Paper round: Ally Pally plans stall

Ally Pally development plans stalled

Plans for the £55m redevelopment of Alexandra Palace were blocked by a High Court judge because of a ‘fatal flaw’ in the consultation process, the Times reported on Saturday. The ruling follows a complaint by the Save Ally Pally campaign that it was denied a proper chance to comment on the final proposals for the 130-year old landmark.

Operations chief quits BAA after six weeks

The weekend FT reported that the chief operating officer at BAA, Stephen Baxter, has quit the post just six weeks into the job, the latest in a series of executive departures at the client. Separately on Friday, BAA warned that Competition Commission proposals to limit Heathrow passenger fees may disrupt its £9.3bn debt refinancing plans and threaten its ability to expand airports.

Barratt drops 4% after downgrade for housebuilders

The weekend FT reported that under pressure housebuilders faced more selling on Friday as ABN Amro, one of the sector’s leading bulls, changed tack and warned the new homes market would weaken.

Commercial property slides

A slump in the commercial property market is hitting retail investors and pension schemes. Sector funds are suffering their first fall in total returns for 15 years in September, the weekend FT and The Daily Telegraph reported.

Price growth stalls in ‘prime’ London homes market

The surge in prices for prime homes in central London that began a year ago is finally running out of steam, according to data published by agent Knight Frank, the weekend FT reported.

Flatpack housing to target first time buyers

The UK’s first BoKlok flatpack homes went on the market on Friday at Ikea’s Gateshead store, the weekend FT and The Daily Telegraph reported. The factory-built homes, a JV between Ikea and Skanska, are being introduced to the UK in response to the lack of affordable housing for first time buyers.

Moving image trial starts in Tube tunnels

The weekend FT reported that trials of a system to project moving advertising images onto platform tunnel walls in the London Underground will begin this week. The single platform test at Euston station will be the most ambitious technical step yet in the roll out of digital media on the Tube.

House prices at least affordable for 15 years

House prices are at their least affordable since before the 1992 property crash, with one in four households unable to buy their own home, said The Daily Telegraph on Saturday. Housing data company Hometrack said most buyers need a mortgage equivalent to five times their salary.

Holiday homes in the sun begin to lost their shine

The value of British holiday homes abroad has fallen by as much a 15 per cent in the past three months, according to an investigation by The Daily Telegraph.

Housing market ‘hit by Hips’

The number of home with three or more bedrooms being put up for sale since the introduction of Home Information Packs has fallen steeply, reported The Daily Telegraph and The Guardian on Saturday. The RICS said East Anglia had the steepest drop.

Polish influx set to rise

A million more Poles plan to seek jobs in Britain next year according to a new survey, reported The Sunday Telegraph. The study was carried out by market research company TNS and commissioned by Westminster City Council.

Cut-price homes still fail to sell

Estate agents across Britain are slashing asking prices by up to 20 per cent in a bid to shift properties that have sat on their books for months, said The Sunday Telegraph. Soaring house prices, five mortgage rate hikes, Home Information Packs and a crisis of confidence triggered by Northern Rock were blamed.

Foot and mouth report will blame Government

The government will be blamed for failures at its research laboratories that caused this summer’s foot and mouth outbreak, The Sunday Telegraph reported. An inquiry is expected to criticise heavily the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Crossrail gets green light but doubts over completion date

Gordon Brown has given the green light to Crossrail but a source close to the situation doubts the project will be completed by 2017, reported The Guardian on Saturday. It said the Treasury and the Department for Transport were in talks about deferring construction of the south-eastern part of the railway, which includes Canary Wharf, until 2020.

Brown gives green light to Crossrail

Business groups welcomed the government’s decision to approve the delayed Crossrail project but demanded ministers come clean on how much they will be required to pay, The Independent reported on Saturday.

Museum of literature wins Stirling prize

The Independent on Sunday reported that David Chipperfield had won the £20,000 Riba award for his Museum of Modern Literature in Marbach am Neckar in Germany.

Saviour lined up for Erinaceous

The Sunday Times and The Observer reported that hedge fund Fursa, which has built up an 18% stake in crisis-hit property services group Erinaceous, has approached WH Smith’s former finance director Keith Hamill to take charge of the struggling company. Fursa tripled its stake in Erinaceous last week, fuelling speculation it is about to demand an extraordinary meeting of shareholders to oust the company’s management.

City chief in rail cash bid

The Corporation of London has recruited Harvey McGrath, the former chairman and chief executive of Man Group, to join a campaign to raise £150m from big business to help pay for Crossrail, reported the Sunday Times. The Corporation last week agreed to contribute £200m of its own funds to the project, and has been given the job of raising further individual contributions from London’s largest companies.

Russians eye London listings

Russian construction company LSR Group is gearing up for an estimated £2.5bn London stock exchange listing that aims to raise more than $1bn, according to the Sunday Times.