London Design Festival

The fifth London Design Festival (LDF) - a dizzying design jamboree of more than 200 happenings in shops, galleries, outdoor spaces and erstwhile empty buildings all over town - runs from 15 to 25 September, says Barbara Chandler

Head first to the Festival Hall on the South Bank, SE1, which is this year's "hub" or info point. Admire the sparkling chandeliers from festival sponsor Swarovski, then look for staff wearing red T-shirts with LDF logos - they will tailor a personal route. You can pick up a chunky free booklet with a full programme at any festival venue.

From Monday 17 to Wednesday 19, there are free energy-saving light bulbs to be had in Trafalgar Square. And reinforcing the eco-message will be designer Tom Dixon's huge chandelier, featuring 500 lights made from recycled plastic suspended from a slimline frame. These will be given away on Wednesday at 5pm.

Several key events run from Thursday 20 to Sunday 23 September:


Tent London is a huge amalgam of shows in the Old Truman Brewery (Brick Lane, entrance on Hanbury Street, E1), which will be crammed with edgy new talent, avant-garde international brands, vintage furnishings for sale, and more. Admission: £10 for adults; £5 for under-16s; free for under-sevens. www.tentlondon.co.uk

Designers Block is a sensational assembly of international alternative talent, as well as dramatic live glass-making demos that will use up all the empty bottles generated by the event. Sunday is family day. Out the back, in the spacious yard, will be cosy igloos made on site using p‰pier-machŽ made from discarded newspapers. The Nicholls & Clarke Buildings, 3-10 Shoreditch High Street, E1. Admission: £5 for adults; £3 for concessions. www.designersblock.org.uk

Both Liberty and Selfridges have their own impressive shows, and there are also idiosyncratic events in lots of London's smaller shops. For example, at Twentytwentyone in EC1, you can bid for a Fairtrade organic shopping bag decorated by one of 40 international star designers. www.twentytwentyone.com

RAISE STAMP DUTY THRESHOLD IN TODAY’S BUDGET

Ahead of today’s budget, leading Central London Estates Agents Hurford Salvi Carr are backing Gordon Brown to take the brave decision to raise the threshold where 3% stamp duty kicks in, to properties with a starting value £300,000 rather than the current level of £250.000.

David Salvi, Director at Hurford Salvi Carr comments:” The Halifax have recently reported that an estimated 3.5 million homes across England and Wales are now valued above the £250,000 stamp duty threshold. These homes equal an amazing 19% of all residential properties for sale in the country, in Central London this is even more pronounced with perhaps 80% of London properties now being valued at £250,000 and above.

“As house prices have risen across the country in recent years, more and more people are finding they are being caught in the 3% stamp duty threshold as values of properties they wish to purchase rise above £250,000. This can be particularly difficult for young families who look to move out of smaller Clerkenwell properties as their families grow.”

“Hurford Salvi Carr feels that a rise in the 1% Stamp Duty threshold to £300,000 would to a certain extent offset the high borrowing costs that first time buyers and young families face as a result of the recent interest rate rise. This would also reflect the substantial increase in values of residental property across the UK since 1997”.