It all got a bit saucy at the levelling-up committee this week. MPs, led by Labour’s Clive Betts, were there to give Michael Gove a delicate grilling in the wake of the flagship Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill’s second reading, the CPO consultation and Boris Johnson’s relaunch of the relaunch of Right to Buy. It was there that Betts began with an I assume your fingers are all over this policy, secretary of state? The Govester grinned like a cat that was positively wallowing in ill-gotten cream. “We-ell…” he purred, shrugging a paw. Betts gave what could have been either an indulgent smile or grimace. “Yes, but are housing associations going to be compelled to join the scheme or asked to join it if they wish?” he battled on. Gove replied: “Seduced.” Tentatively, Betts asked for more details of Gove’s planned seduction (a frightening thought). Thankfully it has more to do with ensuring full funding for one-for-one and like-for-like replacements than anything more… icky. That would help to solve the housing crisis and Gove said he was sure the policy would be eagerly embraced. “But I don’t like using the C-word promiscuously,” Gove told the committee. Mouths dropped, jaws hung open. The very air was pregnant. “Crisis.” The Gove charm offensive in action – equal parts charming and offensive.
Have you Heard?
We all daydream of living the celebrity lifestyle of the rich and famous. OK, sure, with all we now know (and we can all agree that is far, far too much) maybe Johnny Depp and Amber Heard aren’t quite the best big names to emulate, but a superstar’s a superstar when it comes to property. So colour us excited that their one-time “LA love nest” is up for sale, according to the latest missive from those folks in the know at Top 10 Celebrity Real Estate News. The market leader in real estate-based Tinseltown tittle tattle may be stretching the definition of “love nest” to breaking point here, but the property itself – one of five of the penthouses atop downtown LA’s iconic Eastern Columbia Building formerly owned by Depp – is, at least, highly desirable. According to Top 10, “Though only married for 15 months, the Los Angeles building was their home and, according to the listing agent, the one-bedroom penthouse was where they ‘spent a good amount of their time’.” Following the couple’s 2016 divorce, the penthouses were all sold for almost $13m (£10.7m), but now this one is on the market again for $1.76m. Sounds like a great deal for the right buyer. We’re sure plenty has changed in the meantime – though, if the place comes furnished, maybe think about changing the bed, just in case. We all saw the headlines.
Good newts
This week’s (rarely awarded) prize for best line buried in a press release goes to Urban&Civic, which has appointed Richard Quartermaine as its new head of sustainability. The somewhat lengthy announcement makes clear that Quartermaine’s role will see him further develop the company’s “strategic approach to sustainability” through the implementation of its sustainability framework, and cites its 5,952-home Houlton development in Rugby, Warwickshire, as an example of its fine work. The site’s landscape strategy was initially focused around the existing population of great crested newts – a familiar species to developers. The plan involved nature corridors running through specially designed tunnels under primary roads, which is all fantastic, but it’s U&C’s phrasing that wins the day: “The outcome has been exceptionally successful for both newts and residents alike.” One really can’t ask for much more than that.
A bolt from the Blue Peter
Back in 1981, little Andrew Highton was one of a number of schoolchildren tasked with depicting life in the Eighties for a time capsule buried by Blue Peter legends Sarah Greene, Simon Groom and Peter Duncan under a BBC car park then being built at Television Centre. Fast-forward 41 years, and Highton is now a senior project director at Stanhope. But he can’t escape his past (for which Diary very much hopes he earned a coveted Blue Peter badge). Because that time capsule was recently discovered in a redevelopment of the site by (you guessed it) Stanhope, together with construction partner Kier and affordable housing partner Peabody. This week, the capsule was opened live on This Morning by children’s TV icon Greene and current Blue Peter presenter Mwaksy Mudenda, revealing the works of Highton and others to the nation – before it was promptly reburied, now including items of contemporary culture not around in 1981, like an Oyster card, Covid test and PPE. According to Jonathan Trout, property & commercial director at Stanhope: “Finding a Blue Peter time capsule during our recent construction work to build new affordable housing gives us another opportunity to connect with the iconic nature of the site and also to continue to engage with local school children and the community.” And, one imagines, to have a little fun at Highton’s expense.
