Putting York Road Tube Station Back on the Map

Ever wondered why there’s such a long gap between Kings Cross and Caledonian Road tube stations on the Piccadilly Line?

York Road Station - Reinstated on the Tube Map

If you look closely as you fly past underground, through the accumulated grime of many years, you might spot the distinctive purple and cream tiling of York Road station. York Road station is just one of 28 abandoned underground stations that lie scattered across London’s tube network.

York Road station opened on 15 December 1906 on what was then the Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway but, being in a mainly industrial area, it suffered from low passenger demand from the outset. It held on for more than 25 years until finally, in September 1932, it was closed and the station was left deserted. The site of the station is still easy to spot from York Road as the entrance façade with its striking Leslie Green designed tiling has survived intact.

A quick history lesson is all well and good, but what makes York Road station particularly interesting is that this mothballed station is just across the road from the new Kings Cross Central redevelopment project. At 67 acres, Kings Cross Central is the largest regeneration scheme currently underway in Europe, but there don’t appear to be any plans to reopen the station to accommodate the dramatic increase that’ll be seen in the area as a result.

And given the comments made by Sir Simon Milton yesterday in reference to the proposed extension to the Northern Line to Battersea, it looks as if the onus for any changes to the tube network will be on the private sector. Milton said that the Transport for London budget is fully expended until 2018 and “given the state of the public finances we cannot put any more pressure on it".

The current York Road station is just a smidgen outside the confines of the mammoth regeneration project, but surely the chance to bring the station back to life to serve the 2,000 new homes, 500,000 sq ft of shops and 4.8million sq ft of office space is too good an opportunity to miss?

Perhaps we need to start a campaign to put York Road station back on the map…

Mortage Lending is Up; Make Sure You’re at the Top of The Queue

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has announced an estimated 2% rise in gross mortgage lending during September.

Positive news, yes, but we’re hardly out of the woods yet. To put September’s rise in context, lending was still down by 27% year compared to September 2008.

Lenders are still cherry picking only the most robust applications from the most reliable mortgage applicants.

To stand the best chance of securing a loan, you need a squeaky clean credit score. Follow these steps to stand out from the crowd by sprucing up your credit report…

1. Assert your right to vote
As a protection against fraud, lenders use the electoral register to check that you are who you say you are and that you live at the address that you claim to. So if you aren’t registered on the electoral roll – or haven’t updated your details with your current address, lenders may need additional proof of your identity or refuse your application.

2. Sever irrelevant relationships
When you apply for credit, lenders are able to also check the credit reports of anyone with whom you are listed as having a financial relationship, in case their financial situation makes it difficult for you to meet your repayments. This includes anyone that you have a joint mortgage, credit card or bank account with. So if you are separated or divorced, make sure you tell your lender and the credit reference agencies as soon as possible.

3. Cut your credit
Lenders look at your credit history to see that you are managing your repayments. Even if you are meeting your current repayments, if you have a large amount of available credit (for example on credit cards), lenders not feel comfortable that you could manage to meet the repayment on your application if you were to ‘max out’ your existing available credit too.

If you have additional capacity on credit cards that you do not need, ask the provider to lower your credit limit. Or better still, move outstanding balances to your card with the lowest interest rate and close the unused credit card accounts.

4. Get yourself a reputation
If you’re a first time buyer and have never had a credit card or loan, it makes it difficult for lenders to establish that you have a good history of meeting repayments.
So if you’re a first time buyer thinking of applying for a mortgage, consider taking out a credit card six months prior to making an application. Using it and paying off the balance in full each month will build some basic credit history.

5. Eye the detail
Ensure that your report accurately reflects your current circumstances. Keep a watchful eye for rogue accounts or charges caused by identity theft or fraud and for duplicate entries that result in duplicates of your unpaid balances. Lenders may not always update the credit reference agencies straight away, so if your circumstances change or you notice information that is outdated, ask your lender to inform Experian and Equifax immediately.

- Coming next; how to manage your credit status to maintain a glowing credit score!

Internet Generation Picks New Home by Broadband Speed

Interesting report from Top 10 Broadband re. just how important broadband speed is for prospective tenants and home buyers.

 

Great news if you're in (or moving to) an area that BT is targeting for it's new Openreach fibre-optic provision.  BT is set to more than double the availability of its fibre services over the next few years, in an effort to ensure around 2.5 million UK homes and businesses are using Fibre-to-the-Premises technology.

Speeds of up to 100Mb will be available through the service and it will be able to carry even faster connection rates in the future as BT hopes to catch up with speeds to be offered by Virgin Media.

Virgin Media is almost half way through its 12 month consumer trial of 200Mb broadband.

- Note to self: ask the webteam if we can integrate broadband speed testing for specific properties /postcodes onto our Young London Estate Agency website!

Will Zoopla be Diluting its Client Base by Combining Brands?

It's been announced today that Zoopla will bring all of its websites under one umbrella, following 12 months of property website acquisition.

Whilst it's clear that some shakeup's needed in the property portal market, I wonder whether this is the right way to go?  In the past, the portals have benefited from agents subscribing to a number of competing portals at a time, so in consolidating them all under one brand, won't they lose out - or are they hoping that the net growth in scale will enable them to take on the big boys of Rightmove and FindaProperty?

All the brands owned by Zoopla, including Propertyfinder.com which it bought from News International in the summer, HotProperty.co.uk and ThinkProperty.com, will be brought under the Zoopla.co.uk brand from November this year.

Time will tell whether it's a stroke of genius or an own goal... 

The London Development Agency (LDA) Outlines New Urban Agenda

Really pleased that this month the LDA's Group Director for Design, Development and the Environment, Peter Bishop, chose our London Update newsletter to outline plans for the agency's New Urban Agenda.

Peter's article's available here: London Update Issue 45, New Urban Agenda
or  listen to the podcast:

London Update is published monthly and Each issue features a different leading figure from London's property, regeneration or inward investment sectors who writes the guest lead article.

Subscribe to receive future London Updates.

Good News for Landlords: A Turning Tide for the Lettings Market?

As property market data emerges that captures the Summer’s activity, small but highly significant changes can be seen that point to positive trends for the rental market.

View the pdf report here: A Turning Tide for the Lettings Market?

The oversupply of property seen during much of last year and the earlier part of this year is waning; demand from tenants is on the rise; void periods are falling; rental levels are stabilising and yields are strengthening.

It's the latest research report on Young Group's  website.