Squire and Partners in Lambeth

[teuchter]

Are they indirectly to blame and if so what does that actually mean?

 

[shakespearegirl]

In post 346 you said,



I thought your argument was that no one knows what the lease arrangements were when Squires acquired property. This post 354 seems to say something different. Why?

No one knows the exact terms of their lease. My second post should have been showing quoting another post I meant to reply to.

My point was that if the post office were mid lease they would be in a strong negotiating position to get the space that suited them.. if their lease was ending they could have moved anywhere they wanted, they weren’t forced into the new space. This is the post office, a major lease holding business who regularly negotiate leases.

 

[happyshopper]

I expect that the Post Office was in a position to get a good deal on the new lease and the consequence that users would end up having to queue in the rain was of no significance to the PO’s property department.

 

[Gramsci]

Are they indirectly to blame and if so what does that actually mean?

In my post #360 I was trying to move away from the argumentative posting about Squires to non personalised post of the overall problem. Something I was hoping most posters could agree on. For Urban75 it's not that contentious.

I'm assuming you can agree with it?

Im not saying my post is offering solutions it's positing the problem in non personalised way.

 

[editor]

I expect that the Post Office was in a position to get a good deal on the new lease and the consequence that users would end up having to queue in the rain was of no significance to the PO’s property department.

Or, indeed, of any concern to Squire "we want to be part of Brixton's community" & Partners. But it does piss me off to see all that vast empty space in their vast showcase offices while customers are packed into the new PO or queuing in the rain. But yes, that'as capitalism for you. Money first, people second.

 

[Gramsci]

No one knows the exact terms of their lease. My second post should have been showing quoting another post I meant to reply to.

My point was that if the post office were mid lease they would be in a strong negotiating position to get the space that suited them.. if their lease was ending they could have moved anywhere they wanted, they weren’t forced into the new space. This is the post office, a major lease holding business who regularly negotiate leases.

Is the post office in that strong a position since privatisation?

Quote from Labour MP from a couple of years back.

The Post Office was split from the profitable Royal Mail business in order to pave the way for privatisation - and all too predictably it is now at crisis point. This year alone it is shedding 2,000 jobs and closing down flagship branches across the country.

It's sad to say, but the story of Royal Mail's privatisation is a story of our times: the loss of democratic control; the transfer of wealth and power to the richest in society; and the growing pressure on working people to work harder and faster for less.

Three Years On From Its Sale, The Privatisation Of Royal Mail Is A Story Of Our Times


This isn't to blame Squires. Its all part of the last thirty plus years of "free" market capitalist economics.

 

[editor]

Those luxury contracts targeting foreign investors keep on rolling in for Squire:

Luxury homes are now available at Garrett Mansions, combining a sought-after Central London address with exclusive lifestyle perks.

Designed by award-winning architects Squire and Partners, its red brick buildings evoke the period charm of its Maida Vale neighborhood and nearby Mayfair, overlooking a beautifully landscaped private garden.

Selected apartments have balconies looking over the landscaped gardens, offering a private sanctuary in the heart of the city. Framed by manicured greenery, a linear water feature with water lilies sets the perfect atmosphere for relaxing at the end of a busy day.

A complete lifestyle

All residents at West End Gate also have access to a luxury suite of leisure, health and wellness amenities housed in the Westmark building, including a 24-hour concierge who's always at hand to take care of every conceivable need.

A cutting-edge wellness suite offers everything that's needed to stay in shape or unwind after a hard day's work, from the expansive swimming pool, sauna and steam room to health and beauty treatments at the tranquil spa. The fully-equipped gym is staffed by personal trainers who can create bespoke fitness programs.

Residents can also find privacy or entertain guests at the private lounge and dining room or reserve the 24-seat cinema for private screenings. Secure underground parking is available and boutique retailers and restaurants are literally on the doorstep, the ground floor of Westmark being leased to high-end commercial tenants.

Currently on exhibition in Hong Kong.
West End Gate: classic London living reimagined with exclusive amenities

 

[editor]

Oh, and Mr Squires has a message for us all.

To build enough new homes, we need “to be less obsessed with overlooking and rights to light”, says Michael Squire, the chairman of judges at The Sunday Times British Homes Awards.

But he's not including his own home, naturally.

 

[CH1]

Oh, and Mr Squires has a message for us all.
To build enough new homes, we need “to be less obsessed with overlooking and rights to light”
But he's not including his own home, naturally.

Taylor Wimpey seem to be ahead of him on that one!

 

[alcopop]

London does have very low density housing

 

[editor]

London does have very low density housing

Sorry what is your point here? Do you agree with the multi millionaire architect who thinks people should be "less obsessed with overlooking and rights to light", while he - of course - has plenty of light and space in his luxury house?

 

[alcopop]

Sorry what is your point here? Do you agree with the multi millionaire architect who thinks people should be "less obsessed with overlooking and rights to light", while he - of course - has plenty of light and space in his luxury house?

Yes I agree with him.

You want all architects to live in a one bedroom council flat?

 

[editor]

Yes I agree with him.

You want all architects to live in a one bedroom council flat?

I want people to have decent housing at affordable prices, and I don't like stinking rich architects in massive houses telling poor people that they should put up with dark shitholes overlooked by everyone else.

 

[teuchter]

Here's what he said in the interview if anyone is interested

 

[alex_]

I want people to have decent housing at affordable prices, and I don't like stinking rich architects in massive houses telling poor people that they should put up with dark shitholes overlooked by everyone else.

He’s saying dense housing is cheaper, which isn’t rocket science.

More houses per acre less cost per house, especially in urban areas.

Alex

 

[teuchter]

He’s saying dense housing is cheaper, which isn’t rocket science.

More houses per acre less cost per house, especially in urban areas.

Alex

Fact is that once you get to a certain density you really do have to start compromising on stuff like privacy and access to daylight.

Agreeing the point at which this starts to become a significant issue *is* something akin to rocket science. Especially when you're not building a whole city anew.

 

[editor]

Of course, one contributing factor to the housing crisis is space-hogging, rent-escalating upmarket developments being built and directly marketed to foreign investors, many of whom are quite happy to leave them empty while they accrue value. Squire & Partners are very much complicit in this trade.

 

[cuppa tee]

London does have very low density housing

depends what you are comparing it to....
"Lambeth is one of the most densely populated areas in the country with an average of 12,020 residents per square kilometre; this compares to an average of 5,600 for London, and just 366 for England as a whole"
https://www.lambeth.gov.uk/sites/default/files/ssh-demography-factsheet-2017.pdf
Berlin.....3,944 inhabitants per km².
Manhattan......10,194/km²
E2a
Mexico City........9,800 per square kilometre
Manila.....41,515 per square km
Reykjavik.....600 per square kilometer

 

[editor]

depends what you are comparing it to....
"Lambeth is one of the most densely populated areas in the country with an average of 12,020 residents per square kilometre; this compares to an average of 5,600 for London, and just 366 for England as a whole"
https://www.lambeth.gov.uk/sites/default/files/ssh-demography-factsheet-2017.pdf
Berlin.....3,944 inhabitants per km².
Manhattan......10,194/km²

Well, that crushes his 'argument' into tiny little pieces then.

What's more, with all the new high rise blocks being built in and around Brixton, the housing density is going to go even higher.

 

[teuchter]

Yes it does depend what you compare it to.

Lambeth average 12,000. Central Paris measures around 25,000 per km2. But one km2 part of that reaches 50,000. The most densely populated km2 of London gets to 20,000.

Outside of zone 2 there are large swathes of housing that are really quite low density (can't find the stats that compare that to outer Paris off hand).

It's quite complicated.

Good article here

Think your country is crowded? These maps reveal the truth about population density across Europe

 

[editor]

However you spin it, Lambeth is very densely populated. Things aren't so densely populated around Mr Squire's house however, where he has a lovely big garden to himself, or in the super-luxury properties he designs for the super rich.

Lambeth is one of the most densely populated places in the country. There are eight boroughs with more than 100 residents per hectare – all in inner London. Lambeth is the fifth most densely populated borough in the country, with 113 residents per hectare.

 

[teuchter]

London, Berlin, Paris compared.

EU Population 2011 by 1km grid v3

These don't really capture what happens above 10k in the yellow areas though.

 

[teuchter]

High density central london vs high density central paris - dramatic difference more visible here (numbers indicate population in each square km).

EU Population 2011 by 1km grid v4

 

[aka]

Deep down, we are all NIMBYers. I'm all for a bit of density and tonnes of house building, but /you know/ somewhere else....... No one in London wants a huge towerblock built next to them, blocking out light, peeps fighting for (already) stretched local services (bus, GP etc.) etc.

Move the pull of jobs away from London to brand new towns and e.g. B'ham, Leeds, Coventry (amongst others), and build some fucking low rise houses near there - on brown field. Not complicated.

 

[Crispy]

Here's a good source for comparisons:
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/supp...13.764830/suppl_file/tjom_a_764830_sm0418.pdf


Scale tops out at 25,000 ppl/km²
12 year old data though

Berlin was being compared earlier and what stands out is the uniformity. Mid-level density all the way through.

 

[teuchter]

Here's a good source for comparisons:
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/supp...13.764830/suppl_file/tjom_a_764830_sm0418.pdf

View attachment 136847
Scale tops out at 25,000 ppl/km²
12 year old data though

Berlin was being compared earlier and what stands out is the uniformity. Mid-level density all the way through.

These I think are more useful than the ones I posted...which I now realise use a kind of logarithmic scale for the colours which disguises the sharpness or otherwise of dropoff as you move out from the centre.

 

[alcopop]

However you spin it, Lambeth is very densely populated. Things aren't so densely populated around Mr Squire's house however, where he has a lovely big garden to himself, or in the super-luxury properties he designs for the super rich.

Lambeth is one of the most densely populated places in the country. There are eight boroughs with more than 100 residents per hectare – all in inner London. Lambeth is the fifth most densely populated borough in the country, with 113 residents per hectare.

View attachment 136837
View attachment 136838

Sorry, was squire talking specifically about Lambeth?

 

[editor]

Deep down, we are all NIMBYers. I'm all for a bit of density and tonnes of house building, but /you know/ somewhere else....... No one in London wants a huge towerblock built next to them, blocking out light, peeps fighting for (already) stretched local services (bus, GP etc.) etc.

Move the pull of jobs away from London to brand new towns and e.g. B'ham, Leeds, Coventry (amongst others), and build some fucking low rise houses near there - on brown field. Not complicated.

For me it's just the notion of some super rich multi-millionaire in a massive house designing massive houses for others super rich multi-millionaires telling poor people they'll just have to suck up overlooked small properties with poor light that offends.

 

[editor]

Sorry, was squire talking specifically about Lambeth?

England is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. London is also densely populated. You claimed that "London does have very low density housing". You were wrong by any measure.

High-density London: past, present and future

 

[Crispy]

London sprawls. If more homes of any kind are to be built, they must be quite a bit denser than those that already exist, to avoid further sprawl.

Population density figures that ignore the actual dispersement of that density are not very useful.