OUTLOOK September 2006
An e-newsletter covering Industrial,
Commercial & Retail Property, in North Oxfordshire,
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.co.uk
Comments:
Am I the only person to believe that the last two months
have been particularly quiet? Did the hot weather in July really put people
off making decisions and looking for property? Have people been away enjoying
their holiday and not thinking about buying or selling?
Each year I forget just how quiet the summer months really
are when it comes to industrial, retail and office premises. It is rather
like magic, in most years, the first week of September arrives, the phones
start ringing much more frequently, and all of a sudden investors are in the
market, tenants are out looking for property, and the economy once more starts
moving forward. Will it be the same this year?
Instructions:
The summer months however have not seen total inactivity.
It has brought about the exchange and completion of a retail investment in
the centre of Banbury, the acquisition of a 10,000 sq ft industrial property,
as well as a pre-let (yes a pre-let!) on a 5,000 sq ft former farm building.
We have also received a surprisingly large number of instructions
to market industrial premises on the major industrial estates, particularly
in Banbury and Moreton-in-Marsh. For a full list please e-mail available
properties@centre-p.
Recent instructions include
a fantastic 7,400 sq ft showroom/factory on
Nearby instructions received from Encase to market the
former telephone exchange, totalling over 7,000 sq ft in a prime position
on Beaumont Road Industrial Estate, has already generated some interest from
uses, not only for office accommodation, but also as a fitness centre and
a showroom. We fully appreciate this unit does need work doing to it but my
clients are prepared to commit substantial funds to a major improvement.
In Moreton-in-Marsh we have instructions to let a prominent
5,000 sq ft warehouse immediately adjacent to the railway station and expect
to obtain a price of around £26,000 per annum. This has considerable potential
and will I am sure generate good interest when we formally place it on the
market in the next couple of weeks.
At the other end of the scale we have two adjacent 750
sq ft workshop units in Banbury and expect to obtain a rent of between £120
and £140 a week depending on the occupiers.
APOLOGIES…Planning Applications:
I apologise for not bringing to your attention in our last
issue of Outlook the imminent change
in planning applications which now mean (since August the 10th)
that all applications for any substantial development, including a Change
of Use, now require an Access Report to be submitted along-side the application.
We do have a guidance note on this and will be happy to provide this to any
interested party. We believe this will add somewhere between £250 and £300
to every application, except minor extensions to domestic property. Planning
authorities now have a statutory duty not to register applications that are
not accompanied by an Access Report…in the short term this will cause a nightmare
while we all get used to the new requirements!
We were disappointed to see
an Inspector refuse planning for the development of a small industrial estate
(B1 use) and adjacent open storage at
STOP PRESS……STOP PRESS (1st Sept 06)
We heard yesterday that planning permission has been granted
by an Inspector for take-away use at the Bengal Spice restaurant in the High
Street, Deddington. This has
been a long saga, we first applied for restaurant use about three years ago,
finally obtaining planning on the second attempt, but without take-away permission…but
that's all history. If anyone
is interested in seeing a copy of the decision in this case please e-mail:
takeaway@centre-p.co.uk. You may
also be interested in reading the decision on our web-site under planning
applications, which relates to the decision two years ago in Banbury.http://www.centre-p.co.uk/Beaconsfield%20Appeal%20Decision.htm.
Service Charge guidance notes:
As many of you
will know the new regulations regarding Service Charge and management accounts
come into force in April 2007, and if you wish a copy please e-mail writing
just the words “service charge” in the subject box and we will forward this
to you. Please bear in mind however that this file is too big to be sent if
you do not have Broadband. If you are continuing to operate under dial-up
we strongly suggest that you send your full postal address and we will send
this to you. Please note this is going to be a vital document for all involved
in the management of commercial property as from next April.servicecharge@centre-p.co.uk
Industrial premises
wanted:
We have instructions to acquire premises probably between
1,500 and 2,000 sq ft within a couple miles of Bilton, we would ideally like
this to have some additional yard space but all freehold or leasehold properties
will be considered.
…and talking about Rugby we
have received instructions to offer on new leases areas of open storage at
Withybrook Business Park, which has a Lawful Use Certificate to be used for
open storage, scrap metal, the sale of second hand vehicles, and a variety
of other uses that are not always welcome in such locations! Part of the site is concreted and the
rest is hard standing. Rents
start at £100 per week for a 4,000 sq. ft fenced yard and offers are welcome
for all areas up to the 1.8 acre total site.
Located between
Turning back to the agency side of the business, despite
my earlier comments relating to the quiet summer, we have never-the-less successfully
assigned an existing lease in Parsons Street, Banbury, and let a 1,000 sq
ft rural office at Wolston near Rugby at £12,000 a year…oh and a 600 sq ft
office at Sugarswell Business Park at £11,000 per year. Providing the buildings are quality and the locations are
good, there are still people out in the market seeking accommodation.
In brief:
* We would be interested to
receive details of any investments of under £500,000 at any location in the
region. We have a number of clients who are seeking such premises.
* If
you have a rent review or lease renewal on premises at any stage through to
the autumn of 2007, now is the time to serve a notice on your tenants.
New offices
-
These units
are finally complete and we believe provide the finest accommodation in the
area, ranging in size from 1,000 sq ft to 1,500 sq ft, up to 6,500 sq and
most sizes in-between! This is a beautiful rural setting with excellent parking
and good access to both junctions 11 and 12 of the M40 motorway. If you require
details please e-mail apollopark@centre-p.co.uk.
Edited by Ian B Sloan FRICS,
(who is in the office today for those who are reading it
on Friday, having just returned from 10 days holiday…and is now working through
lots of telephone messages!)
BANKIER SLOAN, The longest established Chartered
Surveyors in the region dealing exclusively with Industrial, Commercial &
Retail Property.