Michael Parkes Surveyors Limited

Michael Parkes Surveyors Limited Launch New Facilities Management Division

2012-01-03T16:06:00.004Z

As an extension of our longstanding and well respected Property Management division, Michael Parkes are pleased to bring our new Facilities Management division to our clients.

We can tailor specialist contractors to deal with any property maintenance issue, from simple breakdowns to full refurbishment.

Our services include:
Reactive Maintenance (repairs), Planned Maintenance (including tenders), Estate & Grounds Maintenance, Security, Cleaning, Health & Safety Compliance, Refurbishment (commercial and residential)

Advantages of using our Facilities Management team are:

One point of contact for all services
Reliable contractors, fully qualified and insured

Our complete package includes, for landlords:

Gas Safety testingElectrical & PAT testing
Inventory checking in/out
Cleaning
General repairs
Emergency repairs

Covering the South East of England, we are happy to tender for single properties or investment portfolios, with our professionals offering the same high level of service to all.

Talk to us:

Cheryl Tutt
Tel: 01634 294994
E-mail: ctutt@michaelparkes.co.uk

Residential Property Management – Compliance Update

2011-12-06T11:52:00.001Z

Landlords should note that there are two proposed changes in regulations concerning rented property.

The first change in Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007 comes into force on 6 April 2012.

The key changes are as follows:

The duty to commission an energy performance certificate (EPC) before marketing a property will be extended to the marketing of residential properties to rent;

The current 28-day period within which an EPC should be obtained using “all reasonable efforts” will be reduced to 7 days. The requirement to include an EPC with written particulars will apply to all residential buildings, whether offered for sale or rent. It will not be possible to only include the asset rating;

The second change has a slightly longer lead time and this change concerns flues that are concealed in voids.

If a property contains a gas flue concealed within a wall or ceiling then an inspection hatch must be fitted.

The proposed legislation stipulates that work must be completed by the 31st December 2012, as from January 2013, gas engineers will have the right to turn off gas supply to properties that have not complied and where they are unable to inspect properly.

These changes can be easily adhered to with the help of Michael Parkes Surveyors Limited Property Management Department; we can arrange works on behalf of landlords to ensure that the property is fully compliant with the changing regulations.

For further information please contact Cheryl Tutt on 01634 294994 or email ctutt@michaelparkes.co.uk

New South East Hub Airport increasingly more likely

2011-12-02T09:47:00.000Z

The Government in its National Infrastructure Plan 2011, http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/national_infrastructure_plan2011.htm, published alongside the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, has confirmed that in March 2012 it will be consulting on a long term Aviation Strategy for the UK which “.... will explore all of the options for maintaining the UK’s aviation hub status, with the exception of a third runway at Heathrow.” .

The Chancellor has also confirmed the Government’s commitment to building a Lower Thames Crossing to the east of Dartford. 3 route options are to be assessed and these proposals will be consulted upon in 2013.

It is clear that at this stage a new hub airport in the Thames Estuary has not been ruled out by the Government. The commitment to building a new Thames Crossing may suggest greater support for an airport within the Thames Estuary rather than somewhere else in the South East.

If you are concerned by any property or planning issues associated with a Thames Estuary Hub Airport and Lower Thames Crossing, then Michael Parkes Surveyors Limited may be able to assist. Please contact us on 01634 294994 or visit or website www.michaelparkes.co.uk

Thames Hub Airport & River Crossing Proposals - Update

2011-11-29T09:37:00.003Z

It is being reported that amongst the corridors of Westminster there may be growing support for a new hub airport somewhere within the Thames Estuary.

It is being suggested that the Chancellor, George Osborne, may no longer be opposed while his shadow, Ed Balls, has refused to make a comment either way.

This comes in the wake of the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, publishing a second report setting out the claimed economic benefits for an island airport off the Isle of Sheppey (Boris Island) he is promoting.

Thames Hub Airport & River Crossing Proposals

2011-11-16T13:26:00.003Z

If you are concerned by any property or planning issues associated with the Thames Hub Airport, Port and River Barrier and Crossing Proposals for Grain and the Hoo Peninsula, then Michael Parkes Surveyors Limited may be able to assist.

Please contact us on 01634 294994 or visit or website www.michaelparkes.co.uk

Property Market Overview Winter 2011

2011-11-16T13:18:00.000Z

Our latest Property Market Overview is available for you to download at http://www.michaelparkes.co.uk/documents/PMO_Winter_2011_Nov_2011.pdf

Property Market Overview August 2011

2011-09-30T12:04:00.003+01:00

Our latest Property Market Overview is now available for you to download at http://www.michaelparkes.co.uk/images/stories/2011.8.pdf

Property Market Overview Spring 2011

2011-05-25T11:17:00.005+01:00

Our latest Property Market Overview is now available for you to download at http://www.michaelparkes.co.uk/documents/PMO_May_2011.pdf

PROPERTY MARKET OVERVIEW – Addendum

2010-11-18T17:34:00.001Z

PROPERTY MARKET OVERVIEW – Addendum
November 2010

Planning

Secretary of State’s decision to revoke Regional Plans quashed

The Secretary of State’s decision to revoke Regional Plans (Strategies) immediately after the general election has been quashed by a High Court judge (10 November 2010) following a Judicial Review case brought by Cala Homes (South) Limited. Cala Homes are promoting a residential development near Winchester for 2,000 dwellings and its planning application is currently the subject of an Appeal.

The judge in giving his ruling found that:

1. The Secretary of State’s decision to revoke Regional Plans under the provisions of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 [the 2009 Act] was unlawful because the existence of Regional Plans is fundamental to this piece of legislation. Dispensing with Regional Plans would be a significant change to the 2009 Act, which could only be made by Parliament with the result that the Secretary of State had acted outside his statutory powers.

2. The Secretary of State’s decision breached the Strategic Environmental Assessment Regulations and was “unlawful”, because no consideration of the environmental effects of removing regional plans from the system had been undertaken.

Comment

Following this judgment all of the Regional Plans (or Strategies as they should more correctly be referred to under the 2009 Act) are reinstated as part of the Development Plan and are therefore material to the production of Local Development Framework (LDF) documents and the determination of planning applications.

However the continued existence of Regional Plans has been signaled by the Government to be short lived as the Government’s “Localism Bill”, expected to be enacted sometime towards the end of 2011, provides a vehicle for their revocation. The Communities Minister in a written ministerial statement on 10 November, responding to judgment, has stated that the Government remains committed to scrapping Regional Strategies.

In the immediate future local planning authorities are unlikely to want to expedite the production of their LDFs. This is because as things currently stand policies will need to be formulated in line with the housing and employment development levels set out in Regional Strategies which will only have a further shelf life of around a year. LDF production is likely to stall further while the new regime is formulated.

The reinstatement of Regional Strategies potentially has significant ramifications for planning application decisions made by the local planning authorities or the Secretary of State since the latter’s now ill-fated attempt to revoke the strategies in May. If refusal or dismissed Appeal decisions made since 27 May 2010 were founded upon the apparent abolition of the strategies, then potentially those decisions are open to challenge. Undetermined applications/appeals submitted after 27 May will now need to be justified against the relevant Regional Strategy requiring additional work to be undertaken by applicants or their advisors, resulting in additional costs and delays in the decision making process.

Property Market Overview Autumn 2010

2010-11-04T11:24:00.004Z

Welcome to a new modern look for Michael Parkes Surveyors Limited.

Our new Property Market Overview is available to download at: http://www.michaelparkes.co.uk/documents/PMO_Autumn_2010_Final.pdf