Evening Standard: "Inferior high-rises are trashing London's skyline." (Could that refer to Hammerson and 'AfterHammersonclearsoff', at Brent Cross?)

Link to web site

"In the most significant intervention in the Skyline campaign to improve the design and planning of the capital’s tall buildings, former City of London planning officer Peter Rees warned of a 'wave' of poorly designed residential towers built for maximum profit.

"Mr Rees, who spent 29 years shaping the City’s skyline, ... claimed that planning authorities were 'trapped' by ill-founded housing targets and a desperate need to secure payments to balance their budgets. He called on them to look instead to the best examples of high-density and mid-rise housing. He said:

"Residential towers do not achieve high densities, and leave unusable space on the sites which they do not fill. Those of us who feel passionate about the form and future of our amazing city are sad to see it being trashed."

[Reposted from April 2013] Centre for Cities: "Is London destined to fail in its battle to meet transport demand?"

March 2014 addition (GLA data):

(Click to enlarge)

---

Link to web site

"It is only twenty years since London’s population began to pull out of a fifty-year decline, and future growth should not be taken for granted.

Transport congestion is one of a number of factors, alongside high house prices and rents and the future type and location of jobs, threatening quality of life in the capital.  London will not thrive unless it can manage the impact of growth as well as enjoying the rewards, keeping the capital an attractive and practical place to do business.

Over the next few weeks Centre for Cities will be holding a series of invitation-only seminars, hosted by Addleshaw Goddard, to explore the most urgent issues facing the London economy including the future of London’s transport.  We will be reporting the results of our debates in July.

Anyone who has commuted regularly in London over the last decade will tell you that the tube, the trains and the buses have never felt so crowded, and recent Transport for London figures suggest they are absolutely right."

TED video: "Amanda Burden: How public spaces make cities work" (Pity Brent Cross's Hammerson has the creative capacity of a gnat)

"More than 8 million people are crowded together to live in New York City. What makes it possible? In part, it’s the city’s great public spaces — from tiny pocket parks to long waterfront promenades — where people can stroll and play.

"Amanda Burden helped plan some of the city’s newest public spaces, drawing on her experience as, surprisingly, an animal behaviorist. She shares the unexpected challenges of planning parks people love — and why it's important."

GOOD NEWS ON HOUSE PRICES: "Property prices in capital soar 40 per cent above credit crunch slump"

Link to web site

"Property prices in London have bounced back by more than 40 per cent from the worst days of the credit crunch, new figures show.

"In April 2009, property values reached their lowest point following the global crash that led to the collapse of financial institutions, bank bailouts and plummeting stock markets.

"But new research shows how far the recovery has come. Land Registry statistics show that across London, prices have risen 41 per cent on average, from £292,977 at the 2009 nadir to £414,356 now. Kensington and Chelsea is the best performer, with average prices up 76 per cent, from an average £703,259 five years ago to £1,236,605 today."

[Reposted from Jan 2013] "Ministry of Transport started one, so why doesn’t Britain have a Dutch-style bike path network?"

Link to
"Roads Were Not Built for Cars"
web site

"If the Second World War hadn’t intervened, Britain might now have a dense network of Dutch-style segregated bike paths. Or, at least, such a segregated network was the ardent desire of motoring organisations, leading police officers, the Ministry of Transport, county council officials and the majority of other witnesses who gave evidence to an influential parliamentary committee in 1938. 

"Powerful representatives of Britain’s two million motorists wanted to drive faster, and Britain’s 12 million cyclists were in the way. Cyclists ought to be compelled to use bike paths when provided, argued organisations other than cycling ones.

The first bike path in England was built in 1934, a 2.26 mile stretch of uneven concrete from Hangar Lane to Greenford Road in Ealing, London, kept separate from, but adjoining, Western Avenue. A cinema news snippet from British Pathé said the Western Avenue cycle track was 'a new safety innovation' and that 'motorist users of the road will be equally appreciative of this new boon'.

"A large crowd witnessed Leslie Hore-Belisha, the new Minister of Transport, cutting the ribbon officially opening the experimental “cycling track.” (The dedicated track disappeared years ago and cyclists, where provided for at all on this stretch of the A40, are expected to share the slim footway with pedestrians).

Register for details of upcoming book
(some versions distributed free)

Sample:

Chancellor of the Exchequer and Second Lord of the Treasury of the United Kingdom George Osborne Speaks to the Nation. The Nation Responds.

Barnet Times: "Leader of council welcomes George Osborne's support for regeneration projects in Barnet", as Treasury PR press release is copied.

Brent Cross's Living Bridge
Link to web site

"The Leader of Barnet Borough Council [that's not him] has welcomed the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s backing of two of the borough’s major regeneration projects. [Thankfully. no sign of him at the Met's corrupt - although legal - sale of Peel Centre land in Hendon.]

"Councillor Richard Cornelius said the authority can 'do more' with the added support pledged by George Osborne, who visited Brent Cross Shopping Centre and the Grahame Park estate on Friday.

"Under the plans for Brent Cross, 7,500 new homes will be built as well as a new building for three schools and community facilities, pedestrian and cycle bridges, highways and a Thameslink station.

"The shopping centre will also be doubled in size, creating up to 6,000 new jobs." [And then Hammerson "we are in it for the long-term" will clear off.]

"Chancellor supports major north London regeneration projects" (So no hope then.)

Link to HM Treasury
(There is an option:
"Is there anything wrong with this page?"
Yes - it is PR spin.)

"The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, has lent his support to two major regeneration projects in North London.

"Having pledged government support [yeh, right] for the regeneration of the Brent Cross area in his Budget speech, he visited Brent Cross Shopping Centre and met with the Council, owners of the Brent Cross shopping centre, developers and retailers to discuss plans for the regeneration of the area.

"This will include the building of 7,500 new homes, a new building for three local schools, health, recreation and community facilities, new pedestrian and cycle bridges, new highways and a new Thameslink station.

"The regeneration will also double the size of the shopping centre [Oh, THAT. A mere detail, nothing more!] and will create up to 6,000 new jobs."

Evening Standard: "London's first segregated cycle junction to be installed in Camden"

(Link to web site)

"Cycle campaigners today hailed a leap forward in road safety as plans were unveiled for the country’s first 'life-saving' segregated road junction.

"The go-ahead for the £1.3million project to redesign Cobden Junction in Mornington Crescent, in Camden, will be the first of 33 cycle-friendly junctions in the capital when it opens next year.

"Segregated cycle lanes - where cyclists are physically separated from other traffic by a raised kerb - have been introduced on several of London’s cycle superhighways, but Transport for London’s new Cobden Junction project is the first designed to combat so-called 'left hook' collisions."

---

"Cyclist dies in crash with lorry at Ludgate Circus junction"

Link to Evening Standard

Living Streets: "London: Speak up for your high street"

"Does your high street feel neglected? Is it lacking in essential shops and services? Does it feel congested with traffic, difficult to cross and uninviting to walk in? Now's the time to speak out for our high streets."

"Sadly many of London's high streets are struggling - designed around traffic that runs through them, not the people that use them. In May we will elect councillors who have the power to improve our high streets. Now is the time to speak up."

(Click on any image)

The Design Council: "Ten great examples of active design"

"The facts are clear. We have a pandemic on our hands. The joint problems of high levels of inactivity and unhealthy diets need to be addressed.

"The good news is that, in different parts of the world, a wide range of programmes are being put in place locally and are having a positive effect. We’ve listed just ten here that give us hope for the future. They are examples we should look up to and learn from. There are many, many more..."

The Greater London National Park

"Uniquely combining a biodiverse landscape with nature reserves, parks and gardens, the Greater London National Park* covers an area of over 1,500 km2 and is home to more than 8 million people.

"Recognised as one of the world's most important urban habitats, green spaces and water occupy over 60% of London's land. Over 1,300 Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation cover 19% of the National Park and are home to more than 1,500 species of flowering plants and 300 species of bird.

"With over 300 languages spoken, 170 museums, four UNESCO World Heritage Sites and one of Britain's National Trails, the Greater London National Park is open for you to explore."

"ARUP: Cities Alive looks at how we can build nature into our urban systems at all scales through high quality landscape design, via new development or retrofitting through a green infrastructure design approach.

"The publication analyses existing research and trends in landscape design, drawing out key elements which can help deal with rapidly rising urban populations, mitigate climate change and produce integrated solutions.

"It shows how the creation of a linked 'city ecosystem' encompassing parks and open spaces; urban trees, streets, squares; woodland and waterways can help create healthier, safer and more prosperous cities. To realise this vision, green infrastructure has to now take a more influential role in the planning and design of cities and urban environments."

[Reposted] Brent & Kilburn Times: "Secretary of State puts £4bn Brent Cross Cricklewood development on hold"

Link to web site

"The controversial Brent Cross Cricklewood regeneration project has been put on hold by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. [And still is.]

"Eric Pickles has issued the £4billion scheme with an 'Article 25' a month after it was given the green light by Barnet Council.

"The holding order will give the Secretary of State more time to assess the plans and decide whether to call it in.

"If it is called in, the final decision on the plans will be decided by the government rather than Barnet Council."

BBC: "Air pollution: High levels 'to spread across England and Wales'." (Not to mention due to Hammerson's 29,000 extra cars per day around Brent Cross, in the future)

Link to web site

"High levels of air pollution which have been affecting parts of England are set to get worse and spread, experts say.

"Environment department Defra says 'high' or 'very high' levels have been recorded in the past 24 hours, mainly in the East of England and the Midlands.

"It expects the pollution - linked to sandstorms in the Sahara - to spread across England and Wales on Wednesday.

Defra says air pollution can cause respiratory problems and people with heart or lung disease are most at risk."

Evening Standard: "London needs a planning revolution' says government's design czar"

Link to web site

"Britain’s decades-long planning 'chaos' has left London a city of great individual buildings, such as the Gherkin and the Shard, standing in a sea of 'woeful' architecture, the Government’s design czar has said.

"Marylebone-based architect Sir Terry Farrell called for a 'revolution' in the planning system, to end the culture of Nimbyism and put the creation of well-designed places to live, work and shop at the heart of policy-making.

"Sir Terry, 75, was presenting the findings of his year-long review of architecture. He said:

"London has very, very good individual buildings, but they do not reach down to the everyday. If you dump yourself in any town centre, and look at what the end of the 20th century and start of the 21st century has brought, it is woeful."

Link to web site

"Simon Jenkins: Taking action now over our skyline is too little, too late"

"Suddenly someone has noticed. The campaign for a 'London skyline commission', launched this week with 70 famous signatories, must rank as the most belated door ever to be closed behind a bolting horse. Where have Antony Gormley, Tessa Jowell, Anish Kapoor, Alan Bennett and Griff Rhys Jones been all these years?

"Whenever I have drawn attention to these developments, notably the clusters to rise behind the Shell Centre on the South Bank, at Vauxhall, Wandsworth and Euston, I have been dismissed as alarmist, fogeyish and 'anti-growth'. Given what has already been built, it can hardly be a shock that another 236 towers of 20 to 60 storeys are proposed across inner London, assembled into a new montage by New London Architecture on show later this week at the Building Centre in Store Street. They will dominate every view in the capital. No other city on earth will have so chaotic a skyline.

"The champion of these towers is the Mayor, Boris Johnson, the same as pledged before his 2008 election to stop them. He now claims to want 'tall buildings, beautifully designed in the right location and in harmony with their surroundings'. He has shown no ounce of judgment along these lines. He just wants huge buildings, apparently anywhere a developer proposes one. He has no plan for them. If Johnson ever runs for Prime Minister, the towers of London should hang around his neck like an albatross."

[Reposted from 2012] Barnet Regeneration Team on fact-finding trip (avoiding the Hammerson Strategy of Doom)

Simon May spoke to members of Barnet Council,
about the design of Waterside Park (Royal Docks)

"On the 4th of January [OK. We missed it. Move on.] members of Barnet Council’s planning, property and regeneration teams visited Waterside Park. [Now a dead link. Sob.] They went away saying they found the tour interesting, and a helpful way for their teams to see an example of modern housing projects of this scale and density."

Nice.

Thom Wyld, Paul Kelner, Greg Tillotson and Nicola Capelli
on the viewing platform at Waterside Park

"Group seeks judicial review of Croydon Council's decision to approve [Westfield and] Hammerson's £1 billion development" (Funnily enough, ...)

Link to Croydon Advertiser

"The group with management control of the Whitgift Centre has applied for a judicial review of the council's decision to approve Westfield/Hammerson's town centre redevelopment.

The Whitgift Trust is behind the claim, which has been filed with the High Court.

The trust, essentially the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (Anglo Irish Bank), owns around 25 per cent of the leasehold of the Whitgift Centre.

Both the council and the Partnership - the official name of the £1 billion project - are confident any challenge can be countered and the matter settled away from court, the Advertiser understands."

Evening Standard: "Mayor under pressure to halt rise in pedestrian deaths in London"

"The Mayor has been warned that a recent rise in the number of people killed or seriously injured - known as KSIs - could continue unless he sped up reforms.

"... Almost 70 pedestrians were killed and another 1,054 seriously injured - an average of three people a day - in 2012, the last year for which figures are available.

"Val Shawcross, chair of the London Assembly’s transport committee, said:

"It's time to redress the balance and place equal safety emphasis on pedestrians. It is not right that pedestrian deaths and injuries are treated as acceptable – they’re not, and urgent steps are needed to stop the rise in its tracks. If an average of three people per day were killed or seriously injured on the buses, there would be an uproar."

Until 9 May: Transport for London consultation: "Draft Pedestrian Safety Action Plan"

Link to web site

"As a relatively flat and compact city with spacious parks and attractive, historical streets, London is a city perfect to enjoy by foot. Walking enhances the lives of Londoners, as a transport mode, leisure activity and form of exercise.

"We are committed to increasing the numbers of walking trips in the Capital, by a million additional trips a day by 2031, whilst ensuring that this is not accompanied by an increase in the numbers of pedestrians harmed on London’s roads. The draft Pedestrian Safety Action Plan (PSAP) therefore sets out a strategy for improving the safety of pedestrians in London.

"... Extensive data analysis has helped identify the places where pedestrians are at greatest risk in London, the groups of pedestrians that face a disproportionate risk, as well as how and when casualties happen. This draft Plan draws upon all of this evidence, and outlines actions and interventions designed to improve their safety on London’s streets."

"Sir Terry Farrell's review of architecture and the built environment" (perhaps he should have started with the Brent Cross dystopia)

2013:

Link to GOV.UK

"Creative Industries Minister Ed Vaizey has asked Sir Terry Farrell CBE to make recommendations to inform DCMS’s approach to promoting high standards of design.

The review will look at four main areas:

• Understanding the Government’s role in promoting design quality in architecture and the built environment
• The economic benefits of architecture – maximising the UK’s growth potential
• Cultural heritage and the built environment
• Promoting education, outreach, and skills.

---

And the report, just published...

Link to web site

Daily Telegraph:

"Planning champions for every area of country to fight unsightly developments"

"Planning 'champions' should be appointed in every community in the country to oppose unsightly unpopular developments, an independent report for the Government says today.

The 200-page review by leading architect Sir Terry Farrell said every council should nominate a 'civic champion' to 'improve design quality'.

"... It says that 'architecture, the built environment and an understanding of "place"' should be taught in some subjects at school, but not as a standalone subject.

"Other suggestions include giving councillors who vote on planning decisions 'basic training', to ensure that new developments are sympathetic to their surroundings.*

---

Link to
The Farrell Review

---

* "giving councillors who vote on planning decisions 'basic training', to ensure that new developments are sympathetic to their surroundings" 
- as with Barnet's Jan 2014's decision?

Apparently, "not in Phase One"
was changed from "now in Phase One"

The Observer: "London is being transformed with 230 towers. Why the lack of consultation?" (Twenty of them are in Barnet!)

"An explosion of high-rise buildings will change London forever. Now 80 public figures, shocked at the scale of the plans, are demanding a say in the way the city is reshaped"

Link to web site

"When the appearance of a great city is about to be radically transformed, it is a good idea for its citizens to be shown what is going to happen and have a say in it. It is also a good idea if the city's government has a vision, or at least an overview, of what is happening.

"Neither of these applies to the wave of towers about to hit London. There are plans for more than 230, at the last count. They range in height from 20 storeys to more than 60, in central and suburban locations. Yet it has taken a privately funded organisation, New London Architecture, to discover this number. When Kit Malthouse, deputy mayor for business, was presented with this figure, he was not only ignorant of it, but denied it could be possible. 

"... The majority of the tall buildings now proposed are residential. There is, of course, an acute shortage of homes in London, but stacks of high-rise, high-price flats are not what the city needs. In a recent Ipsos Mori poll commissioned by New London Architecture, a majority of Londoners said they would not want to live in towers. The transformation of the skyline is not driven by serving their needs, but by a bubble of overseas investment in high-end residential property. Many of these flats are likely to be left empty."

Link to web site

"Campaigners fight to save London skyline from 230 more skyscrapers"

"Some of Britain's most influential figures in the arts, politics and academia have launched a campaign to save London's skyline from being dominated by more than 200 additional skyscrapers.

"In a statement in the Observer, signatories from sculptor Sir Antony Gormley to philosopher Alain de Botton, author Alan Bennett, Stirling prize-winning architect Alison Brooks, and London mayoral hopefuls Dame Tessa Jowell and MP David Lammy warn: 'The skyline of London is out of control.'

"... The mayor's spokesman said that 'virtually every one' of the towers had the support of local politicians and English Heritage, adding: 'The mayor needs to balance an array of challenges and competing interests across a rapidly growing city. He recognises the concerns around the architecture of London's skyline, but tall buildings beautifully designed in the right location and in harmony with their surroundings help to meet the challenge of a rapidly growing city.'

"The NLA says that of the buildings being planned, 189 (80%) are intended to be residential, but do not meet London's housing needs because of their price and dimensions. A further 18 are planned as office developments, eight as hotels and 13 are due for mixed use, while one tower is to be an educational institute."

"Investors sought for £4bn Brent Cross Redevelopment" (Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here)

Left: Phase One, cherry-picked sites by Hammerson.

Right: Later Unsustainable Phases, after Hammerson has gone.

(Link to Movehut web site)

"The three-way partnership behind the Brent Cross Cricklewood regeneration project say they are still searching for new investors despite a ministerial decision to delay the calling in of revised plans for the multi-billion pound north-west London scheme. [Hammerson just wants to clear off. The transport assessment is only tested later!]

"Brent Cross Shopping Centre owners Hammerson and Standard Life and Barnet Borough Council are looking for a new lead investor to help deliver the £4bn Cricklewood project and turn the area into a 'thriving town centre'. The ongoing project is expected to span two decades and will include retail and other commercial space alongside 7,550 new homes. [Now 10,000 are mentioned. Grid-locked roads!]


"It is believed the partnership has already been approached by several large corporate funds, one from overseas. The process of selecting a new backer will start in summer 2014, with site work getting underway by early 2015. [Welcome to the Corrupt London Borough of Barnet.]


" 'This initial stage will provide valuable feedback as we continue to finalise our requirements and ensure we are attracting the strongest field of partners possible,' said council leader, Richard Cornelius. 'With the London property market showing strong signs of recovery, this is the perfect time for the council to attract significant investment into Barnet.' [Barnet has a PR department.]

"London is the hottest place in UK... but Met Office issues LEVEL TEN alert for high pollution." (Think what Hammerson's Brent Cross 'Living Bridge' would be like!)

Phew, What a Scorcher!
(Link to Evening Standard)

"Parts of Britain basked in weather warmer than mainland Spain and Ibiza, as temperatures reached over 20C today.

"London was the hottest part of the country, with temperatures reaching a maximum of 20.4C (68.7F) at St James's Park at 1pm, according to the Met Office.

"This made the capital hotter than Madrid (17C/62.5F), the Balearic Islands (18C/64.5F) and the French Riviera (16C-17C/61F-62.5F), weather forecaster MeteoGroup said.

"However the Met Office said there was a pollution warning level ten, the highest on their scale.

"A level this high means that adults and children with lung problems, adults with heart problems, and older people should avoid strenuous physical activity, according to the Met Office."

Barnet Press (Roads-v-Rail), and Barnet Times x2 (West Hendon, and A1/A41 Apex Corner)

(West Hendon is in same Planning Guidance area as Brent Cross)

Cheap fashion at Brent Cross? "Revealed: The high-street shops that do not pay their garment workers a living wage"

Link to Independent on Sunday

"Debenhams, Matalan and The North Face are among the worst high-street clothing shops at paying a fair wage to those who make their products, according to a report to be published tomorrow.

" ... Half of the companies surveyed had wording in their codes of conduct specifying that wages should be enough to meet workers’ basic needs. But only four brands – Inditex, Marks & Spencer, Switcher and Tchibo – were able to demonstrate clear progress towards implementing them. 'Labour Behind the Label', a campaign for workers’ rights, says even these four have a long way to go before a living wage is realised for garment workers.

"Rushanara Ali, MP for Bethnal Green and Bow and Labour’s education spokesperson, is Britain’s first MP of Bangladeshi descent. After the Rana Plaza disaster, she was forthright in her demands for better worker protection for those making clothes that are sold in the UK."

Link to 'Labour behind the Label'

April 2014 [in March]: "Draft for London Assembly: HOMES FOR LONDON: The London Housing Strategy"

Link to web site (and then PDF)

"London is booming. Our economy is growing. The result - more jobs, more prosperity, and more people - puts even greater pressure on infrastructure, and in particular housing. Since 2008 London’s population has increased by 600,000. By 2020 we will have nine million Londoners, by 2031 we are predicted to blast through the ten million barrier.

"My 2020 Vision set out the scale of the challenges we face in maintaining London’s position as the best big city in the world. Rising to our housing challenge is an economic as well as a social imperative.

"We need to help find every way possible for hard-working Londoners to access decent low-cost affordable housing at a time when for many it appears all that is on offer is ever more unaffordable. I published a draft housing strategy in November, setting out how I want London to rise to this challenge. It has had a tremendous response and every good idea has been included.

"While this housing strategy is not only about supply, it is clear that supply above all else is central to London’s housing needs. With increased supply come opportunities to address affordability, help for people to meet their aspirations, improved quality, renewal of post-war estates, and the ability to tackle entrenched issues like homelessness and overcrowding.

"Post-recession London is seeing a vast expansion of house-building. A record number of new homes were registered to be built in 2013, while construction orders for new housing rose to £5.3 billion. Affordable house-building is on track to deliver 100,000 homes by 2016, a record in the history of City Hall.

"Yet the challenge is enormous, because historically the number of homes being built was too low. For the last 30 years or more, housing delivery has all but flatlined at around half the level we now need. Housing in the capital has been a story of boom then bust, of economic cycles that follow their inexorable cycle paths, of governments of all political colours that rise and fall but simply don’t grip or change the fundamental story - we just do not build enough homes.

"This all leaves London facing an epic challenge: to double house-building and build 42,000 new homes a year, every year, for the next twenty years. That’s a level of house-building unseen in our great city since the 1930s and then only for a few short years. And of course, unlike in the 1930s, we do not have the option of simply building over miles of virgin countryside.

"London has some of the most exciting development opportunities in the world. From Battersea to the Royal Docks, from Croydon to Brent Cross. [Good grief.]

"As far as the eye can see, the cranes that speak of the scale of opportunity in the capital dot the landscape. In truth, we need more of them."

"Mayor’s plan to turbo boost housing to 1930s levels"

• Plan to double house building
• Protection for leaseholders to halt spiralling service charges
• Bold new objectives for acquiring strategic land to accelerate development
• Strong new standards to improve private rented sector
• Housing Zones to increase development of homes including more affordable housing
• Accessible homes on town centre developments for older people to enhance independent living
• Er, that's it.

GOOD NEWS ON HOUSE PRICES: "Battersea Power Station: bedsit studio flats to sell for £800,000"

Link to Evening Standard

"The redevelopment of Battersea power station will see studio flats go on sale for an incredible £800,000, according to prices and designs unveiled by the site's developers.

"Prices for the 254 homes planned for the iconic building could reach £4million for four bedroom properties, details released to shareholders revealed.

"The Battersea Power Station Development Company (BPSDC) announced that guide prices for one-bedroom flats would start at £1-million, while two-bedroom flats would start at £1.5-million, and three-bedroom homes would be on the market from £2.7-million."

---

Link to web site

Evening Standard:
"London is living through biggest house price bubble ever"

"The average London house price surged to a record £414,356 last month as a new report said the capital's boom is now the biggest property bubble in history.

"Experts said the London market is now “detached from reality”, as prices rocketed by 13.8 per cent in the year to February — the fastest rate since 2007 — according to latest Land Registry figures. An explosion in the number of first-time buyers scrambling on to the ladder and easier access to mortgages have contributed to heating up the market.

"Another factor is the tidal wave of foreign cash drawn by London’s status as the world’s premier 'safe haven' investment. The latest increase means that the typical London home has gone up in value by just over £50,000 in a year, far outstripping the capital’s average salary of £36,781 in 2013.

"But it immediately revived fears that the 'dysfunctional' London property market is now out of control, with frenzied buyers creating a new bubble that will end in a disastrous crash when interest rates start to go up."