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Say hello to Barratt Homes' 'Brixton Square' on Coldharbour Lane (old Cooltan site)

Mr Bim of Bar said:
You make me laugh loulou I can actually feel you're excitement. Hope it's all you dreamt it would be
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Mr Bim, We have never been so excited! We have saved for YEARS to own our own place. Put up with pretty ratty accommodation to save more so BS is like a total dream for us. It's made me feel quite sad reading comments from people calling it a cheap tat development and other horrible things. To us it's a palace.
 
loulou82 said:
Mr Bim, We have never been so excited! We have saved for YEARS to own our own place. Put up with pretty ratty accommodation to save more so BS is like a total dream for us. It's made me feel quite sad reading comments from people calling it a cheap tat development and other horrible things. To us it's a palace.
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Hey don't anyone put a downer on your dreams, it's your life not theirs, they can say and think what they like, as long as you are your partner have improved the quality of your life then I applaud all you have achieved. I have a sneaky suspicion that this is probably the best move you have ever made and will prob secure a good future for you. Ignore the abuse it's laughable
 
loulou82 said:
Mr Bim, We have never been so excited! We have saved for YEARS to own our own place. Put up with pretty ratty accommodation to save more so BS is like a total dream for us. It's made me feel quite sad reading comments from people calling it a cheap tat development and other horrible things. To us it's a palace.
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Really happy for you Lou Lou, we've all been there with terrible landlords (flatmates in my case!) and I really wish you well with your move.

As someone with a background in interior design (before it was trendy), I'm really happy with the standard of work and the finishing in the flat. Sure, from an architectural standpoint it resembles an office block, but I don't mind that its a bit boring. Boring brick buildings don't age so obviously and upkeep should be easy (hopefully).
 
cuppa tee said:
excuse my ignorance but when was this...... I thought interior design had been "trendy" since it was invented.
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Possibly, but not in my opinion. Twelve years ago when I began my degree, I had big hopes of focusing on interior architecture and working on hotels and restaurants around the world. Now, you don't even need a degree or CAD for that matter, just connections and the means to work free of charge for long enough to gain experience. Not that I'm bitter (of course I am). It could also be that when I started out it was in a different country (I'm not British), and things are very different in London.
 
cuppa tee said:
excuse my ignorance but when was this...... I thought interior design had been "trendy" since it was invented.
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Yes - I was going to post the same question.
Strangerdanger said:
Possibly, but not in my opinion. Twelve years ago when I began my degree, I had big hopes of focusing on interior architecture and working on hotels and restaurants around the world. Now, you don't even need a degree or CAD for that matter, just connections and the means to work free of charge for long enough to gain experience. Not that I'm bitter (of course I am). It could also be that when I started out it was in a different country (I'm not British), and things are very different in London.
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Has long been thus.

Interior design has always been plagued by unskilled wannabes (and bored wealthy housewives) claiming to have some sort of innate talent for matching cushion patterns with pelmets and choosing the most expensive homeware items from Heals. I'm not really sure how helpful CAD is to interior design anyway (as opposed to interior architecture). 15 years ago hardly anyone one used CAD anyway - even many architects.
 
Rushy said:
Yes - I was going to post the same question.

Has long been thus.

Interior design has always been plagued by unskilled wannabes (and bored wealthy housewives) claiming to have some sort of innate talent for matching cushion patterns with pelmets and choosing the most expensive homeware items from Heals. I'm not really sure how helpful CAD is to interior design anyway (as opposed to interior architecture). 15 years ago hardly anyone one used CAD anyway - even many architects.
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Seemed to be mainly people doing construction-related stuff - ducts, pipes, cabling etc? Maybe some types of product designers/engineers too.
 
Rushy said:
Interior design has always been plagued by unskilled wannabes (and bored wealthy housewives) claiming to have some sort of innate talent for matching cushion patterns with pelmets and choosing the most expensive homeware items from Heals.
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This was this type of thing I meant by interior design fwiw
 
Yeah, that's more interior decorating. Interior design as a whole includes decorating but much more. A qualified interior designer has the ability change layouts (that's where cad comes in for drawing floor plans and creating 3d models), and is knowledgeable in the code, ergonomics, the psychology of space etc.

Heals sucks.
 
FT also makes the point that Brixton may become less appealing to landlords as its higher property values squeeze their rental margins.
 
leanderman said:
FT also makes the point that Brixton may become less appealing to landlords as its higher property values squeeze their rental margins.
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Are there examples of this happening anywhere else? Property values have been going up all over the place for years and rents just keep going up, and BTL landlords don't seem put off. I suppose there's a limit somewhere but you'd expect to see it in other places ahead of Brixton I'd have thought.
 
Monkeygrinder's Organ said:
Are there examples of this happening anywhere else? Property values have been going up all over the place for years and rents just keep going up, and BTL landlords don't seem put off. I suppose there's a limit somewhere but you'd expect to see it in other places ahead of Brixton I'd have thought.
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This was the suggestion. I suppose it comes down to the relationship between rents and property prices. It said the yield was now 5pc and was previously higher.
 
leanderman said:
This was the suggestion. I suppose it comes down to the relationship between rents and property prices. It said the yield was now 5pc and was previously higher.
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I guess so - that and the confidence the BTLers have that the property price will continue to increase. Just wondered if they'd cited an example really.
 
I think the courtyard area is actually not bad architecturally. The balconies are quite generous and there is a nice attention to detail in the planting and paths. It is the street side of the building, especially the poorly positioned and poor quality signage, that gives a weak impression. I think if the signage was improved and the front landscaping given the same attention to detail as the courtyard, it could look a great deal better. If I was an enthusiastic resident, like Loulou, I would try to get Barratts to improve these things. Perhaps a residents' committee?

I feel a little sorry for Loulou. I wish you happiness in your new home. It's the sad obliteration of the history of the site and the ethics of Barratt's around the "affordable" housing quota that has upset people. "Cooltan" has a place in many hearts.
 
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Vibrant-Hubb said:
I think the courtyard area is actually not bad architecturally. The balconies are quite generous and there is a nice attention to detail in the planting and paths. It is the street side of the building, especially the poorly positioned and poor quality signage, that gives a weak impression. I think if the signage was improved and the front landscaping given the same attention to detail as the courtyard, it could look a great deal better. If I was an enthusiastic resident, like Loulou, I would try to get Barratts to improve these things. Perhaps a residents' committee?

I feel a little sorry for Loulou. I wish you happiness in your new home. It's the sad obliteration of the history of the site and the ethics of Barratt's around the "affordable" housing quota that has upset people. "Cooltan" has a place in many hearts.
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I agree about the signage. The scale is off and I think that contributes to the cheapening effect. They are landscaping the front as well. I keep trying to peak behind the fencing they have up and I can see that they've continued the pavement and planted shrubbery of some sort but I can't see any detail.
 
Vibrant-Hubb said:
It's the sad obliteration of the history of the site and the ethics of Barratt's around the "affordable" housing quota that has upset people. "Cooltan" has a place in many hearts.
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cooltan.jpg
I feel an intense connection to that place. I signed on there in 1983 and 1989 when it was a Job Centre.
I was on the planning committee when we approved a scheme to build a 2 star hotel on the site which was supposed to provide 200 local jobs in the late 1990s.
Now it is a bland fortress-gated development in Barratt house style.
Gates.jpg
Just look at what the private residents got in Clapham:
Gaudi.jpg
That could almost be Barcelona. Or at least Reus.
In Clapham Lambeth Council also sold the social housing sector down the river - literally. The swish neo-Gaudi/Modernism style building incorporating the library has the 136 private flats. The 44 "affordable" homes are over the road next to the sports centre. And to boot the whole scheme is a PFI - so look for financial problems some years down the line when the PFI contract requiring £150 to change a light bulb begins to bite.
I suspect that Barratts Brixton Square will be more financially viable long-term. Pity it has no aesthetic character (unless yr into S&M)
 
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Monkeygrinder's Organ said:
Are there examples of this happening anywhere else? Property values have been going up all over the place for years and rents just keep going up, and BTL landlords don't seem put off. I suppose there's a limit somewhere but you'd expect to see it in other places ahead of Brixton I'd have thought.
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I think Brixton must be there already. Evidenced by the lack of BTL's in this development.

We have been toying with the idea of letting our house and the rental income at the moment compared to say 12 months ago is pretty much the same.

Whereas, for the sale value, the difference somewhat beggars belief.

I don't think anyone buying a property for rental in Brixton at this point in time could be making that much money, if any
 
sparkybird said:
I think Brixton must be there already. Evidenced by the lack of BTL's in this development.

We have been toying with the idea of letting our house and the rental income at the moment compared to say 12 months ago is pretty much the same.

Whereas, for the sale value, the difference somewhat beggars belief.

I don't think anyone buying a property for rental in Brixton at this point in time could be making that much money, if any
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I'm slightly surprised to hear that because anecdotally (admittedly I mostly mean 'people on here say') rent has been increasing quickly. But even without that a BTL landlord would still make plenty of cash if the house prices increase so it would still make sense.
 
Well house rentals have been pretty static - maybe flats are different.

If the rent ain't covering all the costs then no landlord would buy a property at current prices just on the 'hope' that money would be made on the sale (well no landlord who is financially astute that is!) as they would be making a loss for years.
 
Monkeygrinder's Organ said:
I'm slightly surprised to hear that because anecdotally (admittedly I mostly mean 'people on here say') rent has been increasing quickly. But even without that a BTL landlord would still make plenty of cash if the house prices increase so it would still make sense.
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sparkybird said:
Well house rentals have been pretty static - maybe flats are different.

If the rent ain't covering all the costs then no landlord would buy a property at current prices just on the 'hope' that money would be made on the sale (well no landlord who is financially astute that is!) as they would be making a loss for years.
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IME rentals plummeted about 25% around 2009 and then recovered fairly steadily. Last year they were comparable to their previous peak and now they are higher. So if you look at the increase over 3 years it is a lot more frightening than if you average it since 2008. As with sale prices, they tend to lurch up and down rather than rise steadily over time.
 
Rushy said:
I am a lot less disturbed by the image of you peeking through gates than by that of you trying to peak behind a fence.
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Well I know what's happening behind the gates. The fence on the other hand is more of a mystery.

I find it hard to believe that btl investors have avoided BS because of unprofitablilty...but given the evidence on these boards that barratt were marketing to them I do wonder why the numbers were low
 
Strangerdanger said:
Well I know what's happening behind the gates. The fence on the other hand is more of a mystery.

I find it hard to believe that btl investors have avoided BS because of unprofitablilty...but given the evidence on these boards that barratt were marketing to them I do wonder why the numbers were low
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I'm a bit sceptical of the figure given tbh. Just looked back to see where it comes from and it was reported as 'Barratts claims...'
 
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