Gagarin’s rocket flops
A Russian consortium’s plans for a rocket-inspired mixed-use tower in Southwark, SE1, have failed to take off after being rejected by local councillors. The scheme pays tribute to Vostok 1, the rocket that carried cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin into space in 1961. The mocked up model – unlike the CGIs – looked less like a rocket and more like something a little less savoury, however. It was supposed to create a “landmark beacon for the arts”, according to the applicant, Southwark Square. Not quite the beacon councillors were after.
Just down from a bolthole
Property is often singled out by protestors: witness MIPIM UK, the London Real Estate Forum and other events in the past couple of years. So there was something perversely reassuring about this week’s Conservative Party conference, where anyone in a suit was fair game. Still, it would have taken more than being called “scum” to stop Estates Gazette and other industry figures fighting their way through an angry mob to the Mishcon de Reya dinner on Sunday night. Unlike some other conference attendees, the only eggs encountered were on the menu. Conversation at the dinner did take an unusual turn at one point. Much of the discussion centred on housing (and how supply might be increased; a cause close to the protestors’ hearts too) and on where, in London especially, sites might be found. One guest said there was no point in providing it in “craphole” locations, prompting another to disagree on how desirable the area under discussion was. “My craphole is clearly different to your craphole,” came the response. Charming.
Car house – where phone?
Diary (along with an illustrious assortment of Midlands IPF members) had to go cold turkey on its mobile phone last week. The unusual sensation of being incommunicado was the price the group paid for a tour of Jaguar Land Rover’s 900,000 sq ft high-security XE production facility in Solihull. Diary got to see first-hand how the “Most Beautiful Car of 2014” is assembled, along with other Jaguar favourites including the F-Pace and the iconic Land Rover Defender. The sight of robots spot-welding car parts in a factory where a £100,000 Jaguar rolls off the production line every eight seconds was, admittedly, captivating. But not quite as engrossing as the scramble to retrieve smartphones from their locked storage unit at the end of the three-hour tour.
Success is on the cards
TH Real Estate has found a novel and simple way of analysing markets and different geographies with its cities top trumps card game. Diary caught sight of the game, where cities compete on population, quality of life, technology score and discretionary spending, out at Expo Real this week. Maybe not the most academic way of making your investment decisions, but not a bad way of getting investors to think about different markets.
House sellers: bake bread to make dough
The smell of coffee and bread baking is one of the biggest “turn-ons” when buying a home, according to a (ahem) ground-breaking new study by Tepilo, which tells home sellers how to lure buyers by listing the things that are most likely to turn people on and off. Shock horror, people don’t like mould, lots of pets, or a grumpy owner. The stench of greasy food is also a big no no. But if you are friendly, well-presented, have a clean house, a well-kept garden and flowers in every room, you are more likely to succeed. Simple, just show prospective guests around in a sexy outfit while clutching a bouquet of roses and a fresh loaf and consider the deal done.
