Latest News
Penthouses Add a Touch of Glamour to Lincoln Living
Lincoln Landmark Reaches Conclusion
Witham Wharf Opening: Photos
It’s Showtime for Lincoln’s New Waterfront Development
Wave of changes proposed for Lincoln Waterfront
New Look for Brayford Street
Waterfront Expansion
This is why Lincoln's in
Penthouses Add a Touch of Glamour to Lincoln Living
Developers behind Lincoln’s exclusive £26m Witham Wharf have opened a penthouse show apartment for all to view the stylish interiors and quality of finish in Lincoln’s most valuable apartments.
Over two thirds of the 114 one and two bedroom apartments and penthouses at Witham Wharf have now sold and despite challenging market conditions, interest has remained strong.
Chris Howard, Managing Director of Developer, Wigford Ltd, said: “We held an open day last weekend and had fifty serious buyers look around the apartments. There is still a demand for high quality city centre living and you won’t find a more prestigious development in Lincolnshire. You can’t really appreciate the views and space until you actually stand on the balcony or sit in the vast living space and get a feel for what penthouse living is all about.”
Priced from £335,000, the two and three en suite bedroom penthouses have spectacular views from generous terraces and through full height glazed windows of Brayford Wharf, Lincoln Cathedral and the surrounding town & countryside. They are fitted to a very high specification, which includes surround sound systems, Poggenpohl kitchens with Miele equipment, American fridge freezers and much more.
Witham Wharf residents’ benefit from modern environmental initiatives including Green Roof techniques, ensuring the development is both efficient and environmentally friendly. Comfort cooling is installed as standard in all penthouses to assist in maintaining a constant room temperature, fresh air and improved ventilation throughout the year.
Tim Downing, senior partner at Pygott & Crone commented: “A penthouse at Witham Wharf is the best address in Lincoln. “There is a touch of glamour to owning a penthouse and they will always retain an appeal to buyers who love space and enjoy the lifestyle. However they are no longer the sole preserve of footballers and the young and single. We are seeing more mature buyers, including some who are moving from large family homes in the suburbs to sample convenient city life again.”
The development has the latest security systems installed and operates dedicated lifts to and from its adjacent car park, fob entry system, centrally recorded CCTV system and a double shift concierge.
Lincoln Landmark Reaches Conclusion
The final touches are being made to Lincoln’s most prestigious residential development which has revitalised the City’s Brayford waterfront.
It has taken two years to build the £26 million Witham Wharf development, which is now the tallest building constructed in Lincoln since the 1960’s and home to the City’s most valuable apartments. The 114 high specification apartments and penthouses have proved very popular with 74 already sold.
Chris Howard, managing director of developer Wigford Ltd commented: “Prior to construction, the area was in a state of disrepair and an embarrassment to the City. Lincoln now has a leading architect designed building of which it can be proud.
“We expect the remaining apartments to sell quickly now people can look around, see for themselves the quality and appreciate the views of the Brayford Pool, the Cathedral and the surrounding vista.”
The construction involved adding two new floors to the eight-storey building, which are now home to the loft-style penthouses. A £700,000 redevelopment of Brayford Street, the adjoining multi-storey car park (now card or cash payment and open on Sundays) and the street level car park is also well underway. Much needed improvements include car park resurfacing, new footpaths, raised pedestrian crossings, trees and better lighting as well as the greatly admired water feature at Witham Wharf residents’ entrance.
Tim Downing, senior partner at Pygott & Crone commented: “Witham Wharf is unique and the ultimate place to live in Lincoln. It has not only given the waterfront a fresh new focus but City centre living a much needed boost.”
The development has incorporated many new environmental features including an eco-green roof reducing heat loss and energy consumption in winter, heat recovery ventilation systems and recycling points. With prices starting at £155,000, the apartments are fitted to the highest standard with Poggenpohl/Bosch kitchens, Living Control audio system and high quality finishes of walnut, stainless steel and wood flooring. Residents have access to secure dedicated car parking and cycle storage in the adjacent car park, which is accessed via two 13 person direct lifts.
In May Witham Wharf is opening a new penthouse show apartment with full comfort- cooling, Miele appliances & a host of extra features. For more information please contact Tim Downing at Pygott & Crone on 01522 568 822 or Rupert Fisher at Savills on 01522 508911 or visit www.withamwharf.com
Witham Wharf Opening: Photos
Click on the image to take a look at the photos from the Witham Wharf Opening.
It’s Showtime for Lincoln’s New Waterfront Development
Over two thirds of the 114 one and two bedroom apartments and penthouses at Lincoln’s exclusive £26m Witham Wharf development have sold off plan. Now a luxury show apartment is open for all to view the quality of finish and get a feel for stylish city centre living in Lincolnshire’s tallest new residential development.
With prices starting at £155,000, the apartments and penthouses are fitted to a very high specification, which includes surround sound systems & Poggenpohl kitchens with Miele equipment installed as standard. Residents’ benefit from modern environmental initiatives including Green Roof techniques, ensuring the development is both efficient and environmentally friendly.
Chris Howard, Managing Director of Developer, Wigford Ltd, said: “A tremendous amount of research has been undertaken to ensure the finish is of the highest standard. The show apartments now gives people a chance to appreciate this and the breathtaking views of the City from all the apartments.
“Although we have sold seventy-three apartments and penthouses off plan, we anticipate a further surge in interest now people can actually get into the building and appreciate the unique location and opportunity on offer.”
The development has the latest security systems installed and operates dedicated lifts to and from its adjacent car park, fob entry system, centrally recorded CCTV system and a double shift concierge.
Priced at £244,000, the two-bedroom show apartment is situated on the fourth floor of the ten-storey development and enjoys views of both Lincoln Cathedral and Brayford Pool. Visitors can access the apartment, which is open between 10am and 5pm, Tuesday to Saturday inclusive, by driving to the top floor of the adjoining multi-storey car park or walking up the development’s eastside stairwell. To make an appointment please call Becky on 07825 123 213.
For more information please contact Mel Parker at Pygott & Crone on 01522 568 822, Rupert Fisher at Savills on 01522 508911.
Wave of changes proposed for Lincoln Waterfront
Wigford Ltd today unveiled plans for the proposed redevelopment of Brayford Wharf East. The developer behind Lincoln’s exclusive Witham Wharf has commissioned International architects BDP to design a picturesque and people-friendly environment for Lincoln’s prime waterfront area.
Chris Howard, managing director of Wigford Ltd said: “The area is in a state of disrepair and an embarrassment to the City. There are scaffolding poles acting as safety barriers, few seating or pedestrian provisions and no footbridges connecting it to the new Brayford Wharf North area. These plans have been discussed with the Lincolnshire County and Lincoln City councils and the initial feedback has been positive.”
The proposal includes a new contemporary footbridge to Brayford Wharf North with well lit, floating curved benches to enjoy views of the Wharf and a boardwalk with moorings for day boats. Pedestrians will benefit from widened footpaths, new benches, trees and street lighting as well as new designated road crossings. Lit bollards, public art benches and sculptures will create a modern, fresh look to one of Lincoln’s favourite beauty spots.
Tim Downing, senior partner at property specialist Pygott & Crone commented: “With the new restaurants and outlets planned, the area needs investment to create a modern, safe and convenient waterfront.”
The area has proved popular for house-hunters with Witham Wharf already selling 74 of its 114 one and two bedroom apartments and penthouses before construction is completed in November 2007. For more information please visit the show apartment in Brayford Street or call Pygott & Crone on 01522 518295 or Savills on 01522 508900.
New Look for Brayford Street
The developer behind Lincoln’s exclusive Witham Wharf has unveiled an artist impression of its £700,000 redevelopment for Brayford Street and the adjoining multi-storey & street level car parks. Wigford Ltd’s plan will create a picturesque and people-friendly environment for Lincoln’s prime waterfront thoroughfares.
The changes to Brayford Street will include improved footpaths with coloured and different sized pavers, raised pedestrian crossings, new trees and better street lighting as well as a water feature at the entrance to the new covered pedestrian entrance to Witham Wharf. Cyclists will benefit from modern, stainless steel bike racks.
Chris Howard, Managing Director of Wigford Ltd said: “Brayford Street is the main route for pedestrians walking from Lincoln’s waterfront and University to the City centre so it is vital that it is improved from its current dreadful condition to be safe, clean, well lit and easily accessible.”
Renovations to the street-level & NCP multi-storey car park will create a modern safe and landscaped area. New barriers and parking systems will be installed as well as CCTV, a new NCP office for enquiries, new security doors and additional safety measures. The fascia of the building will be tiled, panelled and painted to mirror Witham Wharf and the inside will be steam cleaned, painted and include modern lighting for added security.
“The improvements to the car parks & Brayford Street will tie into the Witham Wharf development and enhance the whole area. We want to create a waterfront that can be enjoyed and is more accessible and safe for visitors and the people of Lincoln,” added Mr Howard.
The high-spec Witham Wharf is scheduled for completion in October 2007 and has already sold 74 of its 114 one and two bedroom apartments and exclusive penthouses. For more information please visit the show apartment in Brayford Street or call Pygott & Crone on 01522 518295 or Savills on 01522 508900
Waterfront Expansion
New shopkeepers or restaurateurs could soon be moving into Lincoln City Centre. More than 12,000sq ft of retail and restaurant space is up for grabs within a swish £26 million redevelopment scheme. The properties are at the base of Witham Wharf – which features 114 apartments and double-sized penthouses and overlooks the Brayford pool. Chris Howard, who is managing director of Witham Wharf developer Wigford Ltd, Said: “Both spaces have detailed planning consent to be used for food and drink, so they are ideal for a waterside restaurant which wants to capitalise on the location and popularity of Lincoln.”
Mr Howard believes the properties are also attractive because they are on the doorstep of a 265-space multi-storey car park.
Commercial letting agent Hodgson Elkington said the units will be ready by next spring. Partner Stephen Bradford said the floorspace is open plan and he expects the premises to be let quickly.
This is why Lincoln's in
Jayne Dowle admires the blockbuster appeal of a city finally making waves
A BLOCKBUSTER movie can do a lot for a city. But has it turned around the fortunes of its property market? Lincoln Cathedral stood in for Westminster Cathedral in The Da Vinci Code last summer. Tom Hanks, who plays the sleuthing lecturer Robert Langdon, stayed at the White Hart hotel, a 14th-century coaching inn in the city. Now the lawns around the Gothic cathedral are once more a haven from the busy main street, known as Steep Hill. No doubt some recent property sales will have been to curious visitors, drawn by the excitement of seeing Tom Hanks disappear into a blacked-out limo.
But not all. Between April and June this year, 1,046 houses and flats were sold in Lincoln, 317 more than during the same period in 2005 (Land Registry figures). That’s a lot of sales for a place with a population of 85,000. In Durham, a comparable historic city with a population of 81,000, only 513 properties changed hands in those three months. So why the sudden interest in a city that was once a byword for boring? “The new university, the new dual-carriageway on the A46, and the RAF’s presence at Waddington and Scampton, where the Red Arrows are currently based, are all factors bringing people into the city,” says Tim Downing, a partner at Pygott & Crone, a local estate agent. “Lincoln has always had some good, desirable properties. What is happening now is that people are realising there is a good quality of life here; the market is diversifying, with more city centre apartments coming into the mix.”
It’s interesting that he mentions the road; in this part of the world, getting stuck behind a tractor chugging between prairie-sized farms can add 45 minutes to your journey. Now Newark, with its direct trains to London, is a ten-minute drive away, Doncaster and Nottingham can be reached within an hour, and the coast in 40 minutes. Schools are good, employment is broad-based with service, food-industry and professional jobs, and there are 19 golf courses near by.
The city centre is dominated by medieval and Georgian buildings, a surprising number of which were built and remain as homes, or are long-standing conversions. Many are listed, which has prevented large-scale redevelopment, also thwarted by the sharp gradient of the hill linking the cathedral precincts to the secular pleasures of the shopping precinct below.
It is this compact existing residential core that makes “city living” more of a desirable possibility here than in other East Midlands commercial centres, which had their hearts (and homes) ripped out in the 1960s. On Bailgate, almost adjacent to the cathedral, there is a four-bedroom, Grade II listed terraced house for sale for £299,000 via Haart (0845 3374666). This is historic charm personified, but the rooms are tiny — the lounge, the largest room downstairs, measures just 13ft 3in by 11ft 4in.
For that kind of price, you would probably prefer a bit more space for your money. Which is what the developer of Witham Wharf is hoping will attract buyers to its £26 million transformation of a former office building overlooking the marina at Brayford Pool, where the River Witham and the Fossdyke canal converge. Connecting this former industrial area, which backs on to the university site, to the rest of the city centre is a major objective of Lincoln City Council’s masterplan, which aims to establish sustained economic growth.
The one and two-bedroom apartments at Witham Wharf, which start at £150,000, include penthouses of between 1,100 sq ft and 6,000 sq ft, and cost from £335,000. Penthouse purchasers can specify the amount of space that they require, and have it customised to their needs, although surround sound, a top-spec Poggenpohl kitchen, and an American fridge with an ice cooler come as standard. Even the cheapest, lower-floor flats get Poggenpohl units and Bosch or Miele appliances. It all sounds, well, a bit glamorous for staid old Lincoln.
“The spec is high,” agrees Chris Howard, managing director of Wigford Ltd, the developers of Witham Wharf. “But prices in Lincoln are now on a par with places like Nottingham, and buyers expect to get a certain standard. There is no area in central Lincoln now where future developments can go up, so the ones that are built should be of the best quality possible.”
Space is certainly tight. At the opposite end of Brayford Pool, Reflection Properties Ltd, a subsidiary of the development company Dawkins & Co, has acquired the site of the marina office and surrounding land. Here it is to build an 11-storey (with penthouse) block of 76 apartments after gaining planning consent earlier this month. “Those locals in the know about Lincoln are supporting it,” says Neil Ingham, of Reflection Properties, “But you still get the traditional sort who are wary.” If some locals are wary of new developments, it is not surprising. The university, which opened in 1996 and is Britain’s newest, offers purpose-built accommodation to 3,000 of its 8,000 students, mostly in newly built blocks that pepper the city. The vibe, according to Ingham, is that the tide is turning quickly towards private residential development before any of the few remaining precious city centre sites are swallowed up.
Even when both riverside developments are completed (Witham Wharf in July 2007 and the first phase of the marina building redevelopment in 2008), there will still be no more than about 350 flats in the city centre. “Compare that to somewhere like Leeds, with the massive oversupply there,” says Ingham. “It doesn’t take a genius to work out that an apartment in the centre of Lincoln is always going to hold its value.”
He’s right. Cracking the secret to Lincoln’s own renaissance turns out to be a lot easier than unlocking the Da Vinci code. Witham Wharf: Pygott & Crone, 01522 568822, www.withamwharf.co.uk Marina development: Reflection Properties, 01277 633211