London Property Advertisements - Royal Wharf, Barts Square, Argo House, Stratosphere

Four advertisements for London property in the newspapers today.  Looks like there is still strong interest in Singapore.

Royal Wharf - I had blogged about this previously. We don't like this development much but please make up your own mind.



 Barts Square - Given its location, this development would not come cheap - http://www.bartssquare.com/

 Argo House - NW 6.

Stratosphere - Stratford London E15.  This development is by Telford Homes.  We have bought from Telford Homes before and they are high quality builders who provide good customer service. 

This development is in a very good location. There is a lot of potential in the Stratford area and the place is going to be re-zoned to Zone 2 from Zone 3.  That is a big deal indeed. 

See this video for a flythrough of the development- 

http://www.telfordhomes.plc.uk/microsites/stratosphere/video-flythrough.cfm

 Thanks for reading.

Royal Wharf 1km from EU's Largest Sugar Refinery

The upcoming Royal Wharf development is near Silvertown, in the London Borough of Newham. According to wiki, Silvertown is an industrialized district on the north bank of the Thames. It was named after Samuel Winkworth Silver's former rubber factory which opened in 1852, and is now dominated by the Tate & Lyle sugar refinery and the John Knight ABP animal rendering plant.

Thanks to Google Maps, we have this beautiful view of the area. The Royal Wharf site is to the west of Barrier Point Road. You can see Pontoon Dock DLR. About 1km to the east of Barrier Point road, you see an industrial site in several shades of blue. That would be the largest sugar refinery in the EU.

I came across this article.

http://www.newhamrecorder.co.uk/news/big_read_tour_of_tate_lyle_in_royal_docks_as_ocean_vessel_arrives_with_34_000_tonnes_of_sugar_1_2321805

This refinery is very historic.  It has stood on the 45-acre site for more than 130 years.   Large ships dock there to unload raw sugar from across the world.

Here are some pictures. The refinery from across the river. Notice the fumes from the tall towers.

Inside the refinery.

Interesting.  Issue is this.  Is there a smell? 

Perhaps not from this sugar refinery.  But there is an animal waste factory nearby run by John Knights.  Now, this factory has given the local authority a lot of trouble these few years.  In fact, the local authority had to take this company to court three times, for polluting the environment with foul smells.  

Read the full article here - 

Animal waste factory hit with record fine

Happy Investing!

London City Airport Fun Facts

London City Airport came to existence only in 1987 with the first landing.  The idea for an airport in the Docklands was mooted in 1981.  Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the airport in November 1987.

In 1992, Princess Diana re-launched the airport, after upgrade works and runway expansion. By 2000, passenger totals hit 1.5Mil per annum, with more than 52,000 flights that year.

Fast forward to 2013, passenger totals hit 3.39Mil (up 12.4% on the previous year); flights numbers hit 73,713 (up 4.14% on the previous year) - Source - http://www.lcacc.org/history/

How many aircraft movements a day?
If you take a simple average (73,713 / 365),  you get 201 movements.  But the figure is higher on weekdays, because the airport is essentially a business traveller airport, with fewer movements on weekends.  One aircraft movement means either one landing or one takeoff.

Future of London City Airport 
The Airport has permission to handled up to 120,000 flight movements a year, and they are keen to do so.  The demand is there.  The Airport is in a very good location, serving Canary Wharf and City of London.  The Airport has announced plans to expand capacity, though they have ruled out extending the runway.

20/10 Service
You may be wondering, why do business travellers want to fly from London City Airport?  Why not fly from Heathrow?  The answer is the 20/10 value proposition.

a. 20 minute check-in time - from terminal door to boarding gate
b. 10 minute arrival time - from wheels down of plane to boarding the train

For a business traveller working at Canary Wharf, this is fantastic.  Not just travel time from office to Airport, but also all the time spent going through airport immigration at security etc.  It is no wonder that many business travellers would prefer to fly through London City, than through Heathrow.

For an aviation enthusiast, the pictures of London City Airport are breathtaking.  Here are some pictures from the Airport website.

The single runway, 1500M, this view from the East looking West.

Another view, West looking East.

This area used to be very busy London Docklands.  All the ships have gone though. 

A row of British Airways aircraft, with SwissAir at the end. 

Mostly jets, some turbo-props.  Jets are noisier. 

British Airways Airbus A-318, the smallest member of the Airbus Family. 

A SwissAir plane, promoting Zurich Airport as a shopping paradise!

Happy Reading!

Back to my Page on Royal Wharf

Royal Wharf Location 20 Minutes to Custom House

In recent times, we have observed claims with regard to transport links on London advertisements in our local papers that we have some issues with. Let us use this recent newspaper advertisement on Royal Wharf, by way of example.

The advertisers claim that the is "only 10 mins walk to Custom House, future Crossrail station." Yes, the future Crossrail station will be at or very near Custom House. That is confirmed. However, is the walk only 10 minutes?

Misleading Claim
In my other blog post on Royal Wharf here, I have shown you that Custom House is at least 1.5km away from the Royal House site. To cover 1.5km in 10 minutes, you need to run at 9km/h. What is the average walking speed? I would say 3 to 4 km/h, 5 - 6 km/h if you are walking briskly. Anything above 6km/h, you are jogging. At 9 km/h, you can complete your 2.4km in 16 minutes. (Speaking of which, when was the last time you ran 2.4km?)

Transport for London Journey Planner - www.tfl.gov.uk
This is a great place to share with all our readers a very important official resource when you are looking at London properties - the transport for London journey planner. This planner integrates all the public transport networks, including Tube, DLR, Trains, buses and even by foot.

See the following screenshots for Pontoon Dock to Custom House.

Journey via DLR takes 12 minutes.
Journey by foot takes 20 minutes!

Click on details for the DLR route. You need to change trains at Canning Town DLR. So, remember, it is not a through train from Pontoon Dock to Custom House.

Next, click for details on the foot journey. It clearly states the time to take 20 minutes, which is double what the ST newspaper advert informed readers. Click on the map details to see the exact walking route.

Conclusion - Caveat Emptor
Let the buyer beware! You would notice the adverts usually carry disclaimer clauses. In this advert, the small print says, "Whilst every care has been taken in preparing these particulars, the appointed agents and the respective vendors/landlords give no warranty, express or implied, as to the completeness or accuracy of the information contained herein."

We encourage interested readers to use the free official Transport for London journey planner to test out the other claims in the same advertisement, as well as other advertisements on London properties you see.

Is Royal Wharf 12 minutes to Canary Wharf? Is it a direct route?

is Royal Wharf 20 minute to Bond Street? Is it a direct route?

DLR Map (See where Pontoon Dock is?)

London City Airport Cockpit Approach AVRO RJ 85

This was taken in the good old days before 911 where getting access into the cockpit was still possible.

The jet was landing from the west, flying over Canary Wharf before lining up with the London City Airport Runway for her final (and steep!) approach.

4:58 - Lined up with runway.  The big white structure on the centre left of cockpit window is London Excel
5:23 - Computer Voice announces '500' (i.e. 500 feet)
5:38 - "Minimums" - decision height to decide whether to 'go-around' or to continue to land
5:40 - "One Hundred" - 100 feet in the air
5:43 - "Fifty, Forty, Thirty, Twenty, Ten"
5:49 - Plane gears touch the runway


Don't the pilots make it look so easy?

Happy Investing!!

Royal Wharf - Noise Update - It is Noisy!

In my earlier post, I showed that the Royal Wharf plot is very near the flight-path of incoming and outgoing jets.  When the planes land from the west, it passes by the Royal Wharf plot 15 to 20 seconds before touchdown.

To refresh our memories, see this screenshot of a plane landing.

Pontoon Dock DLR very near the flightpath of London City Airport Traffic

Wrong Information Given By Sales Agent on Direction of Landings/Takeoffs? 
Some friends told me that during the sales presentations (in Singapore), the presenter brushed off questions related to noise and claimed that planes usually take off and land from the East, so the noise is minimized.

This is incorrect.  Planes do land from the west, very often.  Just look at the two videos in my earlier post. In fact, it planes also take off into the West  - i.e. full engine power as they take off, passing Pontoon Dock DLR!

Inputs from People Familiar with London City Airport
I got some inputs from people familiar with the area.  Excerpts here:

"Whilst they aren't large aircraft, any property around Pontoon Dock will suffer from fairly significant aircraft noise.  This is especially true during the morning/evening wave of arrivals/departures.  Aircraft generally depart in a westerly direction from London City Airport, so departures will be more of an issue for you."

Yet another wrote this,

"Pontoon Dock is noisy, Canary Wharf is noisy enough to have aircraft noise as a nuisance if you lived there.  Pontoon Dock does suffer from noise if I am being honest....the days of "only the quietest aircraft using your local airport" are long gone.  Embraers and A318s sound like *real* aeroplanes at take-off power. #myearsarebleeding"

The most detailed & most instructive quote,

"The planes have to rev up a lot to take off on the short runway and also brake when landing.  I had friends at Western Beach (end of the dock, west side) and you could hear the noise from takeoff until it flew overhead.  For about 15 seconds conversation was difficult if windows were open - something they only discovered in the summer as the flat was on sale in the winter and viewings were cleverly arranged for Saturday afternoon when the airport was shut.

"Visited a friend at an apartment next to the Excel centre and the planes were audible from the dock facing rooms with the windows shut.

"I go to Thames Barrier park occasionally (next to Pontoon Dock) on a Sunday afternoon and you do hear the planes.  I once went early midweek in the summer and was shocked at how frequently the planes landed and took off from there as the park was particularly quiet, but the whine of the jets surprised me.  It's a bit muffled at first from the other buildings, but when it clears the sky it's loud.  I don't mind as I like planes, but anyone that's noise sensitive won't."

Are These People Exaggerating?
That is an excellent question, and indeed, we should critically assess all views.  Let us look at some video evidence.



Here is a very instructive video showing you the decibel reading. It exceeds 80.

Notice that from the above 2 videos, the planes are already relatively high up in the sky.  Look back to how low the plane will be when it flies near the future site of Royal Wharf.

Tell me an Airbus A318 isn't noisy.

Conclusion
As the old saying goes, Caveat Emptor - Let the Buyer Beware!

For overseas investors, buying a property without actually walking the actual site is very challenging.  In the past, this would be impossible.  Today, the UK property market, especially London Property market is much more open to international investors.  You can find a tremendous amount of independent information on the UK property market, just by surfing the net and reading credible articles.  Remember to do you homework carefully, especially if you plan to invest in the UK property market.

More Videos

British Airways A318 taking off into the west from London City Airport



Just Alitalia Jet Taking Off


Check out the busy traffic at London City Airport


Bird song drowned out by Plane Taking Off




Night Take-off, into the West.  Beautiful night scenery, over O2 Arena, and then over all the Canary Wharf skyscrapers.

 

Royal Wharf - Too near London City Airport? (Noise Issues)

Royal Wharf - Noisy due to Proximity to London City Airport?

Investors ought to be aware that the Royal Docks area (Including Royal Wharf) is very near the London City Airport.  London City Airport has a single 1,500M long runway. It carried about 3Mil passengers in 2012, and had more than 70,000 aircraft movements.  Airport Website.

The aircraft operated is smaller due to the runway length, usually the AVRO Jet or Bombardier Jets.  The largest aircraft certified to operate out of London City is the Airbus A318.

British Airways A318 at London City Airport

How Close Is the Airport to Royal Wharf?
Take a look at this snapshot from Google Maps.  See where Pontoon Dock is? The flight path takes the plane over the water, however, it is very near the buildings.

How Near Is That?
Watch the following Youtube Video to get a sense of just how close the aircraft is to the ground as it passes the Royal Wharf plot.  Beautiful views of the landing.  Pay attention at 6:48 mark, you can see the Ponton Dock DLR station (right under the right wing).  You can see a green patch which is Thames Barrier Park.  The plot to the right of the park would be Royal Wharf. Near?



Landing - Plane Passes Pontoon Dock XX seconds before Touchdown
Review the above carefully:
6:50 - Plane passes Pontoon Dock DLR
7:07 - Plane wheels touches the runway

This means the plane passes the Pontoon Dock DLR area just 15 to 20 seconds before touchdown.

To make is clearer, see this screenshot of the video at 6:48 and marked out the areas.

London City Night Landing 
I enjoyed this cockpit video of Landing, thanks to the beautiful night scenery.  Isn't London amazing? Enjoy!

1:49 - flying over Canary Wharf (see the tall buildings)
2:06 - see the O2 Arena very clearly (like an inverted cup)
2:36 - approaching the brightly lit runway
2:45 -see the blue lights, that is the front of London Excel (Royal Wharf would be on the right side)
3:07- see the cars going horizontally just before the start of runway lights, that is Connaught Bridge




CONCLUSION - A GREAT PLACE TO TAKE PLANE PHOTOGRAPHS!
When I was walking that area, no aircraft flew in, so I do not have first hand experience on how noisy, or not noisy, the airport would be.  The good thing is that modern aircraft tend to be less noisy, and the aircraft operating out of London City have to fit into certain Noise Categories. That said, there will still be noise. Just how much?  I don't know for sure.  If anybody has been at Pontoon Dock, watching the planes land, do leave a comment to share your experience please.

What I know for sure is that you can take many beautiful pictures of jets taking off and landing at London City airport, if you live in that area!

Noise Issue Update
See this newer blog post for an update on the noise issue - it is noisy!!.  I managed to get updates from people familiar with the area.  The overwhelming conclusion is that the noise would be an issue.  And there may be even more noise in the future as London City Airport is seeking approval for a £200M expansion.
If approved, the expansion would accommodate 50,000 additional flights every year as long as serve bigger (i.e. more noisy) planes!

Plane landing, see the O2 Arena and Canary Wharf in the background

Planes parked at London City Airport - Busy, busy!

Other types of aircraft that operate from London City Airport:

Avro Jet

ATR 72, turboprop 

Royal Wharf London - Good Response to Oxley's London Launch, But How Good is The Location??

Royal Wharf London

It was reported in the Straits Times (21st March 2014) that "large crowds have flocked to the launch of Singapore listed Oxley Holdings first British Property."

This is the official website - http://www.londonroyalwharf.com/; many good details of the property are found on the website, so I leave the reading of those details to you.

Friends who attended the VVIP preview informed me that units were being snapped up like hot cakes, with entire blocks being sold out, even though prices were quite high. (ranging from 5XX pounds/psf to about 8XX pounds/psf)

The marketing collateral is extremely good.  I love the way they sell potential investors the promise of Canary Wharf prices (1,000 pounds/psf and above).  So, this place will be a great buy! 

Location, Location and Location
As the old saying goes, property is all about location.  Now, let us scrutinize the location of Royal Wharf.

This snapshot from Google Maps is very useful.  I have indicated the Royal Wharf site in red.  Is the location good?

Near DLR Pontoon Dock 

Docklands Light Railway

This development is a stone's throw away from the Pontoon Dock DLR.  However, look carefully at the London transport map. Understand that DLR, or the Docklands Light Rail, is a light rail system build to serve the Docklands area, including Canary Wharf. The network is limited, the capacity is not great.



How Convenient is DLR Pontoon Dock? 
Not very.  Pontoon Dock is pretty much on the outskirts of the DLR network.  The Transport for London website has very useful journey planners.  Using this, I got the following times:

a. Pontoon Dock to Canary Wharf - 10 to 12 minutes with one change at Canning Town Underground

b. Pontoon Dock to Tower Hill - 25 minutes, a number of changes

b. Pontoon Dock to Oxford Circus - 32 minutes, one change at Bank Undeground.

This pdf gives you the timetable information of the DLR from Pontoon Dock. I think there is no direct DLR to Canary Wharf.  You have to change.

Near Future Crossrail Station?  Not quite! 
I take issue with the marketing collateral on this point.  The marketing people will give you the impression that this development is near the future Crossrail Station.  One agent said it would be a "10 to 15 minute walk."

Coming online, 2018!

How near is near?  Look at the map above.  The future Crossrail (2018) station's position is already confirmed, and it would be located very near Custom House.  The Crossrail stop for Custom House is to serve the London Excel area.

Crossrail Route Map - http://www.crossrail.co.uk/route/maps/

1.5KM to Crossrail Station, from Royal Wharf
The walking distance from the Royal Wharf Site to the future Crossrail station is about 1.5km or 1,500 meters.  I leave it to the reader to decide whether a 1.5km distance to the nearest Crossrail station is a plus point for this property.  Take note, it takes 20 minutes to walk from Royal Wharf to Custom House.

Takes 20 minutes on foot to get here, from Royal Wharf

Noise From London City Airport? 

The site is very near London City Airport, which raises the issue of noise from aircraft operating from this Airport.  I have created an entire blog post on this issue. 

London City Airport serves more than 3Mil passengers per year.

Conclusion
In our opinion, and strictly our opinion, we do not think that the Royal Wharf development is in a good location.  It does not mean that it is a bad development. On the contrary, the plans look to be very impressive.

Do take note that the major public transport links like DLR and Crossrail will not change, at least for the next 30 years.  Further, London City Airport is not about to move. In fact, there are proposals to expand the Airport, however, these are under consultation.

Do check out my blog post on my walk at the Custom Excel area to give you a sense of how sprawling that area is.

Happy Investing!

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DLR IS NOT THE FAMOUS LONDON TUBE! 

Mind the gap!