Jonathan and his crew turned up from London in a
foot of snow the other day and set up camp with a van load of underwater
filming gear and a safety diver, as required by our old friends Health
and Safety. “Meet my security detail,” Jonathan said as they trudged
across a snowfield in a scene reminiscent of a Gloucestershire remake of
Dr Zhivago.

The resulting video, featuring the best bit of sub-aqua kit
I’ve seen in a long while, manages not to include the thick snow outside
the artspa - which of course will make it not look too odd come the
summer. You can see the video at:
www.howtospendit.com/#/articles/1050-technopolis-tv-bladefish-5000-under
water-sea-scooter

Start up a business, and you’re involved in every single decision from day one.  You don’t have the resources to do otherwise, and it’s not immediately operating on a scale which would warrant it anyway, but as time goes on and your business gets bigger, you have to devolve decision making to others with specific professional expertise.

It’s something that’s been happening slowly with Lower Mill Estate, which has grown considerably over the last 13 years.  Two years ago my family took the decision to hand over all day-to-day issues regarding properties, service charges and general management of leaseholder/landlord relationships to Strutt and Parker who became the estate’s managing agents.  We chose them because they’re very long established and an internationally recognised and respected operator in the field.

This brings clarity and focus to the landlord and tenant relationship, and the respective responsibilities of both parties.  Whether it’s about law and practice relating to service charges or any other tenant concerns, it’s important for the security and peace of mind of all parties that we use a company which is fully acquainted with legislation in this complex area.

Of course, there are going to be occasions when issues and concerns on either side of the landlord/tenant relationship need to be resolved through formal legal channels, in which case the managing agents hand matters over to our legal experts Mishcon de Reya who can ensure that there’s proper observance of all the legislative details on both sides.

For example, anyone who was in any way concerned about unfounded stories which were doing the rounds recently alleging that there would be unreasonable increases in service charges due to the recession, can know that there’s no intention of doing anything like this, simply because – as Mischon de Reya make clear – the relationship between a landlord and its tenant is recorded clearly in a contract between the parties known as a lease.  It’s therefore not legally permissible to decide a charge has to be increased without jusitification. Also, as they point out, the service charge is entirely non profit making and independently audited, so all of the checks and balances are in place… This arrangement doesn’t suit everyone though because if tenants are consistently in breach, the solicitors have to take action to protect the honest payers

I guess there will always be gossip but this business about the estate allowing “hoi polloi” into its private environment is a nonsense. The estate is private and we know everyone that has a membership, whether they are a lessee, holiday maker or a member of the facilities on the estate. The same checks are carried out on all and, if anything, we want bigger gates not smaller ones!

What it means for me is that I’m fully confident that tenants at Lower Mill Estate get fair service, and can be clear from the outset about arrangements, which means families can enjoy all the advantages of the estate.  That’s always been the way here because the estate is a place to escape, untroubled, unhurried, and somewhere people can reconnect with the natural environment.

I think Kevin McCloud is partly responsible for the Huf House as one of its greatest proponents on Grand Designs.

 I see them as a kind of Mercedes Benz of houses. There’s reassurance in the Germanic precision and reliability of the construction, as well as in those crews of blokes who come on from Germany to put your house up – and usually have you living in the house within a few weeks. (more…)

Even when it was a glimmer in the former magazine publisher’s eye, this extraordinary eco-icon, private nature reserve, holiday settlement and architectural showpiece sited around seven lakes in 650 acres of prime Cotswold countryside, was a mission more than it was a business idea. (more…)

One of the most remarkable things that has developed at Lower Mill Estate since its founding, and that Jeremy Paxton readily admits he wasn’t really expecting, is the way a real community has developed both on the estate as a whole – and in the distinct, individual villages that it is built around.

The community has attracted the attention and applause of academics, of journalists and property writers and notably of  Kevin McCloud of Channel 4’s Grand Designs. (more…)

It could almost be a scene from Laurie Lee’s Gloucestershire childhood, just updated a little so the honey coloured Cotswold cottages are now exciting modernist homes with broadband and all the latest 21st century green accoutrements. (more…)

http://www.ardesignstudio.co.uk/images/estationery/newsletter0409.htm

jeremy paxton

We had the Prince’s Trust down to see us the other day for first sight of a coming development at Lower Mill which is going to be known as Treadlightly.

Treadlightly is going to consist of 24 detached houses - all in 0.86 of an acre and in the shape, if you happened to be looking from Space, in the form of a giant left footprint.

All of the toes of the footprint are little ponds that are swimming holes, whereas the big bit of the sole is the lake with natural filtration and the houses are all around this.

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