21 Neil Crowther, Shepherdess Walk Islington, North London “We used to live nearby in private rented accommodation in Hackney and were first attracted to living here by the fact we had some friends who have lived locally since 2002 and they love it,” says Neil Crowther, a resident of the award-winning Shepherdess Walk development since August 2006. The fact that the development – the first of its kind in the UK and built by Peabody owing to frustration at the length of time and cost of traditional methods – is made from factory-built modules stacked on top of each other was simply not an issue for Mr Crowther and his partner. “When we were thinking about moving here, we liked the fact it is an attractive building – especially the balconies, the wood cladding and the lovely external courtyard. We also liked the fact that Shepherdess Walk is run by a housing association, not a private landlord,” he says. As a long time resident of the east London borough, Mr Crowther also relishes the fact that, despite its location, the property – also more popularly known as Murray Grove – is cheaper than others nearby, yet provides generous accommodation. “The location is great for us in central London, five minutes’ walk from Shoreditch and Clerkenwell. Yet it is surprisingly peaceful. The flat is spacious and bright and lets in a huge amount of light.” Mr Crowther adds that, although his home has no gas central heating, it warms up quickly when needed and fuel bills are low as a result. He does express some concerns about the quality of the insulation on the external walls, however, saying the relevant rooms can feel noticeably colder than others. This may reflect a concern identified by Peabody in the build process that, although the 74 modules were factory-built in 12 weeks and erected on site in 10 days, much of the remaining build time was taken up by protracted efforts to satisfactorily clad Shepherdess Walk and construct the balconies. Although generally very happy with the internal finish of his home, Mr Crowther suggests the 16-year-old building is experiencing some wear and tear and that fixtures and fittings such as curtain rails are not as easy to replace as might be the case for a more traditionally built home. For Nick Hart, a neighbourhood manager at Peabody with responsibility for Shepherdess Walk, the block is a “joy” to maintain. “It simply does not suffer from the noise and other complaints that are common in others,” he says. “I expected it might have noise transmission problems due to its design, but that simply hasn’t been the case.” Mr Crowther says he would live in a modular home in future, but that, at present, he and his family are looking to move somewhere bigger as this isn’t an option at Shepherdess Walk. He adds: “It works really well for young people starting out and for us it was ideal.” Key building details: Building type: factory-built modules by manufacturer Yorkon Number of homes in scheme: 16 onebedroom flats and 14 two-bedroom flats Client: Peabody Development time: 44 weeks (including 17-week delay due to external works over-running), versus 62 weeks for similar development at nearby Dalston Lane using traditional techniques Development cost: £2.9 million and £77,800 per home, versus £2.7 million and £76,200 per home on Dalston Lane Date of “When we were thinking about moving here, we liked the fact it is an attractive building.” completion: November 1999 Who lives here: Resident: Neil Crowther, partner and oneyear-old daughter Type of tenure: keyworker rent Lived there since: August 2006 Number of bedrooms: two Occupation: public policy consultant, based at home
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