Lockdown living has been better for some than for others. And perhaps best placed to take advantage are wealthy introverts. Diary is one of these things, but not the other (can you guess which?). As a result, we are hugely jealous of the “anonymous UHNW European buyer” who has picked up a private island off Ireland’s west coast for over £5m. One can’t help but picture the setting of Father Ted, but it seems that this is no Craggy Island. The luxurious Horse Island, sourced for the buyer by Montague Real Estate, boasts seven luxury properties, including a six-bedroom main house, all enjoying views over the Atlantic and Roaring Water Bay where guests can swim and scuba dive among dolphins. There is also a helipad, a tennis court and a “shipwreck play house”, all of which starts to make the purchase price seem an absolute bargain. Exactly why does anyone with £5m to spend choose London?
News just in (again): tenants love pets
Long-time readers of Diary will know, any excuse will do for a cute pet photo. Thus, last September we reported that pet-friendliness was the most desirable attribute in rental property. In December, we noted a “new wave of pet-friendly rentals coming onto the market” in the wake of housing secretary Robert Jenrick unveiling plans to overhaul tenancy agreements (remember those simpler times, Robert?). So, frankly, we would be remiss if we didn’t offer a Covid-19 update. And, thanks to a pun-laden press release from Movebubble, we can. Apparently, the number of people seeking a new “woof over their head” has risen dramatically. Driven by a puppy-buying boom, searches for pet-friendly homes have risen by a “whopping 109%” since the pandemic took hold, as would-be tenants “clamour to get their paws on a suitable property”. The biggest surge in interest is up north, with searches leaping 140% in Manchester. Just remember, though – a pet is for life, not just for lockdown.
As green as grass
Using government grant money to buy cannabis? That sounds like a subject for an outraged Daily Mail exposé. But in fact, it could be great news for the environment. In the wake of the chancellor’s announcement of a £5,000 Green Homes Grant to UK homeowners, Europe’s largest producer and processor of hemp – the “non-intoxicating sub-strain of the cannabis plant”, we should make clear – got in touch to trumpet their product as the ideal insulation material. According to Hempflax chairman Guy Winterflood: “Hemp insulation’s triumvirate of benefits – carbon negativity, superior thermal resistance and breathability – should be enough to convince the government and consumers that there really is only one insulation product to spend your Green Homes Grant on.” High praise indeed.
Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance
Another thing Diary loves almost as much as pets is a quirky change of use. Hey, when you spend as much time as we do scouring planning application documents, you have to take entertainment where you can find it. With a raft of PDR changes making it easier than ever to convert to residential, one would be forgiven for thinking that one day there might be no business premises left – but up in Manchester, they are still finding novel ways to replace one commercial use with a completely different one. Thus, an application to turn Unit 2 of Smithfield Enterprise Estate, Whitworth Street, East Manchester from a mixed martial arts centre to an MOT vehicle testing and repair centre. At least one familiar mantra is as applicable to car bodywork as it is to karate: wax on, wax off.
Do they mean Neil Tennant?
It’s not often a lease of commercial premises gets a starring role in a TV drama – even less so in prime time on the nation’s favourite soap opera. So, imagine the excitement of conveyancing Coronation Street fans when they were offered a close-up of the lease for on-screen knicker factory Underworld. Just a shame then that someone didn’t proofread it. One can only imagine the loopholes that Weatherfield’s sloppy lawyers left in its terms, when they couldn’t even manage to spell “tenant” right on the front.
