Why this water tower is one to watch
Caroline Mcghie discovers a one-off property with potential
Looking for a novelty, a challenge, an altogether unusual departure in your life? Consider this extraordinary structure looming over the atmospheric waters of the Crouch estuary in Essex. It could be something from outer space or a war bunker on stilts, but it was actually made to house the water supply for the low-lying surrounding villages during the 1930s. The sale of Latchingdon Water Tower presents a departure for estate agent Martin Young of Strutt & Parker (01245 254600), who has handled nothing like it before. “A couple bought this from us three or four years ago as an interesting project, but because they have a young family and lots of other commitments, they can’t go through with it,” he says. As the value is hard to predict, he is selling by informal tender with a guide price of £250,000 and a closing date of May 25. In the particulars, the building is described as “a good example of a concrete water tower” built in the “International Modern Style” during the 1930s under the Rural Water Supplies Act 1934. It held 38,700 gallons. Understandably, it is hard to organise viewings. “It has only been on the market for two weeks and we have already had 25 or 30 enquiries,” says Martin. “We will invite a group of the most serious buyers to a site inspection and the owner may bring a cherry picker to raise them up.” The nightmare of getting planning permission has already been done. “Some preliminary structural work has begun. For instance, the window openings have been cut into the main drum of reinforced concrete.” The drum, which is 14m in diameter, will be sliced inside to create four bedrooms. Permission has been given for a further storey to be built on top, clad in Essex weatherboarding, and containing a huge open-plan living area. One segment will be peeled away to make a large glass balcony. A web will be spun out from the central core beneath the concrete legs to create a hall and Curiosity: Latchingdon Water Tower has permission for a four-bedroom home house the staircase to the first floor. Latchingdon Water Tower should be snapped up, not only because it is such a curiosity, but because it sits in an area loved by yachties and a commuter hotspot, 15 miles from Chelmsford station (little more than half an hour to London Liverpool Street), and just over two miles from North Fambridge Station. So will it be worth the money and the effort which needs to be spent on it? You need only look to The House In The Clouds at Thorpeness, Essex, a quirky doll’s house of a water tower converted into a five-bedroom holiday home, which lets at an eye-watering £2,130 per week in January to £3,200 in high summer.