – or 491,000 – every year to 2020, the fastest sustained growth since the 1960s.

The ONS now predicts the UK will have 70 million people by 2027, compared with 2029 at the last estimate. The population is currently around 62 million.

Crucially, if the trend continues, it will overtake Germany for the first time as the largest EU country by 2043.

It would mean the UK will be the biggest country in Europe outside Russia.

Portobello Road - Always Packed!

Portobello Road - Always Packed!

London business chiefs set up panel to examine Crossrail 2 – connecting Chelsea to Hackney

London business chiefs have set up a panel to explore building a new rail link – dubbed Crossrail 2 – beneath the capital.

Former transport secretary Lord Adonis will lead the group in assessing plans to connect Chelsea and Hackney.

Business group London First recruited him, amid fears that the Tube will be swamped by a future population boom, and by the extra commuters who will pour into the capital using high-speed rail.

Mayor Boris Johnson’s transport strategy promotes a new east-west underground line but firms want to ensure it does not suffer the kind of delays which have dogged the existing Crossrail scheme.

London First chief executive Baroness Valentine said: “We need to start planning for the next generation of improvements now.”

The proposed route would go from Parsons Green to Leytonstone via Chelsea, Sloane Square, Victoria, Piccadilly Circus, Tottenham Court Road, King’s Cross St. Pancras, Angel, Essex Road, Dalston Junction, Hackney Central and Homerton.

Dalston Junction - possible stop on Crossrail 2

Dalston Junction - possible stop on Crossrail 2

UK interest rates kept at 0.5%

£75bn more quantitative easing announced by Sir Mervyn King to boost demand in economy. The Bank’s governor said the UK was suffering from a 1930s-style shortage of money and needed a second dose of quantitative easing to boost demand and prevent inflation falling too low.

THE FTSE 100 continued to make progress yesterday, as fresh economic stimulus measures from the Bank of England sent the benchmark index higher.

Europe’s largest shopping centre opens in East London

Europe’s largest urban shopping centre and gateway to London’s new Olympic Park opens its doors to the public today.

Westfield Stratford City shopping centre in east London will be home to more than 300 shops, 70 restaurants, a 14-screen cinema, three hotels, a bowling alley and the UK’s largest casino.

Key retailers such as Marks & Spencer and John Lewis have taken outlets of more than 200,000 sq ft and, to date, 95% of the centre’s 1.9 million sq ft has been let.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson, who will help cut the ribbon at today’s launch, said: “Westfield’s Stratford City project is setting the pace for the transformation of east London. It is one of the most important legacies of the 2012 Olympics.

“It will create 18,000 jobs and, as a result of Westfield’s investment, have some of the most modern additions to London’s public transport infrastructure.”

Westfield Stratford City with the Olympic Stadium

Westfield Stratford City with the Olympic Stadium

London’s Crossrail will make property prices double

LONDON (Reuters) – Property prices in some central London hotspots are set to more than double by 2016, driven up by a mix of factors including volatile financial markets and major new transport projects such as Crossrail, according to a report from estate agency Knight Frank.

Domestic and overseas buyers have flocked to the London residential market in recent years as they look for a safe place to park their money.

“It’s really seen as safe haven for global money. We ran some figures showing how prime property is doing in terms of asset classes … it beat the FTSE 100 tracker over the last 10 years by quite a long margin,” said Grainne Gilmore, Knight Frank’s head of UK residential research.

“It certainly gives gold a run for its money,” she added.

Meanwhile the Crossrail development, Europe’s largest infrastructure project, will link Heathrow west of London to the east of the city through huge new tunnels to be run under the city.

“Crossrail is a massive theme going through this … it’s going to change a lot of things. If you live in Barbican or Farringdon (adjacent to the City financial district) you’re going to be able to get to directly to three airports within minutes,” she said.

Crossrail

Crossrail