286 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
286 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
property
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propertyadvice
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propertyclinic
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7656534
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-----
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# Property clinic: planning, bricks and mortar and points of law
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## Your source of advice and essential information for buying and selling
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property, home improvements and the property market.
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12:00PM BST 04 May 2010
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[Comments][1]
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**Planning**
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My neighbour often flies a helicopter from a pad in his garden about 30m from
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our house and less than 15m from a curtilage. We have objected on the grounds
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of potential danger, pollution (noise and fumes), privacy and so on. It's
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horrible. But the local planners accept the situation because it is a
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residential plot and the CAA says there is no danger. He has now acquired a
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vacant non-residential leisure plot, which is even closer to us, and is
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constructing a new pad. He claims he can do this because he has assimilated it
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into his garden. Surely there should be some discussion and a formal process
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before such a thing can happen?
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**John Winter writes**
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Not many people fly helicopters from their gardens. The situation is so
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uncommon that there is little in the planning acts on the subject. There have
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been court cases that have acted as a precedent to a certain extent. But each
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piece of land and each circumstance is different, so these cases are not much
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help unless you find one directly comparable to your own. I fear that if the
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planning authority and the CAA do not object there is little that you can do
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except take action under the laws of noise and nuisance. I am sorry about this
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but common sense does not always win.
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You say that your neighbour plans to form a new helipad on land that was not
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residential. It may be that he will need planning permission for the change of
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use and the hardstanding; it would be worth asking your local council. If your
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neighbour does have to submit a planning application, then I would expect you
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to be consulted, which will give you the opportunity to object, or at least to
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state your views. There is no obligation on the planners to act according to
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your wishes but at least your concerns would receive consideration.
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## Related Articles
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* [Declarations of trust][2]
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22 Apr 2010
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* [Using a managing agent][3]
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14 Apr 2010
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* [Property clinic: Money matters][4]
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16 Apr 2010
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* [Property clinic: Bricks & mortar][5]
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15 Apr 2010
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* [Property clinic: Points of law][6]
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14 Apr 2010
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* [How to sublet a flat][7]
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08 Apr 2010
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**Bricks & mortar**
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Our house is semi-detached and the rendering is beginning to let in damp.
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Quite a few of our neighbours have recently had protective coatings applied
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with guarantees that last for more than 20 years. That's all very well if you
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can rely on the company still being around; if not, a guarantee isn't worth
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the paper it's written on. Do you have any opinion on the effectiveness of
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these coatings and which ones are the best?
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**David Snell writes**
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I can't really bring myself to recommend any of these miracle coatings
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because, effective though they may be in the short term, the companies that
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promote and install them are almost invariably franchises and they will have
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ceased trading long before any guarantees run out. I say effective in the
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short term reservedly because I'm sure that, in the laboratory, they can prove
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just how watertight and efficacious the material is. But the fact is that its
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application is invariably to an unsuitable substrate.
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If the rendering on your house is "beginning to let in damp", it is the
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rendering that is at fault. And the fact that it is promoting that dampness
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within the home indicates that your walls are solid, almost certainly built of
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soft brick or stone with lime mortar and a lime render. But rendering those
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walls with a cementatious covering has prevented them from breathing, so the
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damp must either express itself inside or accumulate beneath the render
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causing cracking.
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Covering the house with an impervious layer will exacerbate the problem. It
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should be rendered with a lime render and decorated with a lime wash to allow
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it to breathe and function as was originally intended.
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**Points of law**
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I am renovating an old house. It has a new roof, room partitions and plaster
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but no plumbing, sewerage, heating, kitchen, water or electricity (except for
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two emergency sockets to work with). Yet the council says it could be let so
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Council Tax is payable. This is absurd as no one could live there until all
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the services are working. Health and safety would have a fit at the idea.
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Could you tell me when I become liable?
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**David Fleming writes**
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The statutory provisions here are complex. Council Tax applies to "domestic"
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properties and Section 66(5) of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 provides
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that property not in use is domestic if it appears that when next in use it
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will be domestic. Accordingly, a property being refurbished is in principle
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liable to Council Tax.
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However, there are a number of exemptions: for six months in respect of
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unoccupied properties that have been newly built or structurally altered; for
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12 months for unoccupied properties that are having major repair work or
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structural changes carried out. It seems to me that the latter probably
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applies to you. You should submit the necessary claim for exemption to your
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local council.
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Presumably you are already paying for the electricity but you will not have to
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pay for the water until you turn on the tap. You are already doubtless
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registered with one of the water companies so make sure they know you aren't
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using any yet as you don't want to receive unnecessary bills. Obviously, if
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your water is metered this problem will not arise.
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* Send your property problems to: Property Clinic, The Daily Telegraph, 111
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Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 0DT email >>
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propertyclinic@telegraph.co.uk
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* Our experts regret that they cannot answer readers' letters personally.
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All correspondence should be sent to them at the address given above. We
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regret that we cannot acknowledge letters. Please keep them brief
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**Need to know **
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Continuing the series in which our Clinic experts provide a guide to those
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thorny issues that can trip up the unwary. This week, Richard Morea explains
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the Standard Variable Rate.
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* **What does "standard variable rate" mean?**
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A variable rate is the opposite of a fixed rate and the SVR is the no-frills
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deal, as opposed to a discount or tracker mortgage. The lender alters the
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interest rate at its own discretion to reflect market conditions. In March
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2009, the Bank of England reduced the base rate to the lowest point in its
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300-year history and it hasn't moved since. For the first time in two decades
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the hitherto unattractive SVR was considered a good choice for a mortgage.
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* **How did this change happen?**
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Lenders helped to create it by saving their best deals for borrowers with at
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least 40 per cent in equity and often offering poorer rates for those with a
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smaller percentage. With house prices falling, some home owners fell foul of
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these tighter lending restrictions and opted for the SVR through a lack of
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alternatives. Others chose it from a position of strength, believing that, as
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the Bank Rate fell, so would the SVR.
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The reality is more complicated. C&G and Nationwide guarantee that their SVR
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can be no more than two per cent above base rate so their customers are
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receiving the full benefit. However, most lenders don't have such a tie so
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haven't passed on the full reduction.
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Some lenders have changed the way in which they calculate their SVR: Halifax,
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for example, increased its margin over base rate from two per cent to three
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per cent. But most lenders blocked new customers from choosing their SVR.
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* **So is an SVR a good choice now, if you can get hold of it?**
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It depends on your lender's rate and whether you could afford the repayments
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should interest rates rise.
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Many lenders' reluctance to pass on changes in the Bank Rate has left huge
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differences in SVRs, which now range from 2.5 per cent to more than six per
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cent. As if this wasn't enough of a lottery, some have unilaterally increased
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their SVR, despite the Bank Rate not having changed. Skipton, for example, has
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"temporarily" removed its tie to the Bank Rate and upped its SVR by 1.45 per
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cent. In total, 13 lenders have increased theirs since Bank Rate hit 0.5 per
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cent.
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Fortunately the market is swinging back in favour of the borrower; as house
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prices have rallied and mortgage competition has improved. Lenders are
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offering improved fixed and variable deals. So, whether or not you're tempted
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by the peace of mind of a fixed rate, look closely at what is available from
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other lenders as you can make considerable savings by remortgaging.
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[X][8] Share & bookmark
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[What are these?][9]
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* Share: [Share][8] [ ][10] [ ][11]
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[Tweet][12]
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/propertyadvice/propertyclinic/7656534
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/Property-clinic-planning-bricks-and-mortar-and-points-of-law.html
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Telegraph
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## [Property Clinic][13]
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* ### [Property »][14]
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* ### [Property Advice »][15]
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* ### [Renovating and DIY »][16]
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In property
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[![Twenty-four-hour party people: noisyneighbours can turn even the loveliest
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of houses into a waking nightmare][17] ][18]
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### [Property clinic: Noisy neighbours][18]
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[![House Doctor DIY: whether you are papering walls or ceilings, it pays to
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have a helper at hand, says David Snell][19] ][20]
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### [Doctor in the House: wallpaper worries][20]
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[![I spy: neighbours are not responsible for subcontractors
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][21] ][22]
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### [Property clinic: How responsible are our neighbours?][22]
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[![Building regulations and energy efficiency: The new elemental U values
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applies to flat roofs, external walls, glazing and roof lights][23] ][24]
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### [Building regulations and energy efficiency][24]
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[X][8] Share & bookmark
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Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
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Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
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[What are these?][9]
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Share:
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* [ ][8]
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* [ ][10]
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* [ ][11]
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* [Tweet][12]
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* Advertisement
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![][25]
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telegraphuk
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Please enable JavaScript to view the [comments powered by Disqus.][26] [blog
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