Wetherell Mayfairs Fitnes Properties

Wetherell wishes you a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!

Our office will be closed from lunchtime on Friday 23rd December 2011 to 9am Tuesday 3rd January 2012.

WE WON

This week a High Court judge allowed for the Judicial Review to proceed against Westminster City Council’s proposed evening car parking charges and restrictions on parking on yellow lines in the evenings.

The council have not however given up on their proposals and say they have only postponed the January 9th start date until after the Olympics next year.

The fight therefore still goes on but it gives all the stakeholders in the community the extra time and opportunity to join together in a common voice to convince the council that their proposals are wrong!

Link to Evening Standard article:
http://www.wetherell.co.uk/wetherell-blog/dont-relax-vigil-says-estate-agent-who-led-fight-against-tax-on-nightlife/

Link to BBC News:
http://www.wetherell.co.uk/wetherell-blog/westminster-councils-parking-consultation-contempt/

My experience in this episode is neatly summed up by Woody Allen who said:

“The lion and the calf shall lie down together but the calf won’t get much sleep”.

WETHERELL HIGHLIGHTS OF MAYFAIR MARKET 2011

Here is a round up of the last twelve exciting months in Mayfair:

Step Change
This time last year Wetherell predicted a “step change” in residential values. Thankfully with the benefit of hindsight we can confidently say that our prediction was correct.

Entry level prime property rose by 20% to £3,000 p.s.f.  A 2 bedroom flat of 1,734 sq.ft. above C in Davies Street (formally Cipriani) sold for £5.25M.

Top Three
In the “mansion house” market Wetherell sold the top three most expensive houses ranging in price between £15-25M.

Cheapest
Our cheapest or most reasonable deal was a 1 bedroom basement flat below our offices in Mount Street that sold for £750,000 and bought as overflow staff quarters for one of the “big houses”.

Rock Stars & Comediennes
Best fun deals were selling a two bedroom 3rd floor walk up (no lift) to an ageing Rock Star and selling a Georgian town house for one of England’s favourite comedienne’s.

Most Memorable
The most memorable deal was selling a 4 bedroom flat (1,863 sq.ft) on a 962 lease for just over £3m. This was one of my first instructions nearly 30 years ago when I was selling it for £325,000.

Only Development
The only new development in Mayfair of a building was in Shepherd Market were we sold three 2 bedroom flats above a Lebanese restaurant for £1.75M each.

Best New to Market
A “lifestyle” duplex 5 bedroom Penthouse with amazing roof terrace, with Bar-B-Q and hot tub, overlooking Park Lane at £19.5M and a £7.75M lateral apartment with an amazing 65 foot entrance hallway.

YEAR AHEAD
After Christmas and the New Year we look forward to a 2012 which will be Mayfair’s Year in the prime residential property market for London.

Link to Wetherell TV for market predictions:
http://youtu.be/e1CCeEjAq9E

THANKS & GREETINGS
I would like to thank our clients’ for their patronage, our friends for being our Mayfair Ambassadors and our customers for their choosing Mayfair as their home.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and I hope a prosperous New Year.

Download - December 2011 Market Report

A Mayfair estate agent hailed for leading the successful campaign against West End parking charges today spoke of his David and Goliath battle against the "tax on nightlife".

Peter Wetherell was the only objector to put his name to the High Court legal challenge to Westminster council's plan to make drivers pay to park in the evenings and on Sundays.

Today he called on campaigners not to give up - and warned Westminster that he would be back to fight if the council tries to introduce the fees next year. It comes after Westminster leader Colin Barrow announced that the charges would now be delayed until after next summer's Olympics, following a High Court judge's decision to allow a judicial review of the plan.

Today a quietly triumphant Mr Wetherell told the Standard: "We must not relax our vigil. There is still a risk that the present will be taken away again next year if Westminster council have their way. Let us all try to exert a moral authority against the council and tell them that the residents, businesses, workers and visitors do not want this for Mayfair.

"All I will say to Westminster City Council is listen to the Mayfair community, or else... I'll be back."

The 58-year-old, who is married with three children, began a petition in October against the plan to introduce the charges of up to £4.80 in the evenings and on Sundays from January 9. The move would have meant removing almost 2,000 free spaces from the West End. By November 1, his judicial review application was lodged at the High Court, backed financially by restaurateur Richard Caring, demonstrating that the campaigners meant business. Dozens of staff at Mr Caring's restaurants and clubs celebrated the court ruling last night.

One said: "It is great to have a boss who puts his money where his mouth is and is prepared to fight for our right to come to work - and not be taxed for it."

Mr Wetherell, who has worked in Mayfair for 40 years, was also supported by politicians and business leaders ranging from Boris Johnson to Peter Stringfellow. They believed Westminster would use the new charges to raise revenue and plug a "black hole" in the parking budget. Mr Wetherell said: "It appears that rather than find a solution to an identified problem, they decided on a policy and then sought to find the justification - and settled on 'traffic stress', which local residents tell me simply doesn't exist.

"I have never seen stakeholders so united against anything. Sadly, I have also never seen Westminster so intransigent either. But the long struggle against the charges was not easy. As soon as I was named on the judicial review application I became a target. It was made plain to me by the council that I would suffer the consequences of continuing in opposition.

"The council were demanding 'cross undertakings in damages', which means that I would have been liable for losses of income if the scheme is delayed. Had they succeeded in doing this, I could have ended up bankrupt. I have three young children."

A judge ruled on Wednesday that the council had a case to answer and ordered the postponement of the new charges until after a full hearing.

Your say: 'So many reasons it was a bad idea'

Mary Kate Murphy, 24 Hotel manager:
"It's fantastic the council has decided to put it off."

Adil Moollan, 28, Obstetrician from Swiss Cottage: "You couldn't even list the reasons why this would have been a bad idea on a piece of paper - there are so many."

Louise Kenny Surgeon from Acton: "They are right to scrap the charges. It's not safe to make female workers take the night bus home from work."

Luigi Polledri Owner of Bar Italia and Little Italy in Frith Street: "It's a sensible decision in the current economic climate."

By Mira Bar-Hillel and Jonathan Prynn
The Evening Standard - 16th December 2011
Click to see original article

Westminster council's "tax on nightlife" could be cancelled by Christmas following a bid to fast-track a High Court legal challenge.

Campaigners behind the application for a judicial review will ask "in the next few days" that the case be heard before evening and Sunday parking charges come into force on January 9.

Mayfair estate agent Peter Wetherell, who is leading the legal battle, told the Standard: "It's so important for this process to be successful otherwise there is no way of stopping the huge damage that these charges will inflict on businesses and families.

"This is a wide-ranging alliance against the council's proposals. All the talk now is of the growth agenda, creating jobs, not killing them. So why are we doing this to the West End?"
Opponents of the restrictions - in-cluding restaurants, churches, theatres and casino workers - fear the judicial review will run out of time unless it gets a court date before the holidays.

The High Court rises for Christmas on December 21 and does not sit until January 11. Lawyers for campaigners say that if they cannot get a date before January 9, they will demand a block on the charges until the case has been fully heard.
Under the plans, it will cost £4.80 an hour to park across Soho, Covent Garden and Mayfair from 6.30pm in the week and 1pm on Sundays. The Sunday charge will also be imposed in parts of Fitzrovia and Marylebone.

Mr Wetherell called on council chiefs to let the legal process run its course: "They should delay [the charges] consult properly and listen to the voice of the people. Westminster's got their political earplugs stuffed so far down they cannot hear the people."

Mayfair croupier Elena Wilson, who fears she may have to give up her job, said: "If the only way to stop this is the legal way it has to be done now. There are 3,000 casino workers affected. It needs to be stopped because we won't be able to afford to come into work."

The campaigners have hired planning law expert David Elvin QC. The application to jump the queue of judicial review cases is likely go before the Ad-ministrative Court section of the High Court in "the next few days". Legal experts said urgent cases can be considered during the holiday season.

Westminster has made a deal with a car park operator to provide up to 1,000 "all night" spaces for a maximum £8 fee. But the offer has been dismissed as "a smokescreen", as about half the spaces are north of Oxford Street and outside the evening charge zone.

By Jonathan Prynn
The Evening Standard - Tuesday 6th December 2011
Click to see the orignial article

After a year’s rest Mount Street`s annual Christmas Party was sparklier than ever. The very glamorous Nancy Dell `Olio, in a stunning red Azzaro dress & sky high Christian Louboutins, switched on the lights, gaining many new admires with her charm &whit.

Visitors to the event were spoilt with tastings, refreshments, novelties and special services.

The street itself is now decorated with 32 colour changing LED globes; they festoon the trees at Carlos place, swing from the lamp posts at the eastern end of the street and straddle south to north in the centre section of Mount Street.

Mount Street`s annual Christmas Party is back after a rest and this year will be sparklier than ever.  Whether you have nearly finished your festive gift list or not yet started the event provides the prefect opportunity for a luxurious evening of shopping accompanies by refreshments & novelties from some of the world`s finest brands.

As is traditional on Mount Street we will be officially switching on the Christmas Lights at 6.30pm with the help of a very special guest Strictly Come Dancing`s Nancy Dell`Olio

As a added bonus Mount Street Mayfair are running a Twitpic competion, so don`t forget to send your photos of the event to @mountstreet with the #MountStreetLights

If you can`t make it down @kingsroadrocks will be tweeting live from the event.

Mayfair - It’s No.1 – It’s Top of the Pops!

Two events happened last month that stuck in my mind; the first was the death at 84 of Sir Jimmy Savile, who hosted the original chart show Top of the Pops on the BBC. The second event was one of our leading property analysts reported that Mayfair was now No.1 – top of the pops - having the highest growth ranking over the last 6 years for average pounds per foot growth on residential property.

The later did not surprise me as just over 12 months ago Wetherell predicted a step change in Mayfair residential values. A substantial 20% rise has been proven over the last year with entry level prices in Mount Street / Davies Street going from £2,500 per square foot (p.s.f.) to over £3,000 p.s.f.

Wetherell have maintained for many years that Mayfair was undervalued compared to Knightsbridge and Belgravia and it is an endorsement when other commentators back up our opinion.

Our current prediction is that there is still further growth to come as our “Mayfair Aficionados” pay a well deserved premium above those prices obtained in surrounding areas.  Mayfair has benefited from enormous capital investment and improved amenities over the last decade and overseas buyers will push prices higher over the next 10 years overtaking the other prime residential areas.

Briefly coming back to Sir Jimmy – he hosted the first show on New Year’s Day 1964 and also the closing programme 42 years later on 30th July 2006. Although the original programmes were in black and white he died his hair a different colour every week!

Values might be booming in Mayfair but transactional volumes this year will be 50% off the average volume turnover between 2005 and 2007. Any developer selling into this “void” with new stock will benefit from the supply and demand imbalance.

Don’t kill the Golden Goose

• The tax office, HMRC, revealed recently that the top 1% of tax payers contribute an astonishing 28% of the total income tax this year.
• 33 of Britain’s 73 billionaires coming from abroad.
• UK lost 16,000 non-doms due to Labour’s £30K levy (an estimated £800M in taxes).
• Greater London is the 7th largest economy in Europe
• The West End under threat as Westminster Council levies “Nightlife Tax”

Mayfair Fights Car Parking Ban
With all this positive press for Mayfair it is a shame that Westminster Council proposes to take away 1,700 car parking spaces out of the West End by banning parking on yellow lines until midnight.

The good news last week was that London’s Mayor Boris Johnson came out against the council’s plans calling it “a tax on nightlife”.  The bad news was that Colin Barrow; the council’s leader will not listen and says there will be no U turn even though he admitted "the majority" who responded to the consultation about the proposals were opposed to it!

We now have to await the response from the council on the High Court action for a Judicial Review.

See our blog post for Boris Johnson remarks:
http://www.wetherell.co.uk/wetherell-blog/drop-your-parking-changes-before-its-too-late-boris-tells-westminster/

MAYFAIR MARKET STOP PRESS

• Park Street – Former Icelandic Embassy backing onto Secret Gardens. Freehold @  £14.95M
• Park Lane (off) – Interior designed 4 bedroom apartment of 2,847 sq.ft. @ £7.95M
• Green Street – 3 bedroom maisonette onto gardens @ £3.65M
• Hill Street – A selection od 1 & 2 bedrooms apartments to let.

Mount Street Christmas Lights
Lastly on a festive note – After missing out last year due public realm works we turn on our Christmas lights on Thursday 24th November.