Latest news with #propertyrenovation
CBC
16-07-2025
- Business
- CBC
1st look at Saskatoon's homelessness action plan
The plan proposes a handful of tactics to help homeless people, including working with developers to convert underused commercial properties into affordable housing, and giving incentives to property owners to repair and renovate existing units.
Telegraph
13-07-2025
- General
- Telegraph
Homeowner told to tear down extension that looks like ‘stadium executive box'
A homeowner has been ordered to tear down an extension to a 125-year-old property in Worcester. Neighbours called Rozia Hussain's dormer on the front of the property a 'monstrosity' and compared it to a 'football stadium executive box' after she renovated her mid-terraced home. The house was bought for £100,000 in 2003, according to records, and pictures show the outside was in a shabby condition with peeling paint and chipped brick work. Over the last four years, the three-bedroom house on Wyld's Lane has undergone a complete makeover and is now worth up to £320,000, according to Rightmove. A wall and intercom system has been installed at the front of the house while a large dormer was built on top of the two-storey house. Mrs Hussain now faces having to demolish the dormer after Worcester city council rejected her retrospective planning application. The council stated: 'By virtue of its size, design and position, the addition of the large box dormer to the front of the property results in detrimental impact and creates significant harm to the character and appearance of the existing property and wider street scene in which it sits. 'The dormer at Wyld's Lane is much more visually intrusive than the approved, well-designed, more subtle addition.' Mrs Hussain, who owns a newsagents in the city, said: 'I don't know anything about the planning application being rejected. 'I don't think it looks too big.' Neighbours have criticised the extension, with one comparing it to 'an executive box you get at Premier League football grounds'. They added: 'I mean the extension is very big. It looks like an executive box you get at Premier League football grounds. 'When my friend visited he asked what the monstrosity was on one of the houses so it's clearly noticeable to people.' The neighbour has applied for a similar dormer on their own house a few years ago, but it was refused. 'The reason the council gave was because it would not be in keeping with the area or sympathetic to the age and heritage of the property,' they added. 'In my view I just think that it would be grossly unfair if this woman was allowed to have a large dormer on her property when I was not.' Another said neighbours were 'concerned because it looks right onto their properties'. They added: 'I think the house looks much better now. It was in a terrible state a few years ago but it now looks modern and clean. 'The dormer doesn't really bother me but I think some people are concerned because it looks right onto their properties.' Mrs Hussain has three months to tear down the dormer or face enforcement action. A city spokeman said: 'An enforcement notice was served on June 17 that comes into effect on July 17. 'This requires the applicant to remove the dormer and restore the roof or adapt the current dormer so that it complies with the planning permission given. They have three months to carry out the works.' They added that the applicant has 'until July 17 to appeal against the notice'.
Daily Mail
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
A Place In The Sun's Scarlette Douglas horrified by 'scary, oppressive and dingy' house - as unusual feature sends a shiver down her spine
A Place In The Sun 's Scarlette Douglas was horrified by a 'scary, oppressive and dingy' house as an unusual feature in it sent a shiver down her spine. The property expert, 38, known as a presenter on the Channel 4 house hunting series from 2015 to 2022, is about to launch a new house programme. Can't Sell Must Sell, co-hosted with her brother, retired footballer and fellow developer Stuart Douglas, 47, is set to hit Channel 4 on July 2. The six episodes see the siblings - known for presenting renovation programme Worst House On The Street - help sell homes their owners are struggling to shift. With the help of a team of designers and carpenters, they assist guests with getting their houses properly market-ready. But ahead of the programme's launch in less than a week, Scarlette recalled one particularly unsettling house she worked on during filming. 'One lady was very attached to her house and its Victorian style - she has lots of dolls', she said. 'When you walked in, everything felt oppressive. It was dark, dingy and scary. Even her daughters were trying to get her to sell it. She didn't want to listen.' It was not the only tricky project Scarlette found herself helping with, having also worked on a quaint cottage that unfortunately stank of dogs. The presenter explained: 'I love dogs but you can become nose-blind to them. 'One of the properties was a really beautiful cottage but the minute you walked in, it smelled of dog. 'They were so used to the smell that they couldn't get their head around it. Those are things you're not going to see but they affect a sale.' Stuart recalled fondly how happy the renovation made the guest: 'What made it important for me was how important it was for the owner. 'She was a really lovely lady. The transformation of the house itself was amazing but the transformation in her was memorable. She was so grateful.' Filming got even more emotional when the siblings visited a widow, whose home was stuffed full, overflowing with memorabilia, particularly china plates. Scarlette explained how this had happened: 'Her husband did the DIY. She couldn't do anything around the house. 'She was so grateful at the end, I was an emotional wreck.' The siblings also emphasised that throughout the shoot, no one on set, including them, was afraid to get their hands dirty. 'We're not just walking in, saying our piece and walking out. We really do get involved, even off-camera', she said. Her brother agreed: 'We had great teams. But we needed lots of hands on deck to complete the transformations. 'Even the cameraman took things to the skip. Everyone chipped in.' Scarlette added: 'That level of involvement was essential, given the scale of the jobs – and the tight turnaround. It was hard and stressful. 'We started around 8am and wouldn't finish until about 11pm. We cover two houses in a week. But the end result made it all worth it.' It comes after Scarlette spoke out about what it was really like to work on A Place In The Sun. Despite travelling to many stunning locations and meeting a range of interesting people, she said working on the show is not always fun. The presenter told The Express shooting the show is actually 'really hard' and five days of filming is put into creating just one '47-minute show'. 'There's a lot that goes into it. It's hard work,' Scarlette said. She also revealed two sorely-needed items presenters are banned from wearing: 'You can't wear sunglasses or a hat.' The property expert admitted: 'You just about have time to drink some water. 'You keep going and going and going, so as much as it looks glamorous, it's actually a really difficult show.' Can't Sell Must Sell will be available to watch and stream on Channel 4 on July 2.
The Sun
20-06-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Homes Under The Hammer's Martin Roberts gives shock update on hotel project, admitting ‘I have failed on every level'
WITH total honesty, Homes Under The Hammer presenter Martin Roberts admits: 'For a man who spends all his time telling people to make sure they stick to their budgets and timescales, I have failed on every single level.' Two years ago, the property expert showed The Sun around his own DIY project to turn a run-down Welsh village pub into a top tourist attraction. 8 8 And just like he does on the hit property show, I asked: 'What is your timescale?' Back then, in spring 2023, Martin was convinced it would take just two years and around half a million pounds to rebuild the Hendrewen Hotel in the Rhondda Valley. So here we are, two years later, and on the outside, the eight-bedroom boozer looks . . . exactly the same. Martin, 61, who has witnessed more than 3,000 property renovations on his BBC daytime show, says: 'I'm still smiling but, oh my word, what a challenge it's been. 'I'll be honest, it's the first commercial property I've ever done. 'There have been lots of residential houses and flats, but commercial properties have a lot more complications. 'I'd say we are 60 per cent of the way there.' But when I ask how soon we can expect the pub to be open, Martin hedges his bets and shrugs: 'I think it's going to come together really quickly in the final few months. 'I'm hopeful for Halloween but Christmas would be good. If not, in time for Easter.' One of the many hold-ups, according to Martin, has been dealing with planners who insist he makes preparations in case the pub in the former mining village of Blaencwm is hit by a once-in-a-century flood. Homes Under the Hammer's Martin Roberts announces new series that's world's away from beloved BBC show He says: 'We've got to do it right, and we will do it right, but unfortunately that means there's lots of hoops to jump through.' It is only three years since Martin was minutes from death and needed an emergency heart op. Doctors who carried out the surgery to drain fluid from the sac surrounding his heart told him in future to choose the easy life and avoid unnecessary stress. That is advice he does not seem to have followed. He could have spent his spare time living at his Rhondda Valley farmhouse — which he bought after falling in love with the area — and enjoying the stunning scenery which is popular with mountain bikers. Instead he decided to seize life and bought the pub lock, stock and barrel — without telling his wife Kirsty. My head is going, 'What the absolute bleep have you done here?' Every single wall was cock-eyed, every single window was falling down. Add to that the small matter of bats nesting in the leaking roof. Martin Roberts In fact, father-of-two Martin thought he had kept the purchase a complete secret, but he reveals: 'My cleaner rang me up one day and said, 'Have you bought the Hendrewen?' 'It turns out her auntie was in the queue at Asda and the woman behind was saying, 'That Martin Roberts has bought the Hendrewen'. 'It's just hysterical because as far as I was concerned I hadn't told anybody, but it was being discussed in Asda.' Martin is making a ten-part documentary series called Oops! I Bought A Pub, which will be shown on ITV next year — or whenever the pub finally opens. But he has also given The Sun an exclusive peek at his architect's visualisations of how the pub will look when the work is finally done — including a wacky upside-down Rolls-Royce suspended from the ceiling in the dining area. 8 8 As well as a new bar and restaurant, there will be eight bedrooms, all named after hit TV shows. Martin says: 'When I was a travel journalist I probably stayed in hundreds of hotels and often they all looked the same. 'The ones I remember most are those where the rooms felt individual. "So in my hotel I wanted to create rooms that had an individual feel. 'Then I woke up in the middle of the night and suddenly thought, why don't I theme them around what I know and what I'm known for, which is television. 'Each room is themed around a legendary TV show. Obviously we're going to have a Homes Under The Hammer room with lots of memorabilia and funny stuff from the 20 years of the show. 'We're going to have a Doctor Who room, which is very science fiction-y. 'Next Stereophonics' 'A Fawlty Towers room where the light fittings are broken, the wallpaper is hanging off, beds are going to be very creaky and lots of quotes from Fawlty Towers on the walls. 'A Question Of Sport room will have lots of sports memorabilia. 'There will also be a Top Of The Pops room, an Antiques Roadshow room, a Planet Earth room and one that is a tribute to Top Gear. 'I've been collecting things from car boot sales, flea markets and online for the last two years. Now I've got lots of TV memorabilia so these rooms can be decorated in the style of different telly programmes. It's going to be great.' 8 When the Hendrewen Hotel does finally open it will employ around 30 locals in one of the most deprived areas in Europe. Teenage students on catering and hospitality management courses will get practical experience working in the pub and in the hotel. Martin says: 'They'll get a chance to run a real-world place. We're going to have a teaching kitchen where celebrity chefs will come along and pass on their cookery skills. 'We're also putting in a stage with lots of musical instruments, which the locals will be able to come and use. 'And we'll have visiting musicians coming along, teaching musical skills to local kids. We might discover the next Stereophonics.' He also has a team of teens aged 15 to 17 working with his tradesmen, learning the skills to be plasterers, carpenters, electricians and plumbers. Martin says: 'By working in the pub, these kids are getting a massive step up the ladder. A lot of their lives have been transformed. 'We've had kids come off drugs. We've had kids who wouldn't get up out of bed in the mornings who are now arriving early to work because they're enjoying it so much. 'These kids have been told by the schools that they're rubbish. They come in, we give them a paintbrush or a trowel and say, 'There's a wall, you've got to work on this'. We teach them, and they walk away, heads held high, a belief in themselves has returned. 'They also walk away with a CSCS card, an industry qualification which shows they've got the safety experience to work on a building site. 'If one day they say working with me was a turning point in their life, I'll be thrilled. 8 'Village lost its heart' 'Some of the youngsters have given up drugs. We have one lad who struggled to communicate because of a really strong stammer, but he's grown in confidence. 'Now he won't stop talking and his stammer has diminished, which is great to see. 'I was three hours away from death, so I am even more driven to do things, not to make me money — because it's certainly not doing that — but to do some good, and to change lives. 'Because that's what you'll be remembered for, not for having a million pounds in the bank.' He adds: 'Bear in mind that some families around this area have generations of unemployment. It's like breaking a cycle and the kids get to see the joys of working.' 8 And Martin admits there are still months of hard graft ahead. He says: 'I've broken every single one of my rules! 'I have been driven by my heart. I made the classic error of going, 'It's a little pub, it closed at the start of lockdown, and the village has lost its heart and it needs me'. 'At the same time, my head is going, 'What the absolute bleep have you done here?' Every single wall was cock-eyed, every single window was falling down. Add to that the small matter of bats nesting in the leaking roof. 'It has ups and downs. I still have days when I really struggle with my health. 'This is the thing that just keeps me going. 'I've got people relying on me and I won't let them down. I'm not going to give up.' The last episode of Martin's programme will be the hotel's grand opening. He has already booked the world- famous Treorchy Male Choir and a big-name female celebrity. He says: 'I am absolutely supersizing it for the opening. 'The Valleys will have never seen anything like it." And there's light at the end of his tunnel too... 8 THE end is in sight for Martin's other fix-me-up project in the Welsh Valleys. His hotel in Blaencwm sits at one end of an incredible two-mile railway tunnel that has been closed off for more than 60 years. Martin is patron of the campaign to reopen the tunnel, which links the Rhondda and Afan Valleys, and turn it into a major tourist attraction. When it reopens it will be the longest all-year-round-use tunnel in the world for cyclists and walkers. Last week Railway Paths, a charity that restores old railway infrastructure, became a partner in the Rhondda Tunnel, which was used to transport coal from mines in the Valleys to Swansea docks. The £2million restoration could be open in two years. Martin says: 'Now all we want is for the Department for Transport to give us the tunnel. It's not going to cost the UK or the Welsh governments anything. 'The partnership with Railway Paths is a marriage made in heaven. 'This could be the vital step to finally making our dreams and hopes a reality. 'Being the longest continually open walking and cycling tunnel in the world will attract visitors from all around the globe to this area.'
Daily Mail
11-06-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
Home overgrown by trees, weeds and ivy is finally cleared up after 40 years in the undergrowth
Residents have spoken of their relief as an 'eyesore' house overgrown by nature has finally been cleared after 40 years. The end-terraced property in King's Norton, Birmingham, had been swallowed up after trees, weeds, and ivy had grown out of control for the last four decades Neighbours described the three-bedroom as being virtually invisible after its 'nature-loving' owner neglected to cut back the plants. Last year, the home was sold at auction for £150,000 after the previous homeowner, aged in her 90s, went to live in a care home. Before and after pictures show how it's now been turned into two neat rental flats following a monumental gardening job to remove the huge amount of greenery. Photographs taken last year showed the front garden overrun with plants and only the front door and a satellite dish visible. Not even the chimney could be seen as the front garden was overrun with plants and a mass of greenery spread across almost the entire front of the house. Now, only a single tree remains in the front garden after its new owner completed the mammoth clear up operation. Neighbour Vivienne Attwood, previously described it as like living 'next to West Midlands Safari Park'. She said: 'It looks a hell of a lot better that's for sure. 'The new landlord came in and then with the help of a couple of friends they were able to clear it all up in a couple of months. 'They had to put a new roof on as the ivy had got through and sort the rendering out. 'It was some gardening job but they did it quite quick really, I was surprised. 'We were worried it might be turned into a HMO but it's two rental properties now and we've had no issues, so I think everyone is happy now. 'It caused problems with rats but now they have gone away. For now at least because with these bin strikes you never know. 'But we're relieved we're not having to live next to a giant treehouse anymore.' Mum-of-four Vivienne, who works as doctor's receptionist, said previously: 'My husband trims it back whenever it encroaches and luckily we've stopped it getting into our roof. 'It's good for wildlife but not for my guttering and roof. 'We moved in 40 years ago and it was just allowed to grow and grow from there. 'But she used to have somebody in to trim it back until about 10-15 years ago when it was left completely untouched. 'It has then been allowed to completely take over the entire house. 'You get people walking by stopping in their tracks as they can't quite believe it. It's not every day you get a massive tree house in Birmingham. 'She had volunteers offer to cut it back - but she refused as she said she liked nature. 'She was stubborn.' Another local, who did not wish to be named, added: 'It became somewhat of a local landmark - you had to see it to believe it. 'But it wasn't nice for the direct neighbours so everyone is pleased it has been tidied up now. 'I'm all for letting nature flourish, especially in urban areas, but that was definitely too much. 'You couldn't even tell a house was there.'
