For sale through The Country House Company are two exciting renovation projects in Hambledon offering a unique opportunity to create a dream home to your own specification.
The properties are totally different – one being a fascinating property designed in a unique 1970’s style and set above the village with incredible views, the other being an attractive Grade ll listed period property in the center of the village.
Benchmark is an architect inspired and designed home which offers in excess of 3300 sq. ft of accommodation, elevated gardens and 2 acres of paddock land with separate vehicular access. Although in need of some significant refurbishment, this versatile property has some amazing 1960’s/70’s interior features and presents an exciting project. Arranged over three levels the accommodation includes an impressive dual aspect sitting room with architectural features and large picture window with magnificent views over the village and South Downs National Park.
Steps descend from the entrance hall to the ground floor of the original part of the house which is believed to date back to the 1800s where there is a bedroom, bathroom and sauna which could be annexed to provide ancillary accommodation if required.
The property is set back and elevated from the lane although immediately adjacent is a subterranean double garage. Steps lead to the main entrance and to an area of lawn which is over the garage area. Paved terracing then encircles the house with a large sun terrace immediately adjacent to the rear which can also be accessed from the sitting room and master bedroom. Landscaped gardens are then steeply banked behind with meandering steps rising to a pedestrian gate to the field which is currently a wild meadow but could be fully fenced as a paddock if required.
Totally different and equally exciting is 2 East Street, an attractive five bedroom Grade ll listed property in the center of the village. This attractive home presents all the character expected of a property of its period with high ceilings, handsome fireplaces and exposed timbers. The accommodation, whilst in need of some refurbishment, is spacious and opens to a courtyard giving access to the large store with separate entrance from the high street.
On the ground floor is a welcoming entrance hall, comfortable sitting room with large bay window, dining room with fireplace and elegant drawing room again with fireplace. In addition, on the ground floor is the spacious kitchen/breakfast room with door to the garden and a separate shower room accessed from the hallway. There is also a useful cellar below stairs.
Accessed externally is the substantial store which could be utilised as such or, subject to the necessary planning, be converted to garage space or integrated into the main house.
To the rear of the property is a pretty paved courtyard area with external cloakroom, wood store and utility. Steps lead to a good-sized area of private walled garden which is mainly laid to lawn bordered by mature planting.
So if you are inspired to start 2020 with an exciting property project then call Kate Porter on 02392 632 275.
The start of a New Year brings mixed feelings for many and the thought of having to change elements of your life with New Resolutions is a pressure that isn’t always motivating.
So consider using the New Year to bring along new opportunities to try new things, alter your routine to give you more time or just to enjoy your life as it is for another year!
New intentions are a more positive approach to change. Intention means an aim or a plan whereas resolution means a firm decision to do or not to do something. If your ‘resolution’ doesn’t work there is a feeling of failure. That negativity can have an impact to your approach in other areas of your life so to avoid this setting intentions can be a much more positive approach.
In Yoga, teachers can often encourage their students to set intentions at the beginning of the class. This can be anything from relaxation to letting go of a worry that is dominating your thoughts. At the end of the class this helps clients feel calmer, more in control and increases positivity.
New year’s intentions can be simple, bite size objectives that will allow you to feel a sense of accomplishment and control. It can of course include more significant intentions like Job changes, fitness changes or taking a firmer control over areas of your life that you feel are overwhelming. Taking each intention and making them realistic to achieve is also key to success. When working with clients on their fitness intentions it is paramount that we set step by step goals in order to get to the end vision. Approaching more aspects of your life with this mindset can make it feel more attainable and less overwhelming.
So welcome 2020 with a fresh mindset. Positive Intentions could be the key to your success.
The Government has laid The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020. This means that subject to approval by both Houses of Parliament, landlords and agents will need to ensure electrical installation inspections and testing are carried out for all new tenancies in England from 1 July 2020 or from 1 April 2021 for existing tenancies.
The Regulations require landlords to ensure that every fixed electrical installation is inspected and tested at least every five years by a qualified person.
• The landlord is required to obtain a report which gives the results of the inspection and test, supply that report to each tenant within 28 days and retain a copy until the next inspection is due.
• Upon request the report must be provided to the local housing authority within 7 days.
• The private landlord must supply a copy of the last report to any new tenant before occupation, or any prospective tenant within 28 days of a request from the prospective tenant.
• The Regulations require local housing authorities to enforce the rules and have the power to arrange remedial action.
• Proven breaches of the regulations can result in the local housing authority imposing a financial penalty of up to £30,000.
ARLA PropertyMark, our governing body, is fully supportive of this new legislation, confident that it will create a level playing field for all agents and landlords as well as ensuring improved safety standards for tenants. Mandating inspecting and testing of every fixed electrical installation should have a limited impact on good professional landlords and agents in the market, many of whom already voluntarily undertake these inspections.
If you have any queries regarding this or any aspect of letting a property please do call Claudia or Marishelle at The Country House Company on 02392 632275.
Much has been attributed to the power of positive thought and if ever there is a time to focus on positive thought then the start of a new year, and particularly the start of a new decade, has to be a good time.
Despite our knowledge that The Country House Company is a key business within the industry, realistically our positive thinking is possibly not directly affecting the property market! However, we can have a significant and positive effect on your new year if you choose to work with us.
So, if you are thinking of selling or buying, renting or letting or if you have a property, tenanted or empty, that you would like to know is being looked after by professionals, then take positive action and give us a call.
The Country House Company is proud to be production sponsor of The Petersfield Youth Theatre’s Christmas production; The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.
So step through the wardrobe this December into the magical kingdom of Narnia. Say hello to a talking faun, meet an unforgettable Lion and join Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter on the most mystical of adventures. Experience what and who they encounter as they are taken away from wartime Britain to a mysterious faraway land ruled by the White Witch. Will good triumph over evil? Will it always be winter, never Christmas?
Based on the novel by C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a classic family favourite that The Petersfield Youth Theatre, along with key sponsors including The Country House Company, are delighted to be bringing to life this Christmas.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe runs for 9 performances from Tuesday 17 – Sunday 22 December at Petersfield Festival Hall. Tickets will be available in person at One Tree Books and online.
Performances December 2019
Tuesday 17 7.00pm
Wednesday 18 7.00pm
Thursday 19 7.00pm
Friday 20 3.00pm & 7.00pm
Saturday 21* 3.00pm & 7.00pm
Sunday 22 11.00am & 3.00pm
A recent article in The Daily Telegraph demonstrated that as boarding schools get more flexible, families are moving within reach of schools, creating competition for homes in nearby villages.
Proximity to a well regarded school is usually a priority for applicants looking to rent family homes. As many boarding schools now offer flexi, mixed or full boarding, many parents are now looking to rent homes near boarding schools.
Jane Gandee, the Headmistress of St Swithun’s School in Winchester, featured in the article with the observation that she has seen families thinking harder about family logistics and was quoted as saying, “What we sometimes see is that with an older daughter they might dip a toe in the water by weekly boarding and then they might have one or two other children and start to think it is actually really nice to have a bit more space away from London, so we find they move down to Hampshire”. Gandee went on to say, “We might even find one sibling boarding and one as a day girl – we can still be pretty flexible and I think that’s really important for a modern parent”.
St Swithun’s is one of many schools in the Winchester area and we have a wide selection of properties within easy reach of the historic city for sale and for rent. See https://www.countryhousecompany.co.uk/lettings/properties-available/ and https://www.countryhousecompany.co.uk/sales/properties-available/ for full details or call 023 92 632275
“Soup puts the heart at ease, calms down the violence of hunger, eliminates the tension of the day, and awakens and refines the appetite.” Auguste Escoffier
Well, that is quite a claim. However, a bowl of Madeleine’s Kitchen Super Orange Soup made with Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, Oranges, Ginger, & Turmeric served with a chunk of locally baked Sourdough bread will certainly warm you up in this wet and windy weather.
Madeleine’s Kitchen cleverly keep their recipes to themselves but we have found a simple version of carrot soup from Delicious Magazine on line
Ingredients
1 large onion
8 medium-large carrots
Small piece of butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 orange
1 litre vegetable stock or water
Method
Peel the onion, then cut in half. Put the 2 halves, cut side down, on a chopping board and cut each into thin strips. Peel the carrots and cut the ends off. Cut each carrot in half widthways, then lengthways. Put them on the chopping board with the flat sides down, and cut into small pieces.
Put the butter and oil in a saucepan over a low heat, add the sliced onion and cook for 10 minutes. Check and stir the onion regularly. Using a cheese grater, grate the zest off the orange into a small bowl. Add the zest and the carrots to the pan with the onion. Put the lid on and cook for 10 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the stock or water and bring up to a simmer, then put the lid back on the pan and leave to simmer gently. After 45 minutes, test that the carrots are really soft by poking them with a knife or skewer. Turn off the heat.
Carefully ladle the soup into a food processor. Whizz the soup until it is smooth. Cut the orange in half, squeeze the juice from one half and add to the soup.
Return the soup to the pan, heat it gently and taste it. You might like to add a pinch of black pepper or a little chopped fresh coriander, until it tastes just right.
Sections 122 and 123 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 (electrical safety standards) came into force on 25 October 2019. This means we are finally one step closer to the introduction of mandatory electrical safety checks in the private rented sector in England and will see actual regulations very soon.
An enabling power was contained in the Housing and Planning Act 2016 under Section 122 to allow the Secretary of State through regulations to impose duties on private landlords to ensure that electrical safety standards are met in a property under their ownership, while a tenancy is in place. The Section also allows the Secretary of State to specify obligations that may be required of the landlord with regards to the frequency of checks and the expertise expected of any persons who undertake such checks.
Section 123 provides for the enforcement of any responsibilities introduced under Section 122 including the use of financial penalties and rights of appeal.
Following Royal Assent of the Housing and Planning Act on 12 May 2016, a working group that included representation from ARLA Propertymark and other industry, electrical and tenant bodies was established to provide recommendations on what the requirements for electrical safety in the private rented sector should look like.
Now that the Commencement Order is in place, the Secretary of State has the power to lay actual regulations, which we expect to be laid before Parliament shortly.
Summary of Electrical Safety Working Group recommendations:
Recommendation 1: Five yearly mandatory electrical installation checks should be set out in secondary legislation.
Recommendation 2: Visual checks of the safety of the electrical installation by landlords at a change of tenancy should be encouraged as good practice and set out in guidance.
Recommendation 3: A report should be issued to the landlord which confirms that an EICR has been completed along with confirmation that any remedial work necessary has been undertaken satisfactorily. A copy should be issued to the tenant at the beginning of the tenancy and should be made available to local authorities on request.
Recommendation 4: Landlord supplied electrical appliance testing and visual checks of electrical appliances by landlords at a change of tenancy should be encouraged as good practice and set out in guidance.
Recommendation 5: The installation of Residual Current Devices (RCDs) by landlords should be encouraged as good practice and set out in guidance.
Recommendation 6: A Private Rented Sector electrical testing competent person’s scheme should be set up which would be separate from existing Building Regulations competent person’s scheme.
Recommendation 7: DCLG should commission the Electrotechnical Assessment Specification (EAS) management committee to consider the most effective method of recognising ‘competent PRS testers’ to carry out electrical inspections and tests.
Recommendation 8: Legislative requirements should be phased in, beginning with new tenancies, followed by all existing tenancies.
For further updates please see www.countryhousecompany.co.uk or call 02392632275
Sections 122 and 123 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 (electrical safety standards) came into force on 25 October 2019. This means we are finally one step closer to the introduction of mandatory electrical safety checks in the private rented sector in England and will see actual regulations very soon.
An enabling power was contained in the Housing and Planning Act 2016 under Section 122 to allow the Secretary of State through regulations to impose duties on private landlords to ensure that electrical safety standards are met in a property under their ownership, while a tenancy is in place. The Section also allows the Secretary of State to specify obligations that may be required of the landlord with regards to the frequency of checks and the expertise expected of any persons who undertake such checks.
Section 123 provides for the enforcement of any responsibilities introduced under Section 122 including the use of financial penalties and rights of appeal.
Following Royal Assent of the Housing and Planning Act on 12 May 2016, a working group that included representation from ARLA Propertymark and other industry, electrical and tenant bodies was established to provide recommendations on what the requirements for electrical safety in the private rented sector should look like.
Now that the Commencement Order is in place, the Secretary of State has the power to lay actual regulations, which we expect to be laid before Parliament shortly.
Summary of Electrical Safety Working Group recommendations:
Recommendation 1: Five yearly mandatory electrical installation checks should be set out in secondary legislation.
Recommendation 2: Visual checks of the safety of the electrical installation by landlords at a change of tenancy should be encouraged as good practice and set out in guidance.
Recommendation 3: A report should be issued to the landlord which confirms that an EICR has been completed along with confirmation that any remedial work necessary has been undertaken satisfactorily. A copy should be issued to the tenant at the beginning of the tenancy and should be made available to local authorities on request.
Recommendation 4: Landlord supplied electrical appliance testing and visual checks of electrical appliances by landlords at a change of tenancy should be encouraged as good practice and set out in guidance.
Recommendation 5: The installation of Residual Current Devices (RCDs) by landlords should be encouraged as good practice and set out in guidance.
Recommendation 6: A Private Rented Sector electrical testing competent person’s scheme should be set up which would be separate from existing Building Regulations competent person’s scheme.
Recommendation 7: DCLG should commission the Electrotechnical Assessment Specification (EAS) management committee to consider the most effective method of recognising ‘competent PRS testers’ to carry out electrical inspections and tests.
Recommendation 8: Legislative requirements should be phased in, beginning with new tenancies, followed by all existing tenancies.
For further updates please see www.countryhousecompany.co.uk or call 02392632275