OUTLOOK October 2006
An e-newsletter covering Industrial, Commercial & Retail Property, in North Oxfordshire,
North Gloucestershire, South Northants and South Warwickshire.
Published by BANKIER SLOAN CHARTERED SURVEYORS.
REGIONAL PROPERTY HELP LINE: 01869 338866
Acquisitions: Sales: Lettings: Lease Renewals: Rent Reviews: Planning: Rating: Management
Please "forward" to any friends or colleagues you think may be interested and hopefully they will reply directly to us saying "YES PLEASE" and we'll add them to our register. Our e-mail address is reception@centre-p.cp.uk
Comment
The summer holidays are over! September was busy, partly because a number of clients have come back from their holidays, chasing me to see what is happening on a variety of jobs, but also because we have had a number of potential tenants making enquiries for properties, and I am delighted to say we have instructed solicitors on four premises where we have had viewings for the first time in September. The world has returned from its holiday!
New Instructions
For those who are looking for something rural we have two fully fitted workshops near Byfield that have been used for B2 Use for fifteen years and already have Three Phase electrics. At rents of approximately £4 per sq ft we think these are good value for money.
Possibly the most prominent instruction we have received is to let a very small lock up shop close to Banbury Cross. We think this would be ideal for a small office (estate agents, employment agents, etc) or a specialists shop who would benefit from the great location opposite St Mary’s Church.
On the small side also is a very fine one/two man office on Fosseway Business Park, Moreton-in-Marsh, which has recently been fitted-out to a high standard and is available at a rent of just £80 a week on a short or long term lease. Nearby we have a 5,000 sq ft warehouse/factory which we think may be suitable for any number of uses, subject of course to planning. Open storage is always difficult to find and we are pleased to receive instructions to let out at £100 a week a 5,000 sq ft fenced yard at Aynho. The remainder of the site is nearly fully let.
Two other instructions I bring to your attention include a 750 sq ft workshop on Thorpe Way Banbury, available on either a short or long term lease, which has been redecorated by the outgoing tenant (in accordance with their lease!) and at £140 a week will surely prove of interest to at least one local business, while nearby we have been given an opportunity to offer on a lease until May 2008 a workshop having a ground floor of 1,500 sq ft and a 400 sq ft office at just £11,000 pa. For details on all available properties please e-mail reception@centre-p.co.uk.
Freehold Upper Heyford
We have a very nice client who is incredibly patient and very understanding, who would love to see his excellent freehold office, with garage and parking for at least eight cars, sold to a willing buyer. The price of £170,000 is negotiable so why not ask for details by e-mailing upperheyford@centre-p.co.uk.
Wanted in Rugby
We have two major requirements at the moment in the Rugby area which are as follows; the first is for a workshop of around 2,000 to 2,500 sq ft, preferably freehold (but this is not essential), or a unit maybe as small as a 1,000 sq ft with a secured yard. This is an urgent requirement and our clients are hoping to be in occupation by Christmas. The second is for a showroom/workshop in the region of 3,000 to 3,500 sq ft which is either in a prominent location on a main road or is more likely to be located on one of the industrial estates such as Somers Road. Here we would prefer a leasehold property and this is a requirement that is not required until the Autumn or Winter of 2007, but we have already taken instructions to find these premises and are anxious to start talking to anyone with a suitable property. Developers who have land who are prepared to build are also of course welcome to make contact. Please e-mail showroom@centre-p.co.uk.
Solicitors
Over the twenty two years that I have been practising in North Oxfordshire I have been delighted by the increasing efficiency of many local solicitors. I remember when twelve weeks was "norm" from when solicitors were instructed, to signing, but the vast majority now work very efficiently and leases can be produced accurately and efficiently in a very short space of time. You may be interested that on behalf of their own Property and Technical Services Department, Bankier Sloan instructed Cherwell District Council's legal department regarding the letting of a council workshop on Thursday 21st September, at that moment we took up references and the legal department started work. By Tuesday 25th we had received the references back. The council produced the lease on Wednesday 26th, and on Thursday 27th it was agreed, returned and signed by the tenants. By 10.00 am on the Friday (six working days from instruction) the council executed the lease and the tenants moved in! Well done Cherwell's legal department.
Planning Permissions – Highway Requirements
I wonder if I am the only person who has noticed that as a result of a very wet May, followed by a very warm summer, many of the trees and bushes up-and-down the highway network have grown tremendously…much to the detriment of road signs throughout the region. Probably one-in-three road signs are now unreadable from the required distance. I wonder, will it just be a matter of time before planning permissions will be granted which will require the applicants not only to plant trees and vegetation on the roadside, but also to cut them back when they grow! I have for over twenty years thought that 'Advertising Zones', adjacent to major trunk roads, could generate massive income for highway departments…when I first suggested it to a council in the early 1980's they thought it was an April Fool!
Protected Species Survey
For the first time I had a planning application rejected at REGISTRATION because I had not attached to it a Protected Species Survey. I have learnt a lot in the last month in relation to this, the two main items being such surveys are not cheap, and if you expect to carry out a definitive survey to check for the presence of bats, this should be done before the end of October...after that they are hibernating...honest!
Serviced Offices
We have two offices currently available at our Serviced Office Centre in Deddington. One is just £60/week including rent, rates, heating, desks, and reception service, and the second at £100/week is a good two person office. Please telephone 01869 338866 for further details.
In Brief: New development Kidlington. Ground Floor office 950 sq ft to let. New lease.
Chipping Norton Lock-up shop £7,500 per annum.
Established Use
I’m in the process of applying in two different locations for an Established Use certificate where I believe the existing tenants may technically be in breach of planning but where there will be a considerable value in retaining the current use should, at some date in the future, the existing operation on site cease. It is often much easier to retain an existing use than to obtain permission for such a use once the existing use has ceased. If you wish further planning advice on this matter please contact planning@centre-p.co.uk. Remember you must be totally confident of your facts, dates, years of use, before you can hope to make a successful application. Get it wrong and you may be very unhappy!
We are pleased to be able to offer industrial, commercial and retail properties throughout the region. If you are currently looking for a property please do not hesitate to contact our agency department which is based in Deddington on 01869 338866 or please e-mail availableproperties@centre-p.co.uk and a list will be forwarded to you.
Edited by Ian B Sloan FRICS, 2nd October 2006
BANKIER SLOAN, The longest established Chartered Surveyors in the region dealing exclusively with Industrial, Commercial & Retail Property. North Oxfordshire, North Gloucestershire, South Northants and South Warwickshire. Deddington 01869 338866 Brackley 01280 700756 Moreton-in-Marsh 01608 652888 Coventry 02476 545556