St Kildas Rd – new instruction

Bay fronted central Oldfield Park / adjacent Moorland Rd Victorian house which is currently let to 4 students until 31st July 2012 so would also be appropriate for a residential buyer as well as buy to let investors. Ground floor accommodation includes reception room/bedroom 4, sitting room, kitchen and bathroom. On the first floor there are two double bedrooms and a good single bedroom. All mod cons, double glazing, gas central heating, well presented beyond the clutter, south facing rear garden. Interactive floorplans available (http://content.metropix.co.uk/p/3840418) with viewing to start from Friday 25th May.

From our office, St Kildas Rd will be found 75yds to the south on the junction of Beckhampton Rd.

Historical Notes

 St Kildas Rd is first listed in 1899 as built by James Tilley (who went on to live at No1). This property first appears in street directories in 1902 as the home of a F.J Spey. By the next year, the house was owned by John Treasure, a local maltster (there were many breweries in Bath at the time and the closest was on Albion Place, Lower Bristol Rd. Hops were also grown in Bath – on a riverside plantation where the Stones coach depot and BMW garage now stand) with neighbours Thomas Barnett (GWR train guard) and Charles Simpson (clerk).

The archipelago of St Kilda, the remotest part of the British Isles, lies 41 miles (66 kilometres) west of Benbecula in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides. Its islands with their exceptional cliffs and sea stacks form the most important seabird breeding station in north-west Europe. The five islands are called Hirta, Soay, Boreray, Dun and Levenish. There is no saint called Kilda and it is surmised that the islanders pronunciation of Hirta as “Hilta” led to misunderstandings with early visitors and misnaming of the islands as “Kilta” or Kilda.

Full details now available on our website

Ecclesiastical roots – new instruction in St Peters Place

Ground floor one bedroom apartment in this select and very smart development built within St Peters Church that dates back to 1880 with the conversion done recently in 2006.
The conversion has been done to a modern spec with secure entry systems, postal boxes, smart decor and lighting and is also maintained to a high standard. Once inside this ground floor flat there is an inner hall with storage cupboards, double bedroom, open plan lounge/dining room with opening into a fully fitted kitchen. The level walk into the centre makes this property a must view for first time purchasers, second home buyers or investors.

Historical Notes – St Peters Church was consecrated in 1880 and designed by Charles Edward Davis. Haddon (Portrait of Bath) describes it as “an apse ended hall church in an Early English style”. It contained a Sunday School and Parish Room from 1888.

Round the corner in Stuart Place is the old city gaol, designed in 1842 by George P Manners (City Architect). The gaol closed in 1878 and, in later years, was to be re-occupied by a confectionary maker.

We believe that, before the building was converted in 2006, it was a foreign language school called the ‘Avon Language Centre’. The building at this time was called St. Peter’s Buildings.

Lease & Tenure details;

999 year lease from 2005 – 993 years remaining. Management Company is South West Leasehold Management based in Bath.

The Freehold of the building was sold at the end of last year. Ground Rent is £100 per year, charged in two lots of £50 to Eyre & Johnson.

Full details now on our website

New instruction in Brook Rd, Oldfield Park

Quite definitely the best 3 bed on the market in central Oldfield Park at the moment. A gorgeous three storey properly loft converted Victorian home in a most convenient central Oldfield Park location, with the huge benefit of a 158ft west facing rear garden. Three double bedrooms, first floor bathroom, two receptions, kitchen and undercroft – all beautifully presented and ready to move into. Handy for Moorland Rd, Windsor Bridge and the station, views to the west, double glazing, acres of exposed floorboards, superb fittings to kitchen and bathroom, gas central heating from combi boiler – the list just goes on. Plenty of space in the well planned back garden for entertaining, playing and growing.

 

Historical Notes

 

The first occupier of the house in 1892 was a Benjamin Colbourne, who worked on the local GWR railway as a train guard. The next door neighbour at 47 (Edward Salmon) was a yard foreman for GWR whilst No49′s occupier was a gardener called Samuel Taylor. Out of 20 neighbours from No’s 40 – 60 Brook Rd, 7 were GWR employees and 8 local building trades. The theme continues at least up to 1920, when No48 was owned by Sydney Bullock – a GWR stoker – with W.Wadman (engine examiner) and Charles Whittaker (baker) as neighbours.

 
Owners Feedback

 

“Living on Brook Rd is fantastic. The neighbours have been very welcoming and kind. The garden is one reason why we bought the house and it is an absolute pleasure spending time in it. The easy and quick access to Moorland Road and the city centre is brilliant”.

 

 

Full details now available via our website

New instruction in Dartmouth Avenue, Oldfield Park, Bath

An enchanting blend of character and the latest modern fittings, with a superb west facing garden. Spot on decor, bang up to date kitchen and bathroom, two double bedrooms and two open plan receptions. We thought the last house we sold in the road was gorgeous but this one is even better! Kept beautifully and upgraded throughout, conveniently located for Moorland Rd or Lymore Av/Claude Av schools and bus routes, an open rear aspect and all just up the road from the Linear Park. An ideal Oldfield Park home, perfectly presented with a classic layout and all the right features. Have a look through our plans & photos and judge for yourselves.

For more photos, visit our main website by clicking here

Article 4 direction in Bath – latest news

As reported by The Bath Chronicle (http://www.thisisbath.co.uk/New-consultation-curbs-shared-housing-Bath/story-15523327-detail/story.html) the decision on implementation of the Article 4 planning direction in Bath has been deferred until March of 2013 in order to allow for further consultation. However, the council, in their March 2012 meeting, gave notice of “intent to enact” so it will be interesting to see what further information comes from any consultations.

As we understand it, the guiding premise for BANES behind enacting Article 4 in Bath is to balance out the community in HMO dominated areas. It is certainly true that Oldfield Park contains a high density of HMO properties – in some roads we know close to Moorland Rd, the density approaches 80 – 85%.

Oldfield Park is historically a family/working suburb of Bath  (during the late 18th century Bath changed from “a genteel spa town to a place of commerce and industry” (Forsyth). The farm fields of the lower southern slopes of the city started to be covered over by housing from 1873 (Upper Oldfield Park villas) and continued through the 1880′s. Oldfield Park became a “popular location for meeting the housing needs of Bath’s railway and Post Office clerks” – Davis & Bonsall). From our office in Moorland Rd, we regularly meet clients whose families have been here for generations.  

Common complaints from residents towards student/HMO properties include noise, parking, the outward appearance of homes, lack of involvement with the community, unsightly street furniture (especially To Let boards!) and the artificially increased population stretching local amenities/services without additional income.

Any Article 4 implementation would mean a C3 usage home (residential) would not be able to be turned into a C4 home (HMO) without appropriate planning permisson for change of use. However, such permissions would not be granted if the density of existing C4 homes within 100m was already above 20%. Given the saturation levels in Oldfield Park at present, it is practically certain that Article 4 would cap any further HMOs being created within a wide radius of Moorland Rd. However, the implementation would not affect current HMO properties. So, Article 4 would stop further saturation but not reverse current levels. In addition, any local families who wish to sell post implementation will find themselves with far less buyers to choose from (and potentially therefore less value on their home) if investors are out of the picture.

HMO properties are not just for students. Lower income professional/singles/couples, transient workers and temporary visitors all rely on such housing and there is a current lack of supply across the BA2 postcode anyway. Article 4 implementation would exacerbate this current trend.

Income from students does benefit the local area to an extent. Although Oldfield Park is considerably emptier during university holidays, some of the local shops and amenities derive considerable income from students. Would we have Sainsburys or the Velo Lounge on Moorland Rd if it were not for the student pound?

Inadequate housing or unsightly properties are a problem that needs to be addressed but is Article 4 the answer? Compulsory licencing of HMO properties, together with tougher requirements (monitoring tenant behaviour, upkeep of inside AND outside of properties, regular accreditation inspections?) would benefit both local residents and student tenants. BANES do say they will introduce more licensing aspects alongside Article 4 but will all landlords be covered or just those that choose to seek a license?

Article 4 would spread HMO accommodation further across the city BUT only if the attractive reasons for living in Oldfield Park were available elsewhere in the area. Students live in Oldfield Park in the first place because the Orange bus routes are convenient, the city is close by, the rents are more reasonable than the city centre and the typical architecture divides well into multi occupation homes. Given property prices in other close Bath suburbs, are these factors likely to be a) available or b)attractive to investors? 

One effect that BANES may not have anticipated with the current proposals on Article 4 is that they have already created a significant uplift in demand for potential HMO property within Oldfield Park. Investors are now rushing to purchase before any proposed deadline, raising local prices and pushing HMO densities ever higher as each month goes by.