Are DIY stores open? Coronavirus lockdown information for homeowners Nottingham Estate Agents

Many weekends – and particularly those with a Bank Holiday – begin with a trip to a DIY shop for thousands of homeowners but the country’s leading stores have now closed. The Government has clearly advised that everyone should stay at home. Shopping for basic necessities, for example food and medicine, must be as infrequent […]

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Born to rewild: why now is the perfect time to make your lawn an eco-paradise

This spring, we’re in a collective moment of questioning priorities and trying new things – so why not question our commitment to traditional front lawns?

Chances are, your lawn isn’t natural, environmentally healthy, or necessary – but it is part of a prevalent national standard. Americans spend an estimated $36bn on lawn care annually, and the amount of lawns we maintain could roughly cover the state of Florida. Lawns, not edible agriculture, are the biggest irrigated crop in America – and they are partly to blame for the decline in bees, insects and songbirds.

Why should you care? Recent studies reveal that insect numbers are remarkably low – monarch and rusty-patched bumblebee populations are both down nearly 90% in the last 20 years. Scientists estimate the arthropod population on Earth is down 45% from pre-industrial numbers. Plummeting insect populations affect everything: birds and fish can’t eat; portions of our food supply go unpollinated; entire ecosystems are at risk.

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Born to rewild: why now is the perfect time to make your lawn an eco-paradise

This spring, we’re in a collective moment of questioning priorities and trying new things – so why not question our commitment to traditional front lawns?

Chances are, your lawn isn’t natural, environmentally healthy, or necessary – but it is part of a prevalent national standard. Americans spend an estimated $36bn on lawn care annually, and the amount of lawns we maintain could roughly cover the state of Florida. Lawns, not edible agriculture, are the biggest irrigated crop in America – and they are partly to blame for the decline in bees, insects and songbirds.

Why should you care? Recent studies reveal that insect numbers are remarkably low – monarch and rusty-patched bumblebee populations are both down nearly 90% in the last 20 years. Scientists estimate the arthropod population on Earth is down 45% from pre-industrial numbers. Plummeting insect populations affect everything: birds and fish can’t eat; portions of our food supply go unpollinated; entire ecosystems are at risk.

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Country diary: a gang of outlaws roam the garden

Wenlock Edge, Shropshire: The robin, bee-fly and other anarchic creatures enact their Wild West dramas of the soil

“In some lonesome shadows she will greet ya / Billy, you’re so far away from home,” sang Bob Dylan, and Billy the Kid rises from the grave in our back garden. Scuffing the soil in the shadow of a flowering currant, a tiny human shape catches my daughter’s eye. She picks it up and rubs the subterranean years off to discover a little brass figurine, an inch or so tall, of Billy the Kid. His rifle is broken but his cocky pose and battered sugar-loaf hat are as distinctive as the 1880s photograph taken not long before he was shot dead aged 21. How he got here goodness knows, but Billy shines in bright spring sunshine.

He may be far from home but he’s not the only outlaw in this garden. Watching from the hedge is Robin Redbreast; as quixotic a mix of charm and violence as Billy, Robin is a mythic creature loved by the people, too. He cocks his head to watch everything we do. He has no fear of us. We are, after all, only substitutes for wild pigs rooting through the earth; he waits for a fork to turn up the real treasure in the soil – worms. “Who killed Cock Robin?” asks the 18th-century murder rhyme. “Who saw him die? / I, said the Fly / with my little eye.”

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Coronavirus: Virtual valuations and other tips for selling your home Nottingham Estate Agents

The coronavirus pandemic is forcing property sellers to think differently about their next move – and estate agents to get creative to help them. Already growing in popularity before tough social distancing restrictions were put in place by the Government, virtual viewings have never been so attractive to property seekers. And potential sellers yet to […]

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Country diary: a gang of outlaws roam the garden

Wenlock Edge, Shropshire: The robin, bee-fly and other anarchic creatures enact their Wild West dramas of the soil

“In some lonesome shadows she will greet ya / Billy, you’re so far away from home,” sang Bob Dylan, and Billy the Kid rises from the grave in our back garden. Scuffing the soil in the shadow of a flowering currant, a tiny human shape catches my daughter’s eye. She picks it up and rubs the subterranean years off to discover a little brass figurine, an inch or so tall, of Billy the Kid. His rifle is broken but his cocky pose and battered sugar-loaf hat are as distinctive as the 1880s photograph taken not long before he was shot dead aged 21. How he got here goodness knows, but Billy shines in bright spring sunshine.

He may be far from home but he’s not the only outlaw in this garden. Watching from the hedge is Robin Redbreast; as quixotic a mix of charm and violence as Billy, Robin is a mythic creature loved by the people, too. He cocks his head to watch everything we do. He has no fear of us. We are, after all, only substitutes for wild pigs rooting through the earth; he waits for a fork to turn up the real treasure in the soil – worms. “Who killed Cock Robin?” asks the 18th-century murder rhyme. “Who saw him die? / I, said the Fly / with my little eye.”

Continue reading...

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UK's surveyors make plea for stamp duty holiday after lockdown

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors warned that house sales, prices and rents could slide

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Britain’s surveyors have made a plea to the government to introduce a stamp duty holiday once the lockdown ends, as they warned that house sales and prices could slide for the next 12 months.

In a reversal to the first two months of the year, when the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) was reporting a buoyant market, it found that a large net balance of members believe house prices will now fall over the next 12 months. They also predict a small fall in rents in the near term, although they will then flatten out over the next year.

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