All men are fools. And what makes them so is having beauty… like what Robert Jenrick has got? The secretary of state unveiled the New National Model Design Code (at midnight on a Saturday) that put the focus on design and, indeed, beauty – with one particular aspect drawing most attention. Strategic Land Group MD Paul Smith was on hand to see the wood through the, ahem, tree-lined streets.
“I love a good tree-lined street as much as the next person – unless that person is @RobertJenrick,” he tweeted, commencing a very thorough thread highlighting how Jenrick’s apparent obsession with arboreal avenues first became public in 2019, and has gathered pace since (albeit with an inconsistent approach to tree lined, treelined and – our preference – tree-lined).
Smith did, of course, have a serious point to make: “Tree-lined streets are great… But we won’t get them just by putting them in design guides. We need to make sure that highways authorities accept them (they often ask for trees near roads to be removed) and that councils have the funding to maintain them. And, for all the tweeting, we hear very little about that.” Smith’s thread garnered many likes… including from Jenrick himself. Meanwhile, the ever pithy Shit Planning said it all with one familiar meme.
The vinyl farewell
The news that Nick Walkley is stepping down as chief executive of Homes England at the end of the month was met with as many glowing tributes on Twitter as there were incorrect spellings of his surname in the media (what’s with all the Walkey talk?). Many wondered what Walkley (two Ls in there) would be up to next. The man himself offered a possible clue in this addendum to his resignation announcement: “PS any record shops in the East London Area needing temporary staff – I’ll soon be available.” Hackney’s Stranger Than Paradise Records was first in with a very affectionate offer: “Always room for you Nick, we’ll see you Monday at 9am for box packing x good luck with your next venture x” Could this be the first instance of someone stepping away from public life to spend more time with his vinyl?
Think outside the police box
Diary is not sure it has ever seen an actual police box, but maybe it will soon, thanks to a new competition from the City of London Corporation, City of London Police, New London Architecture and Bloomberg Associates. They are calling on architects, designers and artists to submit ideas for a “21st Century Police Box” for the Square Mile. These “Digital Service Points” will creatively reinvent the way residents, workers and visitors can contact authorities and gain information, as well as storing medical equipment for emergency response. “In keeping with the City’s ambition for our world-class public realm, we are encouraging designs that will improve the pedestrian experience while also being environmentally friendly and meeting the primary aim of keeping people safe,” explained Oliver Sells QC, chairman of the Streets and Walkways Sub Committee at the CLC. Up to six shortlisted teams will be awarded funding to develop their idea into a design proposal, with the winning police box due to be revealed in the summer. Get your submissions in by midday on 1 March 2021. Though, if Diary had been consulted, we would have added one key detail to the brief: No Tardises. You just know that half the entries will suggest making them bigger on the inside…
Down the tubes?
The pandemic’s impacts on property continue to be folded, spindled and mutilated from all angles, and in its latest research, Benham & Reeves is all over the Underground. “Tube house prices fall by 11% as London homebuyers no longer find them important” is the top line of its study of the declining values around London’s Tube stations. We should point out 11% is the steepest drop – along the Waterloo & City line. However, B&R reports an average 2% fall near Tube lines since the start of the pandemic, taking a typical £655,017 property down to £642,674. Other worst-hit lines include the Circle line (down by 7%) and the Northern, District, and Hammersmith & City lines (all down by 4%). There is at least reassuring news for those who live by the Metropolitan and Central lines and the DLR, who have so far experienced no change. Meanwhile, only the Victoria line is on the up, with prices climbing by 2%.
“What a difference a year makes,” said director Marc von Grundherr, before choosing to look on the bright side. Gazing ahead to when normality returns, he predicts: “Once this happens, a sharp recovery in property values will no doubt follow and so the current landscape presents the potential of a very good investment for those in a position to buy now.” Is anybody out there feeling lucky at this point?
