Coldharbour Lane, Brixton - news and updates

[editor]

Knackered house update

How is Brixton’s most knackered house looking six months after its £710k sale?

In July last year, we wrote about a near-derelict knackered terraced house on Coldharbour Lane being put up for auction. Despite having floors missing and requiring scaffolding to stay up, the hous…

www.brixtonbuzz.com

 

[Rushy]

Knackered house update

How is Brixton’s most knackered house looking six months after its £710k sale?

In July last year, we wrote about a near-derelict knackered terraced house on Coldharbour Lane being put up for auction. Despite having floors missing and requiring scaffolding to stay up, the hous…

www.brixtonbuzz.com

Planning application for conversion into three flats was turned down last month.

20/03618/FUL | Refurbishment of the property involving erection of part 2/part 3 storey rear extension including excavation of the existing basement to provide 3 residential units, together with the replacement of windows, the provision of cycle and refuse storages, plus other associated alterations. | 316 Coldharbour Lane London SW9 8SE

planning.lambeth.gov.uk

 

[CH1]

Planning application for conversion into three flats was turned down last month.

20/03618/FUL | Refurbishment of the property involving erection of part 2/part 3 storey rear extension including excavation of the existing basement to provide 3 residential units, together with the replacement of windows, the provision of cycle and refuse storages, plus other associated alterations. | 316 Coldharbour Lane London SW9 8SE

planning.lambeth.gov.uk

The planning department is demented. They are claiming the planning application would result in sub-standard accommodation:

1 The sub-division of the property into three flats is not supported in principle given the existing provision of family sized accommodation, the size of the original building and its location within the borough. It is contrary to the requirements of policy H6 (a)(ii) of the Lambeth Local Plan (2015). This aspect cannot be overcome by any planning condition and is an in principle objection to the proposed development.

The house next door (318) is in 4 flats - the basement flat (which is or was prone to floods) being on a long term lease to Lambeth Housing who use it for homeless cases.

I wonder if this is a ploy to get a second application fee from the applicant?
Looks like the refusal notice is telling them to scale down the proposed rear addition and roof terrace.

This could have been sorted out a pre-application stage. If I was living next door I would be both furious and depressed.
316 Coldharbour Lane must be a hazard to the houses on both sides, and has been a blot on the landscape since the mid 1990s. Not only that the council started enforcement for disrepair 10 years ago, then did not pursue the case.

 

[editor]

Planning application for conversion into three flats was turned down last month.

20/03618/FUL | Refurbishment of the property involving erection of part 2/part 3 storey rear extension including excavation of the existing basement to provide 3 residential units, together with the replacement of windows, the provision of cycle and refuse storages, plus other associated alterations. | 316 Coldharbour Lane London SW9 8SE

planning.lambeth.gov.uk

So greedy landlord looking to squeeze in tenants

The proposal would provide substandard accommodation which would be to the detriment of the amenities
of future occupiers.



This is due to the undersized units, lack of useable private amenity space or communal
amenity space and in specifically in relation to Flat A; a lack of outlook and unacceptable levels of daylight /
sunlight. The proposal is therefore considered to be contrary to Policies H5 and Q2 of the Lambeth Local Plan
(2015) and the London Plan Housing SPG standards 26 and 27 (2016)



The proposed rear additions, by virtue of their height, scale, mass and design would result in an over
dominant, incongruous and uncharacteristic addition which subsumes the entire rear elevation. The proposal would
not result in a high quality design and would fail to preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the local
context and the Loughborough Park Conservation Area. The proposal is therefore contrary to Policies Q5, Q11 and
Q22 of the Lambeth Local Plan (2015).

 

[snowy_again]

I thought it was against Lambeths’ own planning guidelines to allow subdivision of houses into flats?

 

[teuchter]

 

[CH1]

So greedy landlord looking to squeeze in tenants

The house next to me (292) was turned in 3 flats - approved by planning.
I can't remember the ins and outs of it - but I think the original proposal was for 4 so they scaled it back.

I think you and snowy_again and teuchter will find very few "family houses" in this bit of Coldharbour Lane.
Those are mostly on the "posh" opposite side where the houses were Lambeth Council owned and some tenants purchased under right to buy.

The HMO issue is a live one. 292 had degenerated into a TMO and Lambeth Planning would not take that as a starting point. I suspect the conversion into 3 flats was better for Planning than continued occupation by 10 or more people with shared facilities and no on-site supervision?

294 continues to be an HMO - which started about 2003. Planning have issued various directives to stop - but Lambeth Housing have taken all the units for homeless/vulnerable people. Sill better that than when it was effectively a bail hostel.

 

[CH1]

Just to remind people - 294 auctioned in 2016.
I think it did make the £1.3 million,
The indicative rents are there - and this is truly sub-standard accommodation with shared toilets on the landings and kitchen sinks are shower cubicles in the bedrooms.

Not sure who owns it now - but the person who bought at auction was a property dealer from Prestwich in Manchester,
And you and me are paying his profits for cramped substandard accommodation, which Lambeth Housing seem to feel appropriate for disabled people.

That said several of the tenants have stuck around a long time - so maybe it suits them.

 

[teuchter]

292 or 294 are not directly comparable with 316 ... they are wide & shallow with (I assume) central staircase whereas 316 and its neighbours are narrow/deep plan with standard terrace type staircase. Maybe Lambeth consider them more appropriate as single dwellings / less approriate for subdivision.

 

[ricbake]

HM Land Registry Open Data

 

[ricbake]

Just to remind people - 294 auctioned in 2016.
I think it did make the £1.3 million,
The indicative rents are there - and this is truly sub-standard accommodation with shared toilets on the landings and kitchen sinks are shower cubicles in the bedrooms.

Not sure who owns it now - but the person who bought at auction was a property dealer from Prestwich in Manchester,
And you and me are paying his profits for cramped substandard accommodation, which Lambeth Housing seem to feel appropriate for disabled people.

That said several of the tenants have stuck around a long time - so maybe it suits them.
View attachment 258162

5.25% return gross on £1,450,000 with full occupancy at 2016 rents - It doesn't look like they have spent a penny on it over the past 5 years. Street View on Google shows 2009 and then every year since 2015. The only change is the sun on the paint work and the lobelia being cut back and regrowing....

 

[CH1]

HM Land Registry Open Data
View attachment 258164

296 is a story to be told. It looked like this in 1986. Intestate.
Fortunately one of the Lambeth legal team, with appropriate coaxing, slapped a charge on the property to pay for the scaffolding and corrugated iron the council were using to prop it up.
The council were then able to take possession from the official solicitor and sell to a builder/developer.
Creative thinking rare in Lambeth.

 

[CH1]

292 or 294 are not directly comparable with 316 ... they are wide & shallow with (I assume) central staircase whereas 316 and its neighbours are narrow/deep plan with standard terrace type staircase. Maybe Lambeth consider them more appropriate as single dwellings / less approriate for subdivision.

Same number of rooms though - as originally built.

 

[editor]

Here's how it's looking



In photos: Coldharbour Lane in central Brixton closed until mid-April 2021

 

[nick]

Looks like you've got your own LTN

(ducks and runs)

 

[CH1]

Knackered house update

How is Brixton’s most knackered house looking six months after its £710k sale?

In July last year, we wrote about a near-derelict knackered terraced house on Coldharbour Lane being put up for auction. Despite having floors missing and requiring scaffolding to stay up, the hous…

www.brixtonbuzz.com

Did you spot this Daily Mail article last year? Sexed up plagiarism I assume. House that has lain empty for 30 years goes up for sale for £400,000

 

[editor]

The Barrier Block outdoor party crew are back and pissing wherever the fancy takes them

 

[Gramsci]

The Barrier Block outdoor party crew are back and pissing wherever the fancy takes them

Noticed this on way back home.

 

[editor]

Very busy in the posh Laundry last night:

The 384's outdoor area is a bit basic:

But luxurious compared to Brewdog's no-frills at all offering:

In photos: Pub gardens reopen in Brixton and Tulse Hill, Mon 12th April 2021

It’s been a long wait, but pub, bar and restaurant gardens were finally permitted to reopen yesterday as coronavirus lockdown restrictions were eased. Many venues had made use of the lockdown…

www.brixtonbuzz.com

 

[CH1]

Don't think anyone has mentioned this des res 3 bedroom house for sale in Coldharbour Lane, Brixton, SW9 through Foxtons (Ref 1167410)
Seems remarkably reasonably priced at £1,250,000.
I mean this compared to other recently available properties on the "cheaper" side of the road.
But then the minus points are - this property has had much of its garden removed by Lambeth to build the quaintly named "Heritage Close" round the corner in Loughbroough Park.

Otherwise it looks like the property is in tip top condition. In fact the owners may well have been living in it these past many years, not renting it out as an HMO as more expensive properties have been!

 

[Gramsci]

Don't think anyone has mentioned this des res 3 bedroom house for sale in Coldharbour Lane, Brixton, SW9 through Foxtons (Ref 1167410)
Seems remarkably reasonably priced at £1,250,000.
I mean this compared to other recently available properties on the "cheaper" side of the road.
But then the minus points are - this property has had much of its garden removed by Lambeth to build the quaintly named "Heritage Close" round the corner in Loughbroough Park.

Otherwise it looks like the property is in tip top condition. In fact the owners may well have been living in it these past many years, not renting it out as an HMO as more expensive properties have been!

Council tax looks low for this part of street.

 

[CH1]

Council tax looks low for this part of street.

Band F looks about right to me - as a whole house.
A whole house in somewhere like Morval Road is I believe Band E - and this one is definitely a notch up from that.

I know it's weird but you have to imagine the prices in 1991, see Lambeth's website:

How your Council Tax band is worked out
Council Tax is based on the value of the property you live in. Each property is valued and placed in one of eight council tax bands by the Valuation Office Agency, part of HMRC. Lambeth Council does not set your Council Tax band, but it does set the rate that you have to pay.

The bands are based on what a home might have sold for in April 1991. Even if the property you live in was built recently, its band is based on an estimation of what its value would have been in 1991.

Band	Market value of property on 1 April 1991	2020-21 rate	2021-22 rate
A	Up to £40,000	£1,001.09	£1,061.06
B	£40,001 to £52,000	£1,167.96	£1,237.90
C	£52,001 to £68,000	£1,334.78	£1,414.75
D	£68,001 to £88,000	£1,501.63	£1,591.59
E	£88,001 to £120,000	£1,835.32	£1,945.28
F	£120,001 to £160,000	£2,169.04	£2,298.96
G	£160,001 to £320,000	£2,502.73	£2,652.65
H	£320,001 and over	£3,003.28	£3,183.18

 

[editor]

Gas pipe news! Update on gas pipe replacement work around Coldharbour Lane, Brixton

 

[Gramsci]

Band F looks about right to me - as a whole house.
A whole house in somewhere like Morval Road is I believe Band E - and this one is definitely a notch up from that.

I know it's weird but you have to imagine the prices in 1991, see Lambeth's website:

How your Council Tax band is worked out
Council Tax is based on the value of the property you live in. Each property is valued and placed in one of eight council tax bands by the Valuation Office Agency, part of HMRC. Lambeth Council does not set your Council Tax band, but it does set the rate that you have to pay.

The bands are based on what a home might have sold for in April 1991. Even if the property you live in was built recently, its band is based on an estimation of what its value would have been in 1991.

Band	Market value of property on 1 April 1991	2020-21 rate	2021-22 rate
A	Up to £40,000	£1,001.09	£1,061.06
B	£40,001 to £52,000	£1,167.96	£1,237.90
C	£52,001 to £68,000	£1,334.78	£1,414.75
D	£68,001 to £88,000	£1,501.63	£1,591.59
E	£88,001 to £120,000	£1,835.32	£1,945.28
F	£120,001 to £160,000	£2,169.04	£2,298.96
G	£160,001 to £320,000	£2,502.73	£2,652.65
H	£320,001 and over	£3,003.28	£3,183.18

It is weird. This is three bedroom house over four floors. Council tax £2.162

My one bed flat across the road Council tax is £1237

 

[sparkybird]

Video of this week's action is up:

It is weird. This is three bedroom house over four floors. Council tax £2.162

My one bed flat across the road Council tax is £1237

That is odd. It might be worth checking that you're in the right band. About 18 years ago I got my council tax changed (and a rebate) when I found out I was in a different band to my neighbours, but exactly the same properties.

 

[GarveyLives]

Going for a cool £1.2m

View attachment 253647

https://www.marshandparsons.co.uk/properties/BRX190730/coldharbour-lane-3

Having moved to Coldharbour Lane as long ago as 2015, project manager Shane, "who grew up in Clapham", and his partner Sophie, "who spent her childhood between Hampstead and the countryside", having renovated their property with a budget of only £100,000, have now placed it on the market "and are hoping to split their time between a new home in London and a country weekender.":

How a couple turned a run-down terraced house into their dream home for £100k

"We saw the neighbourhood as a more flavoursome Notting Hill"​

 

[editor]

Having moved to Coldharbour Lane as long ago as 2015, project manager Shane, "who grew up in Clapham", and his partner Sophie, "who spent her childhood between Hampstead and the countryside", having renovated their property with a budget of only £100,000, have now placed it on the market "and are hoping to split their time between a new home in London and a country weekender.":

How a couple turned a run-down terraced house into their dream home for £100k

"We saw the neighbourhood as a more flavoursome Notting Hill"​

A renovation budget of £100k on top of the £920,000 they paid for it in 2015. And here they are to show off their wonderful taste.

As for Coldharbour Lane, the area will continue its inevitable regeneration, with new homes, health services and a modern theatre in the pipeline. ‘There’s nowhere quite like it in London,’ Shane says. ‘That fantastic community spirit will never change.’

And what the fuck have they contributed to the Brixton community? Parasitic cunts.

 

[nick]

I read that - so you didn't have to.

Presume they have friends in Northcliffe House who agreed to do the free advert for their imminent sale

But 920k 5 years ago + 100k renovations and (I guess) a whole load of their own free labour + living in a building site for a while + stamp duty of say £40k + various transaction costs? All for a sale price of £1.1m? You / we can feel slightly better about this slightly unloveable family with their silly names knowing that they got financially burnt over their sojourn to the other side of the tracks

It looks quite nicely done TBF (apart from that bathroom)

 

[Shippou-Sensei]

And what the fuck have they contributed to the Brixton community?

Increased house prices.

 

[teuchter]

I think I'd rather these types than the slum landlords who destroyed the 'loughborough house' building a few doors along, who aren't as easily caricatured but probably made significantly more profit with their botched renovation. At least these people seem to have done a fairly decent job and contributed something to the street scene.