Category Archives: House removals

House removals

Best places to live in Kent 2018 – Canterbury, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Ashford, Sandwich, Margate, West Malling

Colin Batt Removals Comment

We have collated the results of several surveys to highlight the best towns and villages to live in Kent. We know that choosing the best place to live in Kent is very subjective, everyone has their own personal favourite town or village. Selecting the right place for you will depend on your personal circumstances, are you commuting, do you need access to good schools, are you a shopaholic etc? However, research and league tables do help define what each town can offer and provide a different perspective on life in various Kentish Towns. We have been looking online and have pulled together the top lists from a number of areas.

One Dome – Best towns and villages in Kent

One Dome, a property technology company, recently conducted some research into the best towns to live in Kent. Each town was measured using data from 70 sources and scored according to their own algorithm. The ranking was based upon education, transport links, lifestyle and nightlife, noise, crime, green spaces, public safety and access to groceries.

In One Dome’s view, Canterbury topped the charts by combining its cultural and historical heritage with some great education establishments and local nature areas. This makes it a hit with families and students alike. The full top five looks like this:

  1. Canterbury – Scored well for education, green spaces and historic landmarks. Not a great place for noise but good commuter links.
  2. Royal Tunbridge Wells – unsurprisingly this historic spa town scored well culturally, with plenty of green space, shops, restaurants and bars. Moving here does come with a price tag though!
  3. Belvedere – Easily commutable to London, being in zone 5, with lots of ‘Good’ schools as rated by OFSTED.
  4. Ashford – Scored well due to the high speed link to London along with plenty of shops and restaurants.
  5. Sandwich – small but attractive town, quiet place to live and only minutes from the coast. Not great if you’re looking to get to London in a hurry.

Dartford, Maidstone, Gillingham, Dover and Folkestone finished off the top ten, Sevenoaks just missed out in 11th spot.

One Dome also looked at Kent’s villages. They ranked our quaint settlements on Local Reality data and the top rated were:

  1. Eynsford
  2. St Mary’s Platt
  3. Ightham
  4. Staplehurst
  5. Brenchley
  6. Marden
  7. Langton Green
  8. Hawkhurst
ashford removals

Award Winning House Removals Company Kent.

Halifax Quality of Life Survey 2017

Interestingly, Kent has not done so well in the Halifax Quality of Life Survey 2017. We only managed to get one of our great towns into the top 50 this year, in 2014 we managed 5 (see our blog).  Well done to Tonbridge and Malling who secured 16th in the Halifax rankings.

Overall 17 of the top 50 were located in the South East and 4 in London. The South scored well in Halifax’s assessment due to high employment, and earnings as well as long life expectancy. The full top 20 ranking is here:

Local Authority Region 2017 Rankings 2016 Rankings
Hart South East 1 26
Orkney Islands Scotland 2 2
Rutland East Midlands 3 28
Wychavon West Midlands 4 3
Winchester South East 5 1
Wokingham South East 6 9
Waverley South East 7 17
Craven Yorkshire and The Humber 8 64
Richmondshire Yorkshire and The Humber 9 33
Stratford-on-Avon West Midlands 10 21
Uttlesford East of England 11 35
Ryedale Yorkshire and The Humber 12 29
Westminster London 13 44
South Oxfordshire South East 14 13
St Albans East of England 15 8
Tonbridge and Malling South East 16 14
East Herefordshire East of England 17 47
City of London London 18 20
Chiltern South East 19 10
Rugby West Midlands 20 32

The Newspapers

The Telegraph chose West Malling, specifically Kings Hill, as the best place to raise a family in the UK.  The Times rates Margate as one of the bets places to live in the UK in 2017.

Summary

There is a variety of choice out there and Kent has something to offer everyone. We have great commuter towns, seaside getaways, up and coming gems and picture postcard villages. Whatever you need for your own piece of perfect, Kent has an option for you. The league tables above offer some insight but are very dependent on the data and algorithms used, take them with a pinch of salt. As they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder so don’t take these scores as fact, do your own research and find what is right for you.

Read more about the research and reports here:

https://www.onedome.com/blog/lifestyle/the-best-places-to-live-in-kent/ – besttowns

https://static.halifax.co.uk/assets/pdf/media-centre/press-releases/2017-10-14-halifax-reveals-top-spots-for-kids-press-release.pdf

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/property/pictures/11072925/Britains-top-20-places-to-raise-a-family.html?frame=3025899

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sunday-times-best-places-to-live-2017-3qkwjnvrm#/

House removals

Quality Removals Services Assured

Colin Batt Removals Comment

We are very proud to announce that we have passed our initial audit for the British Standard for House Removals. We are now certified by Quality Standards Services as meeting the British Standard for delivering BS EN12522. This Standard covers all furniture removal activities conducted for private individuals.  The certificate shows that we are operating to the highest standards in the Removals Industry.

Quality House Removals

What is really impressive is that we not passed the audit first time, but we passed with zero non-conformities. This means there were no major or minor discrepancies with any of our policies or procedures. This is down to all the hard work the team did in preparing for the audit and the high standards we set ourselves, every day and on every house removal.

The audit examines every aspect of our house removals services and, therefore, it ensures we have the right processes, people and procedures in place to execute every phase of a removal. From initial enquiry, through the quotation to the move itself and beyond to our complaints procedures (not that we receive many of those). The QSS logo is your indication of a quality removals company delivering a quality removals service.

External Recognition

We are extremely proud to achieve this certificate but it is not the only sign of our outstanding removals services. You may know we are a member of the British Association of Removers, who also conduct an annual inspection of our business. Just check out the badge at the bottom of the page or read more about the BAR here.

Furthermore, last November we were honoured to receive the Customer Service Award from Business Awards Kent. The award was open to all small and medium-sized businesses from the Ashford area from all industries. We are proud to say we won, after beating some stiff competition.

Don’t just trust the experts. Our customers also provide great feedback of our performance. You can read these independently verified and collated reviews at Checkatrade.

Externally verified, certified, audited, reviewed and recommended, by any independent measure you can be assured of a quality house move when you choose Colin Batt Removals. Wherever you’re moving in Kent, be that Maidstone, Rochester, Canterbury, Ashford or Dover, we are your quality house removal company.

House removals

House & Piano Removal Customer Feedback Jun-Aug 17

Colin Batt Removals Comment

Check out some of the reviews we received for our house removals and piano removals services from the last few months. All the reviews are independently verified and are authentic customer comments. A massive thank you to all our customers who took the time to provide this hugely valuable feedback.

House Removal Feedback Faversham KentPiano Removal Review – Faverhsam Kent 15 August 17

Extremely competent skillful removers. Took endless care to avoid damage to house walls and instrument, which was very heavy.

House Removal Feedback DorsetHouse Removal Review from Kent to Dorset 8 August 17

The team of removal people were very friendly, courteous and polite and we were so happy that they took the time to check details with us and ask questions. It meant the move was much less stressful than it could have been.

 

Whitstable house removal feedbackHouse Removal Review Whistable Kent 27 July 17

The whole process was incredibly stress free. Everything went smoothly. Chris and Steven were an absolute delight. Friendly but professional, going the extra mile to ensure I was happy.

Everything was packed up and installed in my new home speedily but with care. I hadn’t imagined that the process would be so pleasurable but it was!

Customer review of house removal from Kent to NewportHouse Removal Review from Kent to Newport 20 July 17

The company made on 3 day removal as smooth as they could. They were helpful and courteous under trying conditions. We would have no hesitation in recommending them.

Kent house removal customer reviewHouse Removal Review – Sissinghurst Kent 18 July 17

We have had 8 moves in the last 20 years and this was the best by a mile. Chris H and Mark were brilliant!! We will certainly be recommending your company.

Many thanks Rob and Jill.

 

Sandwich house removal customer reviewHouse Removal Review – Sandwich Kent 11 July 17

The all round service was excellent. The team kept us informed and did what they said they would. Packing, loading and unloading were all smooth and efficient.

 

Customer comments on our house removal in Maidstone KentHouse Removal Review – Maidstone Kent 12 June 17

The Colin batt team were very professional, courteous super efficient in packing removal and safe delivery of our belonged to our new house on a hot day.

 

 

Feedback from a house removal Maidstone KentHouse Removal Review – Maidstone Kent 1 June 17

Steve and Walter were fantastic crew who made this move as easy and stress free as possible. Would recommend!

 

 

Check out all of our reviews at http://www.referenceline.com/removers_removals_companies-in-ashford-colinbattremovals-15104

House removals

ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE – UPDATE

Colin Batt Removals Comment

Do you remember the viral phenomenon that was sweeping the world back in 2014 called the Ice Bucket Challenge? Ice cold water was tipped over the heads of wiling volunteers in order to raise awareness and money for research into a cure for Motor Neurone Disease or MND.  We are proud to say that we also took part in the ice bucket challenge and are also pleased to say that our combined efforts have made a breakthrough in the journey to find a cure.

MND Gene Breakthrough

We at Colin Batt Removals, as did everyone else, took the ice bucket challenge to raise money to find a cure for Motor Neurone Disease. Motor Neurone Disease or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal and rapidly progressive degenerative disease that affects the spinal cord and brain. The good news is that the research funded by the challenge has identified a new gene that contributes to the disease.

Worldwide Phenomenon

Millions of people took part in the challenge. 17 million people uploaded videos of the Ice Bucket Challenge to Facebook and those videos were watched by 440 million people. $115 million was raised worldwide, an amazing achievement which was all down to the generosity and good will of people from all around the globe. It is quite amazing to feel we were a very small part in a worldwide phenomenon that has touched so many lives.

Some people viewed the Ice Bucket Challenge as a stunt but the money from the challenge has funded six separate research projects. This research has made a break through that could eventually lead to a cure. A gene, NEK 1, has been found to contribute to inherited cases of MND. Scientists are now working on a gene therapy to treat this debilitating disease.

Time for A Cure for MND

Unfortunately, Motor Neurone Disease kills around a third of all people within a year of diagnosis and over half in 2 years. Something needs to be done and a cure cannot be found quick enough for all the people affected by the disease. We hope that our small actions combined with those of the rest of the word will make a difference and move us forward in our fight against Motor Neurone Disease.

Well done to all who took part in and generously donated to the Ice Bucket Challenge. Learn more about the disease and the fight for a cure at these two sites https://www.mndassociation.org https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/jul/27/how-the-ice-bucket-challenge-led-to-an-als-research-breakthrough