Latest news with #HerneHill
News.com.au
08-07-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Brickie's slick Herne Hill renovation doubles home's value in four years
A premium renovation that almost doubled the value of an original Herne Hill home has scored the suburb's most expensive sale of the year. Buyers from Newtown paid $1.4m for the transformed four-bedroom house at 5 Knight Ave. The quality of its contemporary rear extension and refit added $662,0000 to the value of the 714sq m property in four years. Geelong Real Estate Co. listing agent Ricky Forte said the front bedroom was the only thing he recognised from when he last sold the retro solid brick home for $738,000 in 2021. An open-plan living zone featuring high raked ceilings, timber floors and a sleek kitchen is the centrepiece of the redesign. 'They had done a really comprehensive, beautiful renovation,' Mr Forte said 'All the people that went through it were from Newtown, Geelong West, Manifold Heights … predominantly, as always, it was the Geelong people that were happy to fight and stretch.' He said three of the four parties that made offers on the house were considering renovating their existing homes but had been put off by construction costs that could amount to $800,000 for something similar. The buyers paid $50,000 above the top asking price to secure the property. 'I felt like nobody wanted to renovate and if you can get one that everything's been done then you just sign on the dotted line as opposed to 18 months of hell,' Mr Forte said. The vendors called on their family's construction experience to pull off the renovation – one is a bricklayer while the other's father is a builder. Recycled brickwork features in a new covered entertainment area overlooking the home's landscaped back garden. The renovation also replaced the dated 1970s brown kitchen, added a fourth bedroom and a stylish ensuite bathroom. The sale is the third million-dollar result in the street, just one block away from the Newtown border. Mr Forte said the same house in the 3220 postcode would set you back to close to $2m, which made the sister suburb an attractive value proposition. 'I think it has given a lot of people confidence that you could do a big renovation in Herne Hill and get your money back,' he said. He said another buyer who recently paid $705,000 for an older house at 18 Ashbourne St, Herne Hill, was among those who inspected the Knight Ave property for inspiration. 'He's pulling his apart and is going to build it to the Knight Ave level and now that's given him the confidence that renovating at that level that the money is there,' he said.
Yahoo
22-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Viral video shows Just Eat driver toss delivery into Thameslink during heatwave chaos
A video shared on social media shows a Just Eat driver making a difficult delivery by throwing items into a stranded Thameslink train from the ground below, during Saturday's disruption. The clip, posted on X, shows the driver standing at trackside level and accurately throwing several items through the open doors of a stationary Thameslink train positioned on raised track above. People can be seen waiting in the trains doorway ready to catch the items and other passengers watch from the railings. Cheers can be heard when a successful throw and catch is made. The incident took place during a major service failure on June 21, when a train fault between London Blackfriars and Herne Hill left multiple services immobilised in extreme heat. Around 1,800 passengers were eventually evacuated with assistance from emergency services. Temperatures reached 33C during the disruption, and many of the stranded carriages were without air conditioning. Someone ordered Just Eat to their broken down Thameslink train and managed to get it delivered 😭 — UB1UB2 West London (Southall) (@UB1UB2) June 22, 2025 Earlier that day, a spokesperson for Govia Thameslink Railway and Network Rail said: 'Earlier today, a fault on a train near Loughborough Junction brought all services to a halt in the area, three of them outside station platforms. 'Without power and air conditioning on such a hot day, we pulled all resources from across Sussex and Kent to get personnel on site to safely evacuate passengers as quickly as possible along the track. 'This would have been a difficult and uncomfortable experience for our passengers and we are truly sorry.' British Transport Police said officers were called just before 11am and assisted in the evacuation. London Fire Brigade confirmed it sent 25 firefighters to the scene to help passengers disembark. We have approached Just Eat for further comment.
The Independent
21-06-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Passengers stuck on broken-down train ‘like an oven' on hottest day of the year
Passengers were forced to walk along a railway track in sizzling heat after they claimed they were being 'slow-cooked' inside a broken-down train carriage. British Transport Police freed dozens of Thameslink passengers after the train between London Blackfriars and Herne Hill broke down on Saturday. Temperatures soared to nearly 34C in some parts of the UK, making it the country's hottest day of the year so far. An enraged passenger said on social media: 'We have been stuck on this hot and humid train for over an hour. It is like an oven in here and we are being slow-cooked.' Passenger Clare added: 'We are stuck on this train, all boiling alive. No air con. Please can you get this train moving.' Another issued a plea for help, asking Thameslink when it would rescue people stuck inside the sweltering carriages with 'no AC'. Thameslink said the train broke down near Loughborough Junction due to a 'fault', which causes services across the network to undergo 'significant disruption'. A spokesperson said: 'Earlier today, a fault on a train near Loughborough Junction brought all services to a halt in the area, three of them outside station platforms. 'Without power and air conditioning on such a hot day, we pulled all resources from across Sussex and Kent to get personnel on site to safely evacuate passengers as quickly as possible along the track. 'This would have been a difficult and uncomfortable experience for our passengers and we are truly sorry. The safest place was to remain on the trains while we worked our hardest to get help to those on board.' An amber heat-health alert, issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) for the first time since September 2023, for all regions in England remains in place over the weekend. The agency warned that significant impacts are likely across health and social care services, including an increase in demand, during the alert period. London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and Imperial College London research warned that around 570 people could die due to the heat over the four days. The excess deaths were estimated to peak at 266 on Saturday when the heat will be at its most intense. London was predicted to have the greatest number of excess deaths at 129. The researchers said their assessment highlights how extreme heat poses a growing threat to public health in the UK. Many charities have also issued warnings as the hotter weather continues this week. The British Heart Foundation (BHF) is encouraging people with heart conditions to take precautions to minimise potential health risks during a heatwave. Age UK has urged people to check in on older relatives, friends, and neighbours to see if they need anything and to make sure they are not feeling overwhelmed by the excessive heat. Meanwhile, the Met Office has warned Britons that a tornado could hit as severe thunderstorms are set to strike the UK within hours. The forecaster warned parts of the country 'could start to see tornado activity' later on Saturday as a yellow thunderstorm weather warning comes into force.
Daily Mail
21-06-2025
- Climate
- Daily Mail
Heatwave hell as passengers are 'slow cooked' on stuck trains for hours amid 34C heat - before being forced to walk down tracks to freedom
Terrified passengers had to be freed from stuck ThamesLink trains by police and were forced to walk down the tracks in sizzling 34C heat. Enraged customers travelling on the services say they felt like they were 'in an oven' and being 'slow cooked' as the services came to a halt 'no air conditioning' or ventilation. It is believed numerous trains were stopped due to faults, but a series of images shows one service heading for south London being evacuated. The operator confirmed on a social media post that their services were facing issues. They posted: 'Due to a fault on a train between London Blackfriars and Herne Hill, some lines are blocked. We're working to gather more information on this incident.' They added that their 'services across the network are experiencing significant disruption'. It comes as weather experts warned much of the UK could be soaked as soon as 5pm this evening. Met Office forecasters have warned that while record-breaking temperatures look set to be reached today, Britons should also prepare for a substantial downpour in the aftermath. This week has already seen thermometers surpass 30C across much of the UK, with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all recording their warmest days of the year on Friday. And that blistering heat has continued into today, which is the official end of spring. Thousands of people watched the sunrise over Stonehenge to celebrate the summer solstice this morning. Those who gathered for the spectacle at the neolithic monument in Wiltshire braved a warm start to the morning as they marked the year's longest day. Temperatures in Salisbury and Greater London reached 18C by 5am, according to the Met Office. The weather bureau confirmed that Yeovilton in Somerset and Crosby in Merseyside recorded the highest overnight temperatures in England, both reaching 19.7C by 6am on Saturday. Towns in Cumbria and Lancashire also recorded temperatures above 19C. An amber heat-health alert for all regions in England remains in place for the weekend, but a warning for thunder has been issued. Spanning the north Midlands to Northumberland, including north-east Wales, downpours, hail, lightning and gusty winds are predicted from 3pm today until the early hours of tomorrow. The Met Office warned of 'sudden flooding' which could see communities 'cut off', transport disruption and power cuts. The hot weather is poised to linger in the South and East through the weekend. An amber heat health alert – to warn healthcare providers – lasts until Monday. Elsewhere, temperatures are set to fall from tomorrow to the high teens or low 20s. It follows a World Weather Attribution (WWA) research group study published on Friday which found the heatwave has been made around 100 times more likely and 2-4C hotter due to climate change. Dr Garyfallos Konstantinoudis, lecturer at the Grantham Institute at Imperial College London, said: 'Heatwaves are silent killers - people who lose their lives in them typically have pre-existing health conditions and rarely have heat listed as a contributing cause of death. 'This real-time analysis reveals the hidden toll of heatwaves and we want it to help raise the alarm. 'Heatwaves are an underappreciated threat in the UK and they're becoming more dangerous with climate change.' An official heatwave is recorded when areas reach a certain temperature for three consecutive days, with thresholds varying from 25C to 28C in different parts of the UK. The Met Office confirmed that 'many places' in England and 'one or two areas' in Wales, including Cardiff, entered a heatwave on Friday. There will also be very high UV and pollen levels across the country on Saturday, the forecaster said. The amber heat-health alert, issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) for the first time since September 2023, is in force until 9am on Monday. It warns 'significant impacts are likely' across health and social care services because of high temperatures, including a rise in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over or people with health conditions. Following the hot weather, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) urged the public to take heat and water safety seriously. During 2022's heatwave, temperatures rose past 40C, leading to 320 people being treated in hospital. Steve Cole, policy director at RoSPA, said: 'Heat is no longer just a holiday perk - it's a growing public health risk. 'We're seeing more frequent and intense heatwaves, both in the UK and globally, and the data shows a clear rise in heat-related illness and fatalities. 'Warm weather can also be deceptive when it comes to going for a dip. 'While the air may feel hot, water temperatures often remain dangerously cold, which can lead to cold-water shock, even in summer.'
Telegraph
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
I live near a festival site – and I love it
Brockwell Park stands at the southern end of Herne Hill in south London. Opened to the public in 1892, it still feels like a spirited reminder of Victorian philanthropy; a place where London's cultural and social divisions are eroded; a free space for joggers, tai chi practitioners, footballers, families and the occasional miscreant. In the early weeks of the pandemic, the park had to be closed due to fears of overcrowding – a sign that it's a part of everyone's lives. For many years, I have lived nearby. I've benefited from Brockwell's commanding views across the city, its lido, its beautiful walled garden. I have also been to the occasional music gig – and it's the site's use as a venue for festivals that has attracted so many headlines recently, and caused many of my neighbours much consternation. It sometimes feels as though the battle for Brockwell Park were being pitched as a battle for London's soul. In short: part of the park is closed off every year for about seven or eight weeks for a series of festivals known as Brockwell Live – this closure is for the setting-up, as well as the events themselves. The most high-profile festival is Mighty Hoopla, which brings together 2000s favourites such as Daniel Bedingfield, Samantha Mumba and Jamelia. The complainants have, inevitably, been branded Nimbys. I'm not so sure: for one thing, I'm sympathetic to their environmental concerns. The park is a haven for pipistrelles, Daubenton's bats and a variety of birds such as herons, and green-winged teals. Traffic, both human and automotive, increases horribly when major events are happening. Litter unfurls through the Victorian streets. And yet I don't oppose Brockwell Live. For one thing, I get a weird Proustian rush when I open my window and, if the wind is in the right direction, I hear the sound of Sugababes performing Push the Button. More seriously, we know that live music in Britain remains in a perilous position. The decline has been coming since the early 2000s, and was exacerbated horribly by the pandemic. In 2023, no fewer than 125 grass-roots venues closed in the UK, with escalating costs in the form of rent and utility bills the main cause. Last year, it was estimated that the music sector contributed £6.1 billion to the economy – not just because of ticket sales, but due to spending at the venue and in the local environment. Big tours, such as those undertaken by Coldplay, accounted for three-quarters of the total. But no one in that echelon plays at Brockwell Park – apart from Kneecap, who appear this weekend at Wide Awake Festival, – but they may be the Coldplays of tomorrow, and they need to hustle: their careers are reliant on events such as these, particularly in an age when streaming has critically reduced artists' revenues. The reduction of live music venues in London has also been catastrophic for youngsters who want to discover new artists, or even just have a good time. In the late 1990s, the landscape was filled with a mix of emerging talent and established names. You could crawl along Camden High Street on a Thursday night and catch five different bands (or so it seemed). I wonder how many of those venues still exist. My favourite, The Falcon, a wonderfully dingy hub for shoegazers and hyperactive indie kids, was situated on Royal College Street: it has long gone. Today, a festival at a London park feels about as close to the live experience I was lucky enough to have nearly 30 years ago. Of course, even these festivals aren't what they once were. Brockwell Live is promoted by Superstruct, a multinational company which is in turn owned by KKR, a global investment firm. This is a long way from the heyday of the rackety independent festival. Some vanished events sound rather wonderful: I would have loved to attend the Anti-Heroin Festival at Crystal Palace Park in 1985, when Hawkwind and Spear of Destiny shared the stage with Dame Vera Lynn. Brockwell Park, too, has had its fair share of politically themed events, notably Rock Against Racism in 1978 and 1979, when attendance is thought to have been in excess of 150,000 (these were, of course, free). Mighty Hoopla's current capacity is less than 20 per cent of this. So let the music play? Brockwell Live announced earlier this week that the festivals would go ahead despite a successful legal challenge from a local campaign group. Yet certain things do need to change: I would argue that, given environmental concerns, the capacity should be reduced, and also that Superstruct should pledge a considerable donation to the Music Venue Trust. Live music is crucial to Britain's cultural infrastructure – but it's ever more becoming a tale of haves and have-nots.
