The epicentre of the violence in Hackney has been around my house. Police in barricades have battled rioters outside the church 50m down my road in sporadic melees. Every local shop for miles has been shuttered. Cars and recycling bins have been set on fire. Helicopters constantly hover above, filming and surveying the unfolding damage. This is not what estate agents were referring to when they described local streets as “cosmopolitan”.

It's a short but interesting piece by the FT's Tony Tassell, and worries about the element of rioting as "spectator sport" he witnessed in Hackney, the cheering (of the rioters) as they attacked the police. Has Hackney, he asks, really changed?

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

It was a riot. Literally. When the bailiffs failed, the riot police turned up and were pelted with missiles from a Skipworth Road property. The house apparently belongs to the Crown Estate, which is planning a major 1,300 property fire sale across London. More here.

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According to X-Factor winner Leona Lewis, not only can you not take Hackney out of the girl, you can't take the girl out of Hackney. According to Virgin music news, she's in the process of buying the flat she's been renting.

Leona said: "We were renting it but the landlord was like, 'You have to get out now.' I talked him into selling it to me. When you're settled it's hard to move."

But why was her landlord about to kick her out? What kind of landlord wants to kick a tenant out when they clearly have the funds to pay the rent? Was this a buy-to-letter in trouble?

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And lives to tell the tale. Actually, this is an interesting piece about perception, reality and depressing territorial violence in the Hackney, Dalston areas; and it's sparked some lively debate in the comments section. Go visit.

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