According to Winkworth, there's no sign of London's top-end boom market ending soon, while wealthy Eurozone and Middle Eastern buyers continue to plough money in. Prices in Knightsbridge, Chelsea and Belgravia rose 17% in 2011, with 41% of those sales involving figures above £2m (up from 33% in 2010). London's safe haven status is behind the demand, and a shortage of available properties is pushing prices ever higher. More here.

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An interesting piece in the Daily Mail (is this what it's come to?) about designer Tom Dixon's work to turn a 5,000 gallon water tower into a 5,000 square foot living space. It's a fascinating project, perhaps blighted a tiny bit, though, by its position. The photo below, from Google's StreetView, shows just how one side "benefits", as they say, from a view of the canal; but the other looks over a Sainsbury car park. Will it matter?

Another noteworthy detail from the Daily Mail piece is that Tom Dixon's a self-taught designer. Very, very impressive. More here.

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If you're driving home for Christmas out west, it's worth knowing that - following a week of leaks and rumours - Transport for London have finally confirmed that Hammersmith flyover is suffering from a serious structural defect and, deep breath, please, they've closed it. Expect congestion. Don't expect it to re-open quickly. Sorry.

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There's a good picture over at the Standard. Forty-four prefabs are bring dropped opposite Hammersmith Hospital - all one and two-bedroom homes - on top of the existing four-storey blocks. One bedroom flats will be let at £794 a month, two-bedrooms at £961 a month.

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He's awaiting a decision by Kensington & Chelsea council on plans to redevelop a former clothing warehouse in Chelsea, creating offices, home and courtyard. This isn't a purely personal project (he's already developing a property down the road, which he'll call home; this looks like a proper experiment in property development. The council have made encouraging noises; much to the chagrin of the Chelsea Society. More here.

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It's part of a parcel of eight Hammersmith & Fulham Council-owned properties for sale in a bid to raise around £14m. Grade II-listed and in the midst of a refurbishment, it's apparently already had offers, including interest as a potential hotel. The council argue that - as one of the smallest in the country - they can't afford to run two town halls.

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It's a three-bedroom flat on Kensington Park Road, and it was home to Robbie Williams when he left Take That and moved to London. Williams shared the apartment with Nicole Appleton and later Geri Halliwell. It's a four-floor affair, with a roof terrace, right in the heart of Notting Hill. It's with Domus Nova, guide price £3.45m, particulars here.

[via Prime blog]

If these walls could talk... James Hunt edition [April 5, 2011]

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It's a four-bedroom West Kensington mews house, originally two properties converted into one, and it was home to F1 motor racing hero James Hunt during the early 1980s... a tempestuous period that saw him lose his first wife to Richard Burton (who one would have thought didn't need any more). But don't be fooled by the blue plaque... it was commissioned by the current owners (Hunt's death, in 1993, wasn't long enough ago to warrant an official one from English Heritage). The properties on the market with Marsh & Parsons, guide price £2.75m. Particulars here.

[via Prime]

If these walls could talk... Forbes Battersea mansion edition [March 11, 2011]

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It's North Kensington, at the top of Portobello Road, and it's about to undergo a somewhat controversial redevelopment, starting, according to this, very shortly. Enthusiasts point to 1,000 homes, a new London square; critics say existing families living on the estate will be moved out of the borough against their will.

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Valuations have begun, according to rumours, with the ultimate aim to sell the site for redevelopment. Opened in June 1960, it was one of the world's first purpose-built broadcasting centres. Whatever "redevelopment" is considered, its Grade II listing will hopefully save it from anything disastrous. Personally - though - as a 20th Century nostalgist, I'll be sad. More here.

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