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A message from Adam

“I have decided to do a Steve Redgrave and come out of retirement despite vowing never to go near a marathon again after the London one in 2011 nearly killed me!!!

Personally and as a business we have been sponsoring the amazing people at Shooting Star hospice for over 10 years. Marathons, Golf days and the recently sponsored Xmas carol concert have helped raise desperately needed funds (they have even had us weeding the centres’ gardens!!!)

Fast approaching 50, the wrong side of 13.5 stone and with my best days behind me, I doubt I will trouble my 2011 time but I want to go out with a bang and raise as much money as possible. If you could therefore spare even £5 it will make a massive difference to families of children with life limiting illnesses. if you have healthy children, thank the lord and give what you can….. :-)”

You can donate to Adam’s Just Giving page by clicking here

Thanks in advance for your kind donation!

Aston Mead Land & Planning were proud to sponsor The Shooting Star Chase Carol Concert which was held last night, raising lots of money for this amazing charity.

The St George’s Chapel in Weybridge was packed and a great evening was had by all. We were treated to performances from amongst others, Britain’s Got Talent’s Connie Talbot, the Elmbridge Choir and  the Shooting Star Chase Family Choir. But the real stars of the night were the children themselves, who we were privileged to watch saving Christmas in their own special video performance.

Leading land broker Aston Mead Land & Planning has welcomed new government consultation proposing to allow thousands of new homes to be built on Green Belt land, but say that the proposals don’t go far enough.

The company was responding to news that the proposed relaxation of planning rules published this week will allow councils to allocate appropriate small-scale sites in the Green Belt specifically for starter homes.

Aston Mead Land & Planning Director Adam Hesse said: “At last the government has recognised that the current concept of the Green Belt has reached the end of its useful life. Starter homes are a start – but the mistake they are making is to limit development to this category only. We have 14 million more people in the UK today than in 1955 when the Green Belt was introduced – so we need more three and four bedroom homes to be constructed on those sites as well.

“Once you’ve accepted that some parts of the Green Belt can be built on, the focus should shift to deciding which specific areas can be lost to development. Some are beautiful, pristine green sites that should be protected at all costs. But others – for example, those around the junctions of established road networks – are such a grubby green they are almost grey!”

Adam Hesse says that now these proposals have been suggested from the very top, it’s up to local councils to play a proactive part in the process.

He explained: “Local authorities are some of the biggest landowners in the country. Very often they are sitting on land which would be ideal for development. Once it has been released, they will still be able to control the planning stipulations, and the design of the eventual build.

“Even the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) admits that the current policy isn’t working. So let’s grade the greenbelt into those areas which should never be built on, as well as those which could be declassified – often places which many people would be surprised to discover were considered ‘Green Belt’ in the first place.

“I’m thinking of the ‘grubby greenbelt’ between large towns which have almost merged anyway – just as the London villages of Kensington, Earl’s Court and Notting Hill originally had green space between, but are now ‘villages’ within the larger mass of the capital city.”

Leading land brokers Aston Mead have criticised the plans announced by the Chancellor in the Government’s latest Autumn Statement.

In his speech on Wednesday, George Osborne announced an additional three per cent stamp duty on buy-to-let properties and second homes, which would raise an extra £1bn by 2021. He said that this money would help pay for 400,000 new homes and new ‘help-to-buy’ initiatives, with up to £60m going to help home-buyers in places where holiday homes have forced up local prices.

Aston Mead Director Charles Hesse said: “On the face of it, these changes may appear to be good news for the property sector. But dig a little deeper and you find that they are simply misguided. That’s because they fail to address the underlying problem – which is that the planning system in this country is too restrictive to allow sufficient numbers of homes to be built. A reform of our restrictive planning rules and regulations is where the Government should be focussing its attention.”

Charles Hesse said that the new taxes simply added yet more complexity into the house buying process. He explained: “What the Chancellor has announced will punish landlords and choke the market. Instead he should be allowing green belt development and relaxing the restrictions on building height. Both of these moves would have achieved what he was looking for, without the need for additional spending.”

Charles Hesse says that the announcement of 400,000 homes is a step in the right direction, but doesn’t make up for years of under-supply. He suggests that an alternative approach which relaxed planning controls would have had a swifter, more effective impact than the current plans, as well as increasing the number of affordable homes.

He explained: “Overly restrictive planning regulations are at the root of the problem here. Reforming them would help the market to function more efficiently. A more efficient market leads to more properties of all kinds being constructed – including those in cheaper price brackets.

“In short, it’s no good announcing the release of more public land for homes, if planning restrictions make it almost impossible for such homes to be built.”

Tis’ the season for the Surrey Life Shooting Star Chase carol concert, where the festive event on Thursday 17 December at St George’s College Chapel in Addlestone will be made merry and bright with a special performance from Britain’s Got Talent’s Connie Talbot.

The 14-year-old singer, who reached the final of the first series of Britain’s Got Talent in 2007 and has since released four albums, will give a special performance of Adele’s Make You Feel My Love, Sam Smith’s Writing’s On The Wall and the Christmas classic Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas at the carol concert.

In their 10^th anniversary year, the 140-strong Elmbridge Choir and supported mums and dads from the Shooting Star Chase Family Choir – who regularly sing together for music therapy – will be joining Connie to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year from 7pm.

The concert, which is in conjunction with Surrey Life and sponsored by Aston Mead, will feature everyone’s favourite sing-along carols, readings from a supported dad and a wine and canape reception.  A raffle will also be held with prizes such as a wine experience at Denbies, a £100 Jigsaw voucher and a year’s subscription to Surrey Life on offer.

The event will raise funds to make Christmas extra special for children cared for by Shooting Star Chase – enabling the charity to offer short breaks at the hospices so families can spend precious time together over the festive period and hold Christmas parties for supported children and siblings.

Katy Jones, Community Fundraising Manager at Shooting Star Chase, said:

“The Surrey Life Shooting Star Chase carol concert, now in its 9^th year, is always a wonderful evening that’s bound to get even the biggest Scrooge in the mood for Christmas. We are really pleased to be welcoming Connie Talbot and two choirs to the event, and look forward to sharing in the festivities with all our supporters.

“Many of our families don’t know how many Christmases they have left together, so the festive season can be a difficult time. All the funds raised at the carol concert will help Shooting Star Chase create special memories to treasure forever for the mums, dads, children and siblings we care for.”

Early bird tickets are offered at the special rate of £15 and are available to be purchased until 20 November. Thereafter tickets will be £20 each. To purchase ring 01932 823100 or email reception@shootingstarchase.org.uk.  Payment is by card, cheque or cash and all seating is unreserved.

To find out more about the Surrey Life Shooting Star Chase carol concert please visit:shootingstarchase.org.uk/carol-concert-2015/

Leading land broker Aston Mead Land & Planning has responded to a recent suggestion in The Times that out-of-town shopping centres should be redeveloped so that they provide housing above the shops on the ground floor.

The suggestion was made by author and journalist Clive Aslet, editor-at-large of ‘Country Life’, who criticised existing superstores not only for being “devoid of a flicker of architectural merit”, but also for their “appallingly extravagant use of land”. His proposal is to keep the ground-floor shops where they are, put the parking below ground and raise four or five storeys of housing on top, saying “it would solve the housing crisis at a stroke.”

Aston Mead Director Adam Hesse said: “In many ways, what Clive Aslet is suggesting makes a lot of sense. These brownfield sites have an advantage over their greenfield equivalents in that they already have some infrastructure in place in the form of roads, power and drainage. Sadly, the Achilles heel in his argument is that you often can’t simply build on top of existing structures; they will rarely have either the strength or foundations to allow for any more floors.”

But Adam Hesse says that the idea should definitely be considered for brand new sites or those currently in the pipeline, and points to examples where the concept has already worked, such as at Tescos in Kensington on the A4, Shepherds Bush Road at Brook Green, and at West Molesey in Surrey – all of which have been very well received.

He adds: “What this debate does highlight is that in order to suppress urban sprawl, we should build up rather than out. And that philosophy doesn’t only apply to out-of town shopping centres. It also applies to places like railway stations, where there is surrounding land which could be targeted for redevelopment in the same way.

“What’s more, this approach can actually add something to town centres. Instead of shops with an uninspired single storey maisonette above, we could have four or five storeys of high-quality architecture, right in the heart of town. This additional housing would help transform areas which have become ghost towns at night into vibrant destinations for restaurants, nightclubs, theatres and cinemas – all without enlarging the urban footprint.

“I predict this is the way planners will be heading in the future, in order to make best use of the precious land resource that we still have available.”

Leading Surrey & Berkshire land broker Aston Mead has warned that a recent High Court ruling lessens the likelihood of the UK ever hitting its house building targets.

Following a legal challenge by Reading Borough Council and West Berkshire District Council, the ruling by Justice David Holgate forced ministers to scrap guidance which excluded developments of 10 homes or fewer from the requirement to provide or contribute to affordable housing provision. The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has said it will appeal the High Court’s ruling.

Aston Mead Director Adam Hesse said: “Frankly, this ruling by the High Court is absolutely insane. There’s no question that it will lead to fewer homes being built as a result. It has already stopped a stack of proposals in their tracks and a lot of sites in our pipeline are now being renegotiated.

“Sites that may well have been suitable for 10 units will now be reduced to whatever the new threshold is, so full use won’t be made of the brownfield land available. Consequently it will mean less income for districts and boroughs – the very same organisations fighting for a change to the guidance in the first place. It’s utter madness!”

Adam Hesse says that the contribution that small developers make to the house building programme should not be underestimated.

He explains: “Small sites are the engine rooms of UK development. They are invariably built by small firms who have proportionately higher costs. The economic viability of their schemes is often on a knife-edge, with little ability to challenge local authority demands for affordable housing. This latest ruling now means that they will simply give up trying to build on certain sites, leading to fewer homes of all types.

“What’s more, small and little used commercial sites which could be more productively turned over to residential housing won’t even be attempted.”

Adam Hesse said that he sincerely hopes that a future appeal by the DCLG is successful.

He adds: “No one doubts that the country desperately needs more homes. It is already falling far short of current house-building targets. A ruling like this is a significant blow for smaller residential developers and will only serve to ensure that those targets are even harder to meet.”

Leading South East land brokers Aston Mead say today’s announcement by the Prime Minister about changes to housing policy need to be accompanied by a release of Government land at subsidised prices.

In his speech to this year’s Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, David Cameron announced what he described as “a dramatic shift in housing policy for this country”. The new rules mean that developers will now be able to offer ‘starter homes’ for first-time buyers under 40, instead of being forced to offer only low-cost rented homes in new developments.

Aston Mead Director Adam Hesse said: “Being able to buy rather than rent is all very well. But what the Prime Minister announced today is just the tip of the iceberg. If developers are going to build more homes at the cheaper end of the market, they will need to be able to acquire land at cheaper prices too. No average land owner is going to sell land cheaply – so it’s down to the Government to take the lead.

“Local authorities are some of the largest landowners in the country. They need to release land at the sort of price that will enable low-cost homes to be built. Otherwise, market forces will dictate what prices land is being sold for, and developers will have to build more expensive homes to make their purchase viable.”

Under the Government proposals, the price of the ‘starter homes’ after the discount is applied will be capped at £250,000 and £450,000 in London. Those who buy them will be prevented from selling them for a quick profit under the new policy, which experts predict could provide as many as 200,000 new homes by 2020.

Adam Hesse continued: “Clearly, developers need to make money so that they can stay in business. As long as they make a profit, they don’t mind how they do it. So if the release of subsidised land makes the building of starter homes possible, they will have no problem building them as part of an overall mix.”

David Cameron is already under pressure to water down controversial plans to offer the ‘right-to-buy’ to housing association tenants currently passing through Parliament, amid claims it will hit those in housing need.

Adam Hesse added: “The building of new homes – including starter homes – is often hampered by local authority planning rules. Many regulations demand certain kinds of ‘affordable housing’ which actually hinder house building rather than encouraging it.

“These new measures will go some of the way towards introducing some flexibility into the system. But it’s the price and availability of land that is the determining factor – and the Government needs to play its part in releasing land at subsidised prices, on the basis that developers then build homes under the new ruling.”