Month: October 2016

Focus on family lifestyles

South Wonston is a great place for families. The village has a self-contained element but is also within an easy distance of city amenities, lying just five miles to the north of Winchester and with a lovely belt of farmland and countryside between.

The local primary school is something of a focal point together with the parish church, local shop, village hall and sports pavilion with the recreation ground providing tennis courts, football and cricket pitches and skate and bike ramps.

This is the setting for two good family homes currently available with Goadsby. The first is an extended house in Waverley Drive where the hub of family life is the live-in kitchen. This has been superbly designed with built-in appliances creating a smart backdrop for entertaining as well as a practical layout for family mealtimes. There is also a spacious ‘L’ shaped sitting and dining room and a good size utility room helps to keep things tidy in a busy household.

The other house, in Goldfinch Way also has an attractive kitchen with space for relaxing and the two reception rooms connect by way of double doors. There is also a utility room and, like Waverley Drive, a ground floor cloakroom.

Both houses have four bedrooms, a family bathroom and en suite shower room on the first floor.

Fair size gardens lie to the rear of each home and both have driveway parking.

Waverley Drive is priced at £465,000 and Goldfinch Way at £475,000 so both need to be on the viewing list this weekend.

Contact Goadsby in Winchester for more information and to make appointments to view. Call the office on 01962 620444.…

Regency architecture at its best is on display

Take a look around in the south and you’ll find much impressive architecture but little to beat Crescent Road in Alverstoke – with so many wonderful features it’s Grade II* listed.

Crescent Road is actually straight and with good reason. Rather than look across a green and at each other, houses in this Regency spectacular enjoy a vista across the Solent to the Isle of Wight, later to become a favourite of Queen Victoria. The nation is now awash with Victoria-mania following the Sunday night TV series and one of the most distinctive features to catch the Queen’s eye as she looked back when crossing the Solent was the magnificent Crescent Road.

One of those Crescent Road houses, behind a lawned garden and colonnade of three pillars supporting a first floor balcony, is now for sale.

“Although this home was built around two centuries ago, it still has the space and convenience demanded for 21st Century living, with more than 3,520 sq ft in the house itself,” says Colin Shairp, of Fine and Country Southern Hampshire estate agents.

“Entering is a grand event, with a short flight of steps up to the front door. This opens into a lobby and from there another door opens to the hall. The ground floor is taken up by the dining room, where double doors connect to the kitchen, superbly refitted with copious workspace and storage. French windows in the centre of the kitchen open onto the garden terrace.

“The drawing room, at the front of the first floor, takes in the best of the views through its floor to ceiling windows. Behind is a sitting room with fitted bookshelves – this level also has a shower room.

“The second floor has a fantastic master suite……

Diverse portfolio of assets helps rural estates perform

Over the past 16 years there have been significant changes in the make-up of the portfolio of rural estate income, which is a key theme of Savills recently published Estate Benchmarking Survey. This diversity of income is now probably more important than at any other time, given the uncertainties presented by Brexit and the increasing volatility across global markets.

Rural estates in England enjoyed a second consecutive year of improved performance, with a 2.5% growth in gross income on all estates. Increased income from the residential portfolio was the principal contributor to this growth.

Crispin Mahony, of Savills Winchester, said: “The diverse asset base of these estates insulates them from changing economic and political fortunes more effectively than many less diverse businesses.

“Over the history of our estate benchmarking survey, we have seen how the contributions of the core assets to income have changed.”

In 2000, agriculture contributed nearly 49% of gross income and residential property nearly 37%; today these are almost reversed at 37% and 43% respectively. Also, other revenue streams, including commercial property and leisure enterprises, are making a greater contribution.

Increasingly, estate owners are recognising the need to have multiple income streams in order to balance out market fluctuations. Likewise, they are taking advantage of new income sources, when they arise. A good example is the renewable energy sector into which a number of estates have invested. For those estates which actively participate, renewable energy contributed £9.60 per acre to gross income in 2016, almost double the £5.00 recorded in 2014.

Estates are also looking at house building. Our survey suggests 28% of estates plan to build more homes on their land and 40% will look to sell land to developers.

In the 12 months to April this year,……

Hamlet setting for period cottage, Hamlet of Dean

Hamlet setting for period cottage

Apple Tree Cottage is located in the pretty hamlet of Dean, just outside the village of Sparsholt, on the western edge of Winchester, which offers local amenities including a village shop/post office, church and the renowned local pub, The Plough Inn, well known for its dining menu. Winchester is just a short drive away and offers an excellent range of shops, restaurants, sporting and cultural facilities and the mainline station provides a service to London in just under an hour.

Beautifully presented, this period cottage has stunning views of the undulating countryside and there is a network of local footpaths between fields just waiting to be explored.

Off to one side of the welcoming entrance hall is a spacious sitting room with log burner, doors out to the pretty rear garden and access to the cellar providing good storage. There is a further reception room, with original tiled flooring, leading into the kitchen which has been beautifully fitted with a range of cream units incorporating appliances, and these neutral tones are continued throughout the cottage. A utility room doubles as a boot room with a door to the garden and a cloakroom leading off.

On the first floor the main bedroom benefits from a luxury private bathroom, with three further good size bedrooms and a modern family shower room on this level.

The gardens provide an attractive backdrop with mature planting at the front and a delightful courtyard area at the rear, softened by cottage planting. There are also two off street parking spaces.

Offered on the rental market for immediate occupation and on an unfurnished basis, Belgarum seeks a monthly rent of £1,675. They say that the landlord may consider a well behaved pet.……

Spacious City Centre living, Winchester

Spacious City Centre living

This superb five bedroom Grade II listed town house has accommodation arranged over four floors and has recently undergone extensive improvements throughout and is now finished to the highest of standards. Redecorated throughout, with carpets replaced or floorboards exposed and a brand new fitted kitchen, it is a spacious and light home situated on one of the most desirable streets in Winchester in the heart of this historic city. 

Retaining numerous period features, this home is full of character with fireplaces, sash windows, exposed floorboards and high ceilings. The large feature windows have shutters to the ground floor living space and the hall has a marble tiled floor. The ground floor reception room has a bay window to the front, large picture window to the side and ornate fireplace.

The kitchen/breakfast room which includes a dishwasher, fridge/freezer and cooker, has two sets of French windows leading to the courtyard garden. 

On the lower ground floor there are two double bedrooms and a family bathroom with a stunning cast iron antique bath and basin set in marble surround.

On the first floor is an elegant drawing room with open fireplace and marble surround. The master bedroom has the original marble fireplace with painted wood panelling to the walls, and adjoining is a dressing room and a shower room with marble floor. On the half landing a utility room has space for a washing machine and a dryer.

The top floor has a bedroom to the rear, with a period feature fireplace and shutters to the window, and the bedroom at the front of the property has views over the rooftops, a feature period fireplace and built-in wardrobe. There is also a family bathroom on this floor with a cast iron……

Prime house in prime location, Winchester

Prime house in prime location

Superbly located on a quiet lane on the edge of Winchester, this is a stunning detached family house ideally located a short distance from the beautiful water meadows, 12th century St Cross church and the popular St Faiths primary school. Lovely walks through the historic back streets, past the College and through the Cathedral grounds bring the city centre within a just few minutes and the thriving commercial centre has an eclectic range of shops, restaurants and cultural amenities including theatres, cinema, art galleries and museums.

The well designed accommodation over two floors has been tastefully decorated to reflect current trends and the main attraction is undoubtedly the wonderful kitchen which has been well fitted leaving ample space for large family gatherings to enjoy meals and to relax, easily spilling out to the decked terrace and garden. Double doors from the kitchen open to a family room and there is also a separate sitting room and a study leading off the spacious entrance hall. Off the other end of the kitchen lies a rear lobby with a cloakroom, utility room with a door to the garden and access into the integral garage.

Stairs from the hall rise to the first floor landing which branches off to four excellent bedrooms and the smart family bathroom. The master bedroom and a guest bedroom both have fitted wardrobes and private bath or shower room.

The garden is a good size, ideal for entertaining and with space for children to play, whilst at the front there is lots of parking on the driveway and access to the garage.

Becoming available in November on an unfurnished basis a monthly rent of £3,800 is sought. Contact Charters for more information and to make……