We live in a difficult age for commercial premises, with an ever-growing need to be flexible with our built environment in order to respond to fast-changing social pressures. Permitted development rights and change-of-use will no doubt lead to some startling transformations, and Diary spotted a pretty special one while enjoying a family Christmas at the in-laws up in Liverpool.
We present to you Flavio’s: a petrol station-turned-Italian restaurant. Where once there was fuel, now there is fusilli – but, it seems, MOTs are still available behind it. Sadly, a crowded festive schedule precluded dining in this time, but we’ll be sure to fill up there on our next visit.
If you know of any even more surprising changes of use, tweet us a picture @estatesgazette.
Get thee to a nunnery
The Cookie Jar boutique hotel in Alnwick, Northumberland, is becoming a favourite little haunt for property types.
One of Diary’s spies tells us a tale of a handful of real estate chaps who stayed at the hotel, site of the former Convent of Mercy. Relaxing as one does when away for a weekend, the guys were rather perturbed to receive a note telling them to keep their trousers on.
Why? Not because the convent might be a little airy, but for the benefit of the spirits of any former nuns that may well still be in residence. “To avoid divine intervention, may we ask that you ‘Cover up your Privates’. The former Sisters have a ‘habbit’ [sic] of looking down on you,” reads a welcome card from the hotel’s owners.
Well, that’s one way of keeping property’s sometimes naughty boys in check!
Gimme a gym
We’re just a few days into January, so those new year resolutions will still be holding… for some of us at least. And since so many people target getting fitter and healthier at this time of year, it’s little surprise that more and more companies are putting employee wellness and productivity high on their list of priorities.
Timely analysis from Hubble, the digital office agent, has found an average of 8% month-on-month growth during 2018 in organisations looking for suitable accommodation.
According to Hubble, “business are working up a sweat” searching for offices with on-site gyms. And alongside that average month-on-month growth, its figures show a particular spike in searches for offices with gyms in the first quarter of the year, and in the spring.
So, is finding new space that is both fit-for-purpose and purposed-for-fitness one of your resolutions for 2019?
Love thy neighbour
Praise be to the tireless PR people who put out vaguely property-themed releases on 2 January – how else can Diary put a page together in just one morning?
And so our gratitude goes to the Audley Group’s retirement living arm, Mayfield Villages, who inform us that Sir David Attenborough would be the UK’s most popular next-door neighbour, closely followed by comedian James Corden, national treasure Stephen Fry and singer Adele. Mary Berry, Jamie Oliver, Idris Elba, Dame Judi Dench, Robbie Williams and the Beckhams round out this year’s list.
Perhaps more interesting to Mayfield is how the list changes for the over-55s – the top two stay the same, Dame Judi crashes the top three, and Graham Norton, Sir Andy Murray and Sir Michael Caine all join the party (knighthoods are clearly a desirable quality), while the Beckhams, Robbie and Adele get evicted from the list, with Idris just clinging on at number 10.
Diary’s ideal Neighbour is, and will always be, Dr Karl Kennedy.
Save HMV… again!
Diary spent £25 in an actual HMV store on 27 December (the day before the administration announcement – we considered cashing in our PureHMV points, but didn’t…). As a result, we’re heartened to see #saveHMV trending on Twitter.
It seems to be accompanied by a flood of people tweeting about the purchases they have just been inspired to make (example: “HMV, you might be saved. My brother just bought £50 of Peppa Pig DVDs.”). If social media positivity were enough to save a business, HMV would surely survive – but is it?
Are we seeing the sea-change “enough is enough” moment where nostalgia and people power combine to transform the fortunes of traditional retail? Is this the scene in an eventual “High Street – The Movie” where the music swells and the hordes appear clutching their money just as a teary‑eyed sales assistant is about to flip the closed sign? Will Diary have any reason to agree to go to the January sales next year? 2019 is filled with questions…
Nobody’s safe from planning
There was no happy new year for one small businessman whose livelihood appears threatened by planning officers. The owner of a fancy-dress shop had apparently failed to get permission for an important part of his enterprise: namely, the other worlds he keeps at the back of his shop.
One customer – a Mr Benn – said he hoped to hire a lawyer’s costume and act for the fez-wearing shopkeeper at an imminent planning committee hearing soon. Though, having re-read the New Year’s Day tweet from @therealbenn in the sober light of 2 January, Diary is starting to wonder whether the story has any grounding in truth at all – or whether it appeared as if by magic…
