Docklands News

Swiss architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron has released new photos of One Park Drive, a 58-story cylindrical residential tower in the Canary Wharf neighbourhood. It contains 484 apartment units, with 22 floors of stepped one- and two-bedroom apartments atop a rounded base which houses 9 floors of curving balcony-lined apartments and an arrangement of amenities including a built-in library and cinema space. Another 25 floors of larger apartments top out the building with balconies included. Seven duplex apartments will be installed on the top two floors later this year. The tower will anchor a new waterfront park that bookends the Wood Wharf section of the Canary Wharf Estate development currently overseen by the newly-appointed Shobi Khan.

Archinect (27/07/2021)  

Prime inner-London rents and house prices have plummeted since the start of the COVID crisis, driven by the dwindling appeal of city life during lockdown and restrictions on international travel. Average prices per square foot have been hit the hardest in Knightsbridge, dropping to £1,546 in the first half of 2021, down 11% on the area’s five-year average. However, the number of flats sold peaked at a five-year high during the six-month period, as buyers rushed to lock-in tax savings before the end of the stamp duty holiday. Experts warn the bargain will be short-lived and property prices in the area, which has historically been popular among foreign buyers, will rebound when border restrictions are lifted. 

The Daily Telegraph (26/07/2021)  

Construction leaders believe the shortage of raw materials could remain an issue into next year as demand for works remains high amid restrictions in supply due to Brexit and disruption in Chinese ports and on the Suez Canal. Brian Berry, chief executive of the Federation of Master Builders, said: “The national building materials shortage is harming Britain’s local builders and their ability to recover from the pandemic."

The Daily Telegraph (26/07/2021)  

Research by Loughborough University academics has estimated that more 4.6m homes across England are experiencing overheating during the summer, with bedrooms at night being particularly badly affected. The study, published in the Building and Environment journal, found that 4.6m bedrooms and 3.6m main living rooms were overheated during the summer. The study found that living room overheating was a particular issue in flats, and was more common in households living in social housing, with low incomes, or with members aged over state pension age. 

Daily Mail (23/07/2021)   Evening Standard (23/07/2021)   The Daily Mirror (23/07/2021)  

London has the most stable housing market in the country, according to recent figures from Rightmove. Selling a home in London takes more than twice as long than in Scotland as the housing market in the capital remains sluggish – even after the official end of the coronavirus lockdown in England. The latest figures from the property website revealed that asking prices in the capital – now £645,246 on average – adjusted down 0.8% from June to July while records tumbled across the rest of the country. Over the course of the last 12 months, price tags in the capital edged up just 0.5% on average, in contrast to 5.7% across the UK. Although slow growth is a sign of stability, the London data also hides dramatic polarisation of demand and activity. Over the course of the coronavirus crisis, prices in the more affordable outer boroughs have soared as buyers swapped convenience for space, while the inner urban areas recorded price falls.

Evening Standard