Surrey

University of Surrey

The University of Surrey  in Guildford  is heading up the league tables by jumping 20 places to Number 21 in the University League tables since last year.   They are launching a new Institute of Bio sciences and Medicine to lead research into research for cancer and other illnesses.   The aim in the future is to have a full medical school luckily the Royal Surrey Hospital  is close by so it would be easy to keep links strong with the NHS.   Local Landlords take note as there is sure to be an increase in demand for both student and professional rental properties in the area which is already rather a rental hot-spot! Now that students are fee paying it is good to see The University of Surrey pushing for a competitive  edge in attracting  students .

New Planning Framework Proposed

Headline in the Surrey Advertiser this week 7th October “Planning framework would trample on consultations”

Waverley Council in Surrey are concerned that the new planning framework proposed by the government would “severely damage” the area believing that existing ways local authorities approve  new developments is far better avoiding the danger of potential developments to fall through any gaps in the new planning guidelines.   Due to the rural and greenbelt nature of many areas in Waverley there are of course concerns especially when there would need to be 20% further housing created on top of the building plans already in place.  Gradual development in areas of high demand of course keeps the prices high and affordable housing now seems to be part of the majority of developments. It will be interesting to see what the countrywide response to the proposed new planning framework is however in Waverley at least the mood seems to be against the changes.

The Telegraph of 7^th October also points out that where there is more development of a greenbelt area new roads are also needed.

How Important is Living in the Catchment Area for a Good School?

In our experience and also looking at previous reports the cost of actually getting a property close to a good school can inflate by around £50k so if this article below is correct there is a gap between what people expect to pay and what properties actually achieve.  However if you have three children going through the independent sector moving house could be the cheaper option. Harriet Holden-White, The County Homsearch Company (Surrey).

Blog from Relocate Newsletter.

“Living in the catchment area of a good school is becoming increasingly important to homebuyers, according to new research. 

The research, by Santander Mortgages, reveal that this was top priority for more than one in three (37%) with a child aged ten or under, with many willing to pay an extra £12,141 to secure the home – and school – of their choice. 

The study reveals that people planning a move would be willing to pay an extra £5,663, on average, to be able to move into a good catchment area. Of those who plan to buy a new home in the next five years, 15% say school catchment area is one of their main priorities, with many homebuyers willing to pay a much higher premium. 

One in four (26%) of those with a child aged 11 to 17 sees catchment area as a major concern, and would be willing to pay a £11,564 premium. 

The results differ across regions. In the South East of England, for example, people would be willing to pay an extra £10,961 for a home in the catchment area of a good educational establishment. 

Homebuyers in the West Midlands are most concerned about moving into a good catchment area, with one in four (26%) citing it as a main priority, double the percentage that was concerned about this the last time they bought a home (13%). 

In the North East, only 6% of buyers showed a particular interest in the catchment area the last time they purchased a home, but some 16% of people planning to buy a property in the region now consider it a main priority. 

The research suggests that women are much more concerned about moving into a good catchment area than men and are willing to pay a £7,281 premium in comparison with £4,456 for men.

“People are increasingly concerned about the value of a good education, and, in some areas of the country, there is a significant amount of competition for places at sought-after schools,” said Phil Cliff, director of Santander Mortgages. 

“This has led to many parents trying to move to a particular area deliberately to improve their child’s chances of getting into their desired school.”

Bank of Mum & Dad

Further to recent article written by Rebecca Younger (link below) about the bank of Mum & Dad.  We are seeing parents continue to buy properties for their children whilst they are studying rather then pay rents in the Guildford area. 

http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/property/news/s/2095240_bank_of_mum_and_dad_must_be_careful

Popular Areas for International Relocation in Surrey

www.surreyproperty.com a site containing guides to 72 towns and villages in Surrey compiled a report showing the most favoured locations for international relocation in the county. They based the results on visits to town pages on their sites and came up with Guildford as the most popular town for international relocation followed by Weybridge, Woking and Cobham and interestingly visits from the UK followed the same pattern.  We tend to find a slightly different picture with Cobham and Weybridge and Virginia Water at the top of the most popular towns driven by the presence of good international schools.   Cobham and Virginia Water had a higher level of interest from those from Canada and the US whereas Guildford, Woking and Chertsey had more interest from European visitors.   They also had a higher number of visitors to the site from the US and Canada  followed by Australia, South Africa, France and Germany.  We do tend to have more international families relocating to Surrey because of the schools,  and the easy access to London for the working parent often single people want to be in London even if it means travelling back out to Surrey to their offices.

Hindhead Together announce A3 Tunnel Community Open Day

Hindhead Together is delighted to announce the date of the much anticipated A3 Tunnel Community Open Day .

Tunnel Vision Open Day will take place on Saturday 14th May 2011 and will be a once in a lifetime opportunity for the community to walk through the 1.8km A3 Tunnel before it officially opens to the thousands of cars and lorries that will use it to ease their journey from London to Portsmouth and beyond.

The £371 million project has been continually beating targets and deadlines set for stages of the work and continues to progress in budget and on time.

This means that the chance for the public to experience the longest under land road tunnel in the country will come sooner rather than later!

A sub-committee of Hindhead Together, chaired by Haslemere Town Mayor, Melanie Odell has been leading the planning process for this huge community event.  It promises to provide the exciting opportunity for as many people as possible by running on a park and ride basis from many points in the local area.

Talking after the latest meeting of the Steering Group, Melanie said “It is excellent that we are now able to announce the date for this wonderful community event! We hope that thousands of people will be able to experience this as part of a celebratory open day, we will be encouraging many businesses and organisations to get involved and hope to raise funds for local good causes”.

“It is disappointing that we have been unable to accommodate a variety of events for other users, however ultimately this format will maximise the opportunity to meet the large demand”.

The Steering Group had been working on the possibility of including cyclists and runners in the tunnel on the day as well, however, the number of people showing an interest in attending a tunnel open day far exceeded the expectations. After several meetings with the Highways Agency, Balfour Beatty and Surrey Police a re-evaluation of the open day had to take place in the light of:

Likely disruption to traffic on the A3 during the tunnel open day event.

 The safety of members of the public arriving and leaving the tunnel open day andThe safety of members of the public while on what will still be a construction site and in particular, going through the tunnel.

As result it has been decided to restrict the event to those who wish to walk through the tunnel and not allow cyclists, nor runners.  This restriction will maximise the time available to access the tunnel and help spread the load of the large numbers of people expected at the event.

 More information on the format of the day and fund raising opportunities will be released as the planning process is finalised.

 For immediate questions, Hindhead Together Project Coordinator Caroline White can be contacted on 07772 855090 or caroline@hindheadtogether.org.uk

Alice Holt Forest

Public Imagination has been captured at Alice Holt with 300 people protesting in the South West Surrey Save our Woods Campaign .  There are still concerns over the wider Government consultation  continuing so protestors in turn continue to fight the woodland cause.   Alice Holt is not only an actively managed forest but with the visitor centre, adventure trails all at the minimal cost of parking it is a hugely popular with both local families and visitors.  It is difficult to see how most purchasers of woodland could make a commercial success of the land forestry being so intensive and investment in time and machinery paramount.  Certainly public access would need to be restricted just from a safety point of view in any commercially run woodland.   With increased traffic on all our roads it is heaven to be able to take children around Alice Holts off road bike trails.  On route you pass fishermen by the ponds adventure playgrounds incorporated into woodland walks, picnic areas  and areas for just chilling out.  There are holiday schemes of build a camp and birthday parties with climbing and archery so difficult to see how a government plan can improve on this from a family friendly point of view.  This amenity and good local schools make this a good destination for families in search of a better quality of life without having to move to too rural a destination.

Stamp Duty Rise

Stamp Duty hitting the news again with duty on homes worth £1m and over increasing to 5% on April 6^th.   In combination with petrol increases and VAT it seems like a Tax start to the Year!

The limit applies on completion only so not good enough to have exchanged before the 6^th April.  This may not affect the market to any great extent at this level  the main impact is usually seen around the £250,000 level.  Potential buyers waiting out the market may now decide that enough time has passed and now is the time to buy.  Vendors will have to wait and see and as always give their property the best presentation that they can to lesson any impact.

City status or better to remain a town – Surrey Advertiser – Guy Martin

It has been talked about for a number of years and with failed attempts in 2000 and 2002, it has come into question again, should Guildford make another bid to become a City?  Many already feel it is a city as there is a Cathedral but currently it still remains classed as a town.    http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/s/2085148_city_bid_for_guildford_may_boost_economy

House prices set to surge – Daily Express – Sarah O’Grady

Interesting to see in the Daily Express yesterday that their expectation is that the housing market is going to take off in the spring.  Reports from the Royal Institute on Chartered Surveyors say that sales levels have remained stable despite the bad weather in December.   There is a shortage of property coming to the market which will in turn mean prices could well see an increase. http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/223807