Spectacular converted water tower for sale for price of a London flat

The three-bedroom conversion costs almost £10k less than the average London home
Howard Homes

A spectacular contemporary home in a converted Victorian water tower in Leicestershire has hit the market for £9,000 less than the average London property.  

The water tower was originally built to serve the market town of Ashby-de-la-Zouch and was later used as a storage building by the local town council before falling into disrepair.  

In 2013 it was rescued by unusual home developers Howard Homes of Ingleby who transformed it from a crumbling wreck into a three-bedroom home.

It is now for sale for £595,000, the same price as a two-bedroom basement flat in Chiswick or a riverside apartment in Vauxhall.  

There are full-height curved windows
Howard Homes

The striking property has clearly captured buyers’ imaginations - it was the most-viewed property on Rightmove last month and Ben Longstaff of estate agent Fisher German says interest has been huge in the two weeks it has been on the market.

The Grade II-listed tower with modern extensions and full-height curved windows in the living areas won an architectural award in 2016 for best conversion of an existing building.  

Set into the limestone floor of the kitchen is a toughened-glass window to a brick chamber where the original water valve still sits. The valve would have controlled the water to the local town until the tower was decommissioned in 1929.  

Living space is arranged over three floors, plus a mezzanine bedroom suite, with an attic workshop and storage space in the former water tank across two further levels.  

Owner Oliver Howard says the derelict tower was an “engineering nightmare” when he bought it, with engineered concrete and walls 2ft 6inches thick at the base.

“A door on the roadside was the only way into the property, from there it was a shaft straight the way up to the water tower four-storeys high – there was nothing in between.”

“We had to construct scaffolding on the inside to gain access to the top and then build down.”  

“There have been people [interested] from London, some with second homes, some from in and around Ashby,” says Howard, who is selling to be able to move into and finish his next project: a barn conversion nearer family towards Derby.  

“We started work on that a few months ago so the timing is about right to get this [the Water Tower] sold, we can’t afford to have both!”

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