GP Surgery Final Pictures

Final pictures of the surgery fully functional.

Pictures courtesy of Construction Element

Shop Signage - Are you getting your message across?

Have you seen your shop sign lately, looking a bit tired? Maybe its time for a change.

A new shop sign can be one of the first and easiest steps to re-branding and giving your premises a face lift.

In most cases a new shop sign will require planning consent from the local authority. The main issue to consider when considering a new sign are, colour, size location and luminance.

Most local authorities will have produced a guidance document laying out their preferences of colours and type of signage. For example, for internally illuminated shop front signs or, fascia signs most local authorities will require that only part of the fascia is illuminated, this could be the letters themselves or the logo, but not the whole face. There will also be a limit on the amount of illumination, this will be measured in Candelas or Lux per msq.

The location can also be a major factor, to the acceptable size and position of a sign. Currently YOOP are proposing an illuminated shop sign consisting of individually letter of up to 1.8m in height to an industrial type building located next to a major dual carriageway which would regarded as acceptable in this context. On the other hand an illuminated sign to a high street bank branch in a conservation area in Kensington & Chelsea, opposite a Royal Park had to meet strict criteria, the overall size, luminance levels and hours of use, by working closely with the planners the application for a new sign was approved and the sign installed. In some cases such as listed building the proposed signage has to be sensitive to the building, this can mean the sign has to be externally illuminated with spot or trough lighting.

Another important aspect to consider is obtaining Landlords consent. If you are not the freeholder of the property, in most cases you will be required to obtain consent from the Landlord.

At YOOP we can deal with all these matters for you from design, to landlords consent to planning applications and working with the suppliers.

YOOP work closely with a number of signage manufacturers such as the team at SSW Signs in Park Royal who are highly experienced in the supply and installation of all types of signage systems .

Quality Foods - New Retail Superstore

Quality Foods are to open their fourth and newest retail super store in Hayes West London specialising in fresh fruit and veg and ethnic foods direct to the public.

Located on the site of the old B&Q warehouse on the Hayes Bridge, the site has been derelict for a number of years and somewhat the victim of vandalism.

YOOP have been appointed as project

Architects for the reinstatement works to the new Quality Foods super st

ore.

The site is now being extensively refurbished by the Contractor, Vascroft Contractors Ltd. All the services are being brought up to date to meet the current building regulation standards, a new ceiling system to reduce heating requirements a new durable Terrazzo floor, new shelving and racking and display systems and a redesigned car park with bike stands, ample disabled parking and even charge points for electric cars.

The clients aim is to create a one stop shop for all your food shopping needs, quick access, easy parking, fast service.

As well as the internal layout design, YOOP are overseeing the discharge of a host of planning conditions with planning consultants CgMs, new shop signage, building regulation approval as well as acting as CDM Coordinators and as usual all building control matters are being dealt with by Butler & Young Ltd.

Insulation & Ventilation for a Healthy Home

Now that things are heating up insulating your home or office can keep you cool in the summer, warm in the winter and save money on resources.

Summer is a good time to install insulation, your more likely to be out and about, the day is longer for working. Loft insulation can cost just a few hundred pounds and save almost as much in your first year with a typical payback of two years.

Insulating walls can also be achieved with insulated plasterboard on the inside of properties that has solid walls or flat blocks that

suffers condensation on walls. The condensation is usually all the air moisture condensing on the coldest parts of your home. Which is typically windows but can also be parts of walls. Other methods of filling empty cavity walls are common and achieve good results.

Moisture within the home can also be an issue. Having a healthy environment means a moisture level from 50-70%. More than this can promote mould growth. The moisture is created by breathing, cooking, drying clothes etc. With air tight windows and minimal ventilation in winter this soon creates a home with a high moisture content. Quite a common sight in winter is open windows to alleviate the moisture proble

m but also this increases heating bills. A solution to this is heat recover ventilation

.

Heat recover ventilation is a vent which brings fresh air from out side but is pre heated by air from inside. This reduces the moisture content of your home with out losing the heat.

Energy Saver Trust for More Info

Example of Heat Recover Unit - Single Room

Inheritance Tax, New Government & You

An early casualty of the new coalition government is the Conservatives’ planned increase in the inheritance tax nil-rate band to £1 million. Instead, the current exemption of £325,000 will remain in place for the lifetime of the current parliament.

Where the value of an estate exceeds the nil-rate band, the excess is chargeable to inheritance tax (‘IHT’) at 40%. As house prices are starting to rise more families are being caught in the IHT net.

There are many options available to mitigate one’s IHT liability. The first step is to make a will to ensure that your estate does not face an unnecessarily large IHT bill. There are also reliefs which can be used in one’s lifetime. If a gift is made and the donor outlives it by 7 years (and does not take any benefit from it) the value of the gift is outside of their estate for IHT.

The 7 year rule does not apply in all circumstances. For example, up to £3,000 can be given away in any one tax year and the donor need not survive by 7 years for it to be IHT free. Further, excess income can be given away and is immediately exempt from IHT if it can be shown that the money gifted did not materially affect the donor’s standard of living. It is imperative that the donor does not derive any benefit from such gifts for them to be effective for IHT.

As with any advice of this nature, professional guidance should always be obtained. For more information please contact Geoff Dennis of Brightstone Law LLP on 020 8731 3080 or email: gd@brightstonelaw.co.uk.

THE ELECTION: A SPLIT DECISION THE POTENTIAL EFFECT ON THE PROPERTY INDUSTRY AND CLIENTS OF ONE WEST END LAW FIRM

Without doubt a feeling of confidence in the new coalition will be the best prospect for the property industry as a whole and we expect the same to be true for our clients.

Uncertainty creates a state of stasis where clients hold back from buying; lenders don’t lend; the public sector freezes up and money becomes more expensive. The hung parliament was in danger of exacerbating this and the swift conclusion will be well received.

The effects of the election result on this firm’s law practice and our clients attitudes to the new Government remain to be seen. Our principle business is in the property sector which has enjoyed resurgence of late and whether this continues will depend in part upon the confidence that this coalition Government can engender in business, investors and end users alike, as well as the effect on lending that their policies for the reform of the banks may have. Many of the Government’s first policies will reflect the fragile state of the economy and an emergency budget, expected within the first 50 days, will signal their intentions for the duration of the Parliament to come.

Whilst the Liberal Democrats have dropped their proposals for a “mansion tax” on properties costing more than £2 million, Capital Gains Tax paid on “non business” assets such as shares and second homes (currently at a flat rate of 18%) is likely to rise close to the 40% rate of Income Tax. This is of course set against the proposal to raise the Income Tax exemption to £10,000, the Liberal Democrat election proposal. The Conservative proposal to scrap HIPS may also have an impact on the residential property market.

Many of the Government’s forthcoming policies will influence property development, in particular regeneration and planning. The planning system at present is widely perceived to actively prevent developers from meeting consumer demand for property, which is at variance with the aggressive housing targets that the outgoing Labour Government set. A simplification of the procedure would undoubtedly lead to a greater appetite for developments to be advanced.

The role of the banks will equally be important, not less as a result of the Taxpayer now owning £150 billion worth of property through the state owned banks. The argument for the return of empty rates relief will no doubt also be strongly made in the coming months.

Day to day we have heard commentary from some clients that they are keen to understand the future implications of Government policy before committing to long term projects. The CGT rise in particular could lead to a flood of property onto the market, as buy-to-let investors look to avoid the rise, the expectation that such properties will fall within the definition of “non-business” assets. The scrapping of HIPS could also give a fillip to prices, as may the suggestion that VAT is likely to rise. Foreign investors are equally looking for signs of stability before committing to investing in the UK.

We expect that now the new Con/Lib Government has been formed clients will continue their business activities, some of which may have been put on hold during the election process, confident that there is a Government in place that will support business in general, with a view to returning the economy to strength.

Written by Daniel Abrahams, Partner at Philip Ross Solicitors.

13^th May 2010

http://www.philipross.co.uk/

Contact: jane.fisher@philipross.co.uk

David Cameron and your Planning Application

What will a new Conservative & Liberal Government hold for your planning application?

A quick summary of various stories shows that the new Government will put more weighting on quality rather than time targets. We have had direct experience of planners not discussing an application instead just refusing it thus dealing with it within there 8 week target. A new application will have to be made. If a few extra days were taken then it could have been a better result for all.

Seems that generally that the Lib-Dems are really on the same page.

With new mayors to large centres, this could bring a singular and strong vision rather like New York. Boris Johnson and the like will have will and now extra muscle to tackle housing and planning issues directly.

So if planners are set free of ridged time tables will we get better service, quality of dialogue and better result or will the system become more frustrating, drawn out and ambiguous? only time will tell.

Full Stories Below

“The difference with Labour since 1997 is that the speed of planning applications has been too significant. Eight-week and 30-week targets have over-emphasised the speed and under-emphasised the quality of applications. The speed of planning applications is not the be all and end all,”

Full Story Link

The Tories have also today confirmed plans to introduce mayors to 12 major UK cities, while giving Johnson responsibility for the £1.1bn budget of the London Homes and Communities Agency.

Full Story Link

The Liberal Democrats have today pledged support for the Conservatives’ proposed overhaul to the planning system.

The Lib Dems want to introduce third-party right of appeal where applications contradict local plans and axe quangos including the Infrastructure Planning Commission, according to its 109-page election manifesto, which was published today. These back up policies set out in the Tory manifesto on Tuesday.

Full Story Link

Architect in the House - Shelter/RIBA

Architect in the House gives homeowners an hour’s free consultation with a RIBA chartered architect in exchange for a donation to Shelter, the housing and homelessness charity.

This year in the UK, 53,000 homes will be

repossessed. Almost 1.8 million households are awaiting social housing. And 1.6 million children are growing up in homes that are squalid, overcrowded or temporary.

Architect in the House Website Link

YOOP Architects are proud to join the effort to improve housing and living standards.