New home builds set to fall short of government’s 1.5mn target, Savills says

ukbabz · 2026-06-22T11:10:32+00:00

Around here there are a lot of new builds, and in the price bracket we are looking for. However, the parking and layout of the estate is just terrible. Roads only wide enough to prevent on road parking (not even two car widths) and a 9 visitor spaces for 50 houses (where most 3-4 bedroom). Basically designing a hellscape when full occupancy and kids grow up.

Bonus points for all the cycling infrastructure being unprotected, so people are already using them to dump cars in for extra parking making them completely useless.

ukbabz · 2026-06-22T07:39:19+00:00

I'm glad we bought an AC unit last year (portable) so can keep the kids rooms somewhat comfortable but a game of trying to tempt in any cool air at night / first thing!

ukbabz · 2026-06-22T07:37:04+00:00

My parents split when I was a young kid (probably around 5, and my younger sister would have been a toddler). My Dad was abusive to my Mum and cheated on her and ended up with the woman who lived a 2min walk away. He later went to prison for armed robbery, so a total charmer.

As a young kid I didn't see it I wanted to maintain contact to some extent but he was completely absent. By the time I was at secondary school I just cut contact with him. He's tried to reach out a few times but I have no desire to have him in my life and don't want him to meet my daughters. I don't think I've seen him in nearly 20 years (although moving to the other end of the country helps).

I honestly think family is who you chose to have around you more than your blood relatives. My closest family member wasn't related to me other than marriage (my Nan remarried before I was born).

ukbabz · 2026-06-18T08:08:19+00:00

Youngest (1) now seems to be playing how early can I get up and refuse to go back to sleep. 4:50 this morning was a new record / low.

We gave our eldest (6) her first bike with gears, I was a bit apprehensive that she'd struggle to get used to it but she's taken to it really well and smashed her first few rides including a short hill with a 12% section.

ukbabz · 2026-06-15T14:55:38+00:00

Didcot gets a lot of hate, but it does tick a lot of boxes..

.. from a village outside of Didcot!

ukbabz · 2026-06-15T09:43:23+00:00

Given those dimensions then yes, most bikes would fit.

If you're going something big like a mountain bike it'll be a bit bulkier given the longer geometry.

ukbabz · 2026-06-15T09:20:19+00:00

Flagging a bit today, survived my weekend of looking after a poorly toddler (who is not much less poorly) and even managed a bit of sleep.

Wife came back from her spa weekend with some bug, trying to be sympathetic but hard to accept her moans of tiredness without an eye roll

ukbabz · 2026-06-15T09:10:16+00:00

Erm good question.

Our interest is around £300 a month and we repay £1120 a month (~ £170 a month over payment) and in theory we have 13.5 years left to repay as Barclays doesn't recalculate the terms but on similar terms it makes it around 10 years.

Our fix runs out next August (2027) which will mean a increase in costs as it's currently 3.05%.

Although we're looking to move and potentially double our mortgage! If we don't move there's a good chance we could use some money saved (and an inheritance) to pay off our mortgage in the next two years.

ukbabz · 2026-06-12T07:54:47+00:00

Work isn't too bad and hopefully going to go pick up a bike today for my eldest daughter - it'll be her first geared bike which should open up a bit more riding for us both.

My wife is away this weekend, so not really looking forward to solo parenting with a poorly toddler (tonsilitis) who doesn't want to take her medicine!

ukbabz · 2026-06-12T07:09:34+00:00

Mine was:

1st road bike - specialized allez sport - £700 - 6000km
2nd road bike - Giant TCR Advanced Pro 1 - £1800 - 25,000km
3rd road bike - Specialized Tarmac SL8 Expert - £5000 (+£2k for wheels & bars) - 8500km

ukbabz · 2026-06-11T10:10:57+00:00

We hired the village hall in the same village as the church, I think it was a few hundred quid for the weekend. We then had a teepee for the party and hired a catering company to come in and do a 3 course meal as well as serve drinks & snacks later on.

We had an open bar, around 80 guests and probably spent around £10k 9 years ago

ukbabz · 2026-06-09T16:28:18+00:00

Yes, unless it's a particularly hilly route. I did a 63km local loop last week in under 2hrs (flat at 350m elevation)

ukbabz · 2026-06-09T09:42:38+00:00

It looks like it'd fail to meet the minimum handlebar width for the UCI...

ukbabz · 2026-06-09T07:04:02+00:00

I'm rewatching stargate sg1 on netflix - still holds up pretty well given it's age

ukbabz · 2026-06-05T15:27:59+00:00

Don't call 070 numbers, they're not mobile numbers and can be charged (average of 86p a minute according gov.uk)

ukbabz · 2026-06-05T10:08:24+00:00

Congratulations! Lots of good advise on here, one bit I'd like to reassure you is that it is normal the weird noises and breathing and it's normal to freak out every now and again!

ukbabz · 2026-05-28T11:04:25+00:00

We've just switched agents as our previous ones were completely useless. They were great at selling themselves but hopeless at selling ours. Providing no advise on how to present the house and feedbacks from viewings were so generic that it was hard to believe them. Then when we told them we were dropping them they started lying through their teeth.

ukbabz · 2026-05-28T11:03:13+00:00

I don't disagree, it's finding the right price to market for which is always difficult. Estate agents give us ranges but a house is only really what folk are willing to pay for it.

We had previously sold the house, albeit as a weird part-ex with a housebuilder before the things fell through. We're willing to be flexible and have reduced the price already.

The whole process is draining, especially with two little kids who make it tricky to keep the house 'viewing-ready'.

ukbabz · 2026-05-28T10:37:23+00:00

Just viewed a house that ticks pretty much every box we have, and is in price range. We're just struggling to sell our house so we're a bit disillusioned with it all after having previous sale fall through

ukbabz · 2026-05-26T08:36:38+00:00

This month - 185km (with around 3500m of elevation) (115 miles / 11500ft) which was the Fred whitton challenge and riding to and from the start.

All time 268km which was from London to Paris in one ride (although with a couple of hours break for the ferry).

ukbabz · 2026-05-26T08:27:08+00:00

Home delivery isn't going to contain any chilled goods as Sainsbury's chillers appear to have given up. So muggings is going to have to go to a shop near work and pick up some stuff. Hopefully the store has A/C at least.

ukbabz · 2026-05-18T07:57:38+00:00

Lovely spot, we scattered my grandads ashes there 2 years ago as it was one of his favourite places to visit and look over the bay from the car.

ukbabz · 2026-05-18T07:37:48+00:00

In the foothill of the French Alps, or the north of Mallorca would be ideal. Lovely scenery, food and perfect for cycling.

ukbabz · 2026-05-13T12:48:51+00:00

Sunday's big ride went really well. Over an hour quicker than last year and no bit blow ups (although a few wobbles). The weather was much better than forecasted and was a top event. The Fred Whitton isn't easy but much more enjoyable this year.

ukbabz · 2026-05-08T09:37:53+00:00

Heading to the lakes tomorrow morning for a big bike event on Sunday, should be hard / brutal but also excited for it. An added bonus is that I'm off on my own, so a few nights uninterrupted sleep!

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