
THE FIRST WORD IN MEWS
WELCOME TO MEWS NEWS
WINTER 2022
Well here we are again, Christmas is round the corner, ‘to-do’ lists are coming under attack, old recipe books are being dusted off. Some of us will be celebrating the first Christmas in a new home or thinking about it being the last and moving on.

Seasons greetings and our warmest wishes to one and all for 2023.
Edited by Amanda Sharpe


This is our last issue of 2022 and it’s been another memorable year.
This edition is seasonal in spirit. We’ve given you some suggestions for festive cheer, fun and pampering in LB Loves… Notting Hill. Award winning Zoe Dare Hall navigates 2023’s London property market with our own Billy Harvey’s insight. Mollie Swallow advises on maintaining your investment property and tips for landlords in a busy rental market. Everchanging Mews looks at the architectural merits of our mews arches. Our one-to-one is with the triumphant winner of Mews in Bloom 2022 – a massive well done to the residents at Ennismore Mews.
Enjoy! Thank you for reading and being part of our Mews News community throughout the year.
IS NOW A TIME TO DIGEST OR INVEST?
We’ve become used to instability in recent years – and the current political and economic crises are the latest to make buyers and vendors take stock. Zoe Dare Hall looks at how the prime London market is poised as the year nears its end…

As we hunker down for winter, with an extra jumper on, and look back at recent months, it can feel dizzying to keep up with the pace of change. The last Mews News came out as the nation was witnessing the passing of the longest-ever reigning British monarch and the early days of what turned out to be our shortest-ever serving prime minister.

That was just three months ago. Since then, we’ve seen a mini-budget that promised the biggest tax cuts in 50 years and then, within weeks, an Autumn Statement hailed as the quickest U-turn in economic history. We’ve watched Rishi Sunak move into Number 10 and rail workers and postal workers go on strike. The pound has discovered previously unknown depths, inflation has hit a 40-year high, and 1,000 mortgage products have disappeared overnight. And then there’s what’s going on in the rest of the world…
On the other hand, after several years of economic uncertainty brought about by an ever-growing list of factors that are becoming hard to even remember in order anymore, there’s also a sense of here we go again. Uncertainty has become a given, it’s hard to remember life without it.
As it has turned out, the Autumn Statement was unremarkable at least as far as the prime London property market is concerned. Some high earners will be hit by higher taxes, but the most punitive changes that people feared,
after the disastrous mini-budget, failed to materialise. The stamp duty cuts brought in by the former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng will remain till 2025, which is good news for buyers at the lower end of the market, but fundamentally won’t affect people’s decisions in the prime market. Confidence has been restored by the new PM, thinks Billy Harvey, Mews associate at Lurot Brand. “There’s definitely a sense that we’ll have a more sensible fiscal policy with Rishi and buyer confidence has returned.”
“However there’s no sugar-coating the levels of activity in the prime market currently,” says Harvey. “There was a flurry at the end of September as people locked into good mortgage deals and thought ‘let’s just buy anything’, that has tailed off now. Numbers are down for everything – viewings, applicants, sales,” he comments. “But the buyers who are out there are serious. It’s very much a needs-based buyer’s market now, not a discretionary one, and where people need to upsize or downsize for whatever reason, properties are achieving good prices.”
It’s a phase of the prime London market that could be called the digestive process. Buyers are taking their time to consume the news - in particular the sharp rising cost of living - letting it settle before they make any big moves. But we’ve been here before in recent years, from the stamp duty changes in 2014 to the instability wreaked by years of Brexit and Covid. “Every time we see a massive change in the market, there is a natural lull in activity for a period of time,” says Harvey. “Buyers and vendors take stock of the situation before making any decisions with their housing plans. As is always the case during this uncertainty, quality properties continue to sell and the demand for them remains strong.”
One market, in which it’s often easier to get on with things, is the mews property sector, Harvey thinks. “They are generally freehold houses, so there are no service charges, ground rents or sinking funds. In general, the costs are stable, which is a big attraction now.”
The mews market is also a niche dominated by cash buyers, so no rising interest rates to spend sleepless nights over. There are the parents buying mews houses for grown-up children. “We’ve just agreed one such house in Notting Hill to parents buying for their child in their twenties,” says Harvey. “In a location like a mews in the heart of Notting Hill, you get the peace and quiet of a mews street with tons going on nearby.”


There are also buyers who spot a rare mews opportunity, such as a recent mews flat with a garage, having just 11.5 years left on its lease. “It’s available with a guide price of £550,000 and will cost about £1 million to extend the lease, but the end value will be nearly £2m,” says Harvey, who dealt with three competing bidders for the property. “It was an unusual opportunity, when leases reach 80 years, the owner usually decides it’s time to do something as the longer they wait, the more it costs to renew.”
And there are buyers who know the current time is far from ideal – but it may still be better than what’s to come. “Buyers accept everything is going to cost more now, but some are making plans to exchange before Christmas. If they need a mortgage, they are aware that rates could rise again,” Harvey comments. “Things are changing day by day, week by week, so we’re managing clients’ expectations,” he adds. “But mews aren’t standard properties, and they are slightly more immune to big changes in the market.”
There’s also something very appealing to be said for the tranquillity that living in a mews street offers, shielded from all the noise and hustle that has returned to London post-Covid. No doubt 2023 will herald a bounceback sooner or later, but there’s a long winter to get through first. Time to breathe, digest… and reach for that extra woolly.
BY ZOE DARE HALL
Property Freelance Journalist of the Year 2021, International Property Journalist of the Year 2021, Lifestyle & Interiors Journalist of the Year 2021 (Property Press Awards)
ONE-TO-ONE WITH RESIDENTS AT ENNISMORE MEWS
This year’s overall winner of Mews in Bloom 2022

Neighbourly enthusiasm, green fingers and creative vision sprung into life this year amongst the residential community of Ennismore Mews.
The result was not only a well-deserved first place and winner’s plaque for our Mews in Bloom competition, but new friendships, lots of laughter, colourful planting, and a burgeoning safe green garden space for children and adults to enjoy from their windows in the winter and outside when the sun shines.
Resident Tony Jones at number 24 and fellow neighbour and resident, Samer Younis at number 14 explain the thinking behind the mews garden design, and how successfully they got the residents involved to improve the quality of daily life in their mews and add value to their homes.

Tell us a little about Ennismore Mews…
• There are 39 residences and around 100 residents living in Ennismore Mews. The age range is widely spread, from a dozen young children, to students, many, perhaps most, of working age, some newly retired (or of an age to do so), and then some oldies in their 70’s, 80’s and even two 95 year-olds. The most extraordinary and one of the things that makes our mews so special is the wealth of nationalities – we have 20 different ones enriching all our lives every day. Being relatively traffic-free means that children’s ball games and at the other extreme, using the mews for walking and personal trainers means our mews can be enjoyed by all.
What inspired you to begin giving the mews a ‘facelift’?
• We decided to improve the quality of our lives and add to the value of our properties by making it the most visually impressive in town. Our plan was, and continues to build on the existing displays of flowers, shrubs and trees and encourage others to enter into a joint effort for all of us to benefit and enjoy; creating a friendly and visually desirable environment.
Explain how you went about creating the new look green space?
• We wrote to everyone with an offer to hire a contractor to service any planting. We also suggested to run a maintenance service but suggested that each resident should fund their own installation. Myself and my co-founder, Samer funded some specimen trees to give encouragement. We did some back-of-an-envelope calculations having hired and agreed with a contractor the frequency, length of visit and hourly cost of maintenance. We offered all residents three levels of fees and arranged the following:
1. Appointed a professional gardener (already working locally) at the rate of £30 per man hour to advise and maintain the proposed installations throughout the year, so we enjoy a balance of colour, variety and sustainability.
2.Establish a range of troughs and planters, stocked with a colourful array of flowers, climbing plants, shrubs and trees to be chosen and purchased by residents in consultation with the appointed gardener, or independently if preferred.
How does the scheme continue to operate for the mews residents?
• We proposed levels of membership and annual subscriptions for the scheme to suit everyone’s individual requirements depending on the level of time and effort they wanted to commit to upkeep; whether they wanted holiday maintenance; those looking for a routine and regular service for watering, weeding and pruning, and those wishing to protect and look after their plants when often away from the mews.
We calculated a subscription working on the need for fortnightly maintenance in spring and autumn, weekly in summer and monthly in winter. Based on each visit taking 1½ hours the annual cost is around £1,350 and the subscription fees are based on this.
Thanks to appointing gardening guru, Greg Carling www.gregsplants.co.uk, the quality of plant maintenance service we expected has been achieved. We have reappointed Greg, increasing his hourly rate for plant maintenance to counter
the increased cost of fuel, transport and labour. We also now have a more accurate record of the frequency of attendance necessary, so that we can hopefully hold this price level for some years.
How did residents respond to your idea?
• We could not have imagined that this idea would catch on so universally and morph into a sort of social convenience storewhere issues such as the installation of superfast broadband by fibre optic cable could be co-ordinated. We soon started to meet up over wine and nibbles, and then everyone wanted to join.
What are some of the standout delights?
• One example that springs to mind is our paradigm neighbour, Emma Rees at the south end of the mews. We enjoy an array of climbers: jasmine and clematis; trees: olive, cherry, acer and bay; shrubs: box, fuchsia, and of course, flowers: geraniums, but a very wide range; in winter: cyclamen add colour and cheer.



How did you find out about Mews in Bloom?
• We learnt about the competition from reading and following Mews News. We joined because Samer and I had met up and decided to co-ordinate an effort to improve value, ambience and quality of life by “civilising” the mews, not least by foliage, improving the greenery and floral elements. We only started our project in 2021 and felt so inspired we decided to apply to enter. We didn’t settle on a theme, but this year many of us started the planting year with yellow and blue in support of Ukraine and there were a few Ukrainian flags dotted around.
The judging was not too challenging because we stressed that what we should do was work really hard, “think long”, do our very best, and plan for next year! We had low expectations so it was exciting but not nail-biting!

Lurot Brand’s experienced Lettings team gives some seasonal advice for landlords
Preparing your rental investment property is important, not only to meet current legislation for landlords and tenants, but when it comes to upkeep and maintaining your property to guarantee you really do maximise the investment income potential.
There’s no doubt that as we wind up the year, lettings stock is woefully low, but there continues to be a whopping demand from professional and corporate tenants looking to secure their rental home before the beginning of 2023.
Such a strong demand from keen tenants has boosted rents to an all-time high, there are definite signs which point to this continuing throughout 2023.
The festive period gives time for a landlord to take stock and reassess your rental investment. Ask yourself and your managing agent - is it working for you, what maintenance work should be booked in, and what can you do to increase profitability?

TO HELP STEER CLEAR OF ANY VOID PERIODS, WE RECOMMEND MAKING SURE THAT THE FOLLOWING THINGS ARE TICKED OFF YOUR LIST:
• Update your EPC if it’s older than 10 years.
• Schedule in an EICR if your current one is older than five years (wiring dependent).
• Is your annual gas safety certificate due for a renewal?
• Give your property a fresh coat of paint if it needs one.
• Do you have any maintenance problems that need addressing, because now is the perfect time to tackle these.
• For exterior jobs, try to schedule tradespeople in before Christmas ready to start work in early spring.

Historically, Rightmove experiences its busiest day for tenant enquires on Boxing Day. Notoriously, no sooner has the 25th December passed, than thoughts turn to moving in the New Year, both for tenants and homeowners. Whether it’s a lifestyle change, upsizing to accommodate a growing family, wanting outside space, downsizing or sadly moving out and on. Everyone focuses on making a new plan for the year ahead. ‘New Year, New Me’ and top of the list usually starts with ‘New Home’.
So, whether tenants are organised and looking before Christmas or starting their search after the festivities, January can be a lucrative time for landlords to secure the best tenancy. To ensure you maximise this busy period, make sure your property is marketed before the arrival of the Christmas holidays and ready for a January move-in.



















































































































