Hugo Haig is director of Lochailort Investments.

Just as one of his most significant schemes is unveiled, he gave us a preview and offered thoughts on the way forward in the latest Battle & Bunce Talking Property podcast.

Old Town is the latest iteration of the redevelopment of the Kennet Centre in Newbury. Lochailort initially proposed Eagle Quarter which ran into opposition and was finally refused by West Berkshire Council on January 8 after five years.

Now he has joined us to discuss Old Town, an entirely different approach to town centre regeneration.

Rather than Eagle Quarter’s high rise mix of apartments with 27 units for independent retailers, Old Town is a low-rise mix of apartments, maisonettes and houses with just five new retail units.

Mr Haig explains how courtyards and ironwork will be a key feature in a scheme of modern living in styles of a previous era, at the same times as recognising the iron works that once stood on the site.

But he revealed that while Eagle Quarter is still up in the air, the scheme is still being pursued alongside Old Town.

Lochailort built Reading’s first Build-to-Rent scheme, Thames Quarter, which has been a huge success and provided valuable experience of the BTR world.

This podcast is an exclusive discussion with someone seeking to bring about major change in a traditional town.

The Battle & Bunce podcast Interviews the people making the headlines across key property markets of Reading, Oxford, Cambridge and west London, loosely labelled the 'The Golden Triangle'.

Additional notes and details can be found in the weekly journal The Forum published by UK Property Forums.

www.ukpropertyforums.com

Legal trends in the housing market

Brian Dowling, residential development partner at law firm Boyes Turner, joined us for the latest Battle & Bunce Talking Property podcast.

Based in Reading, Brian works across the Berkshire and South East UK property markets representing developers of all sizes, but in particular, SME housebuilders and sees, first hand, the challenges facing the sector from finding land to the planning system.

The legal profession plays an essential role in the residential property market helping to oil the wheels on development deals, the purchase of land, advising on the construction process and, of course, representing tenants.

Brian gave us his thoughts on how the market could be improved from his perspective.

Discussion included Permitted Development Rights, Build-to-Rent and co-living but also went into the influence of AI on the legal profession and how the residential planning process could be corrected and improved.

A rare overview of the residential market from someone activity engaged in the doing deals and advising clients.

The Battle & Bunce podcast Interviews the people making the headlines across key property markets of Reading, Oxford, Cambridge and west London, loosely labelled the 'The Golden Triangle'.

Additional notes and details can be found in the weekly journal The Forum published by UK Property Forums.

www.ukpropertyforums.com

Almost exactly a year after Andy Jansons first joined us for the Battle & Bunce Talking Property podcast, he’s back – and this time he had some key developments to talk about.

Fresh from his acquisitions of two office parks, Andy, managing director of Jansons Property, explained his options for developing The Boulevard at Bracknell (Dell’s former head offices) and Kingsmead Business Park at High Wycombe. Subject to planning he is confident he can find value by redeveloping for industrial or converting to residential use as market sentiment changes.

Andy commented that the combination of poor office take-up and the high cost of refurbishment means that values and yields have plummeted across the Thames Valley secondary business park market, creating opportunities for entrepreneurial developers such as Jansons Property.

He also assessed the commercial property scene in towns in Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, including Reading, Maidenhead, Wycombe, Slough, and Newbury.

The discussion concluded on the office market across the region, the industrial scene, and the new Labour Government. NB: References were made by Andy to Article 14 and this should have been Article 4.

The Battle & Bunce podcast Interviews the people making the headlines across key property markets of Reading, Oxford, Cambridge and west London, loosely labelled the 'The Golden Triangle'.

Additional notes and details can be found in the weekly journal The Forum published by UK Property Forums.

www.ukpropertyforums.com