Growing numbers of people work from home: some because they don’t like
commuting, some because modern communications mean they can, others because
they want to be kinder to the environment. But doing work at home these days
need not mean tapping away at your laptop on the kitchen table.
Developers are now addressing these needs, creating dedicated work areas or
flexible space in both purpose-built and converted properties. Some of the
more sophisticated developments, particularly in rural areas, often share a
central hub, with communal meeting rooms, administrative backup, even a
cafe, to counteract any sense of isolation. And because of their ecofriendly
credentials, they have won the backing of government, planners and
environmentalists.
The most recent census, in 2001, revealed that 2.17m people – or 9.7% of
people in employment – worked from home. Surveys since then suggest that
this figure has risen, as more people try to improve their work/life balance.
Leigh Adams, 30, is a committed convert to the idea. In 2004, he and his wife,
Claire, 24, a recruitment executive, bought a two-storey flat at Electric
Wharf, in Coventry, for £98,000. The former power station has 37 live/work
units, 39 offices and 30 flats; a final phase will soon deliver 21
three-storey eco-houses. For the past three years, Leigh and his business
partner, Andy Dalton, have run their graphic-design agency, I-creo, from
designated work space next to living and eating areas on the ground floor.
The flats are open-plan, and Leigh and Claire chose not to have any dividing
walls, allowing them plenty of freedom to be creative with the space. Leigh
also has a workstation on the top floor, which includes a sleeping and games
area. “I had worked from home before we moved here, but it never had the
feel of an office,” he says. “Here, I am more disciplined and motivated
about starting work early, and I’m able to forget that the bedroom ceiling
needs painting.” However, he admits he finds it difficult to switch off at
the end of a day, and is tempted to check e-mails late at night.
The business is expanding, so he and Dalton plan to buy one of the separate
offices, although, Leigh says, “I will always retain an office at home, and
maybe spend a couple of days a week working from there”. He and Claire are
also thinking of buying one of the new eco-homes, as they are expecting a
baby.
One of Britain’s first dedicated live/ work developments was created by Places
for People, a property management and development company. In 2002, it
converted the 19th-century, Grade II-listed Mechanics Institute, in
Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, into 21 live/work spaces.
Its open-plan flats are offered to local people with start-up businesses at
affordable rents. The properties range from single studios for £130 a week
to two-bedroom live/work flats; all tenants can use the adjoining media
centre, which houses 50 businesses, for meeting space and administrative
support.
“The growth in homeworking is huge,” says Dave Power, group head of
neighbourhoods for Places for People. “We are looking at a range of sites,
particularly in the southeast, where we could offer a range of tenures –
some affordable, some low-cost ownership.”
Early last year, Touchstone Housing, an affordable-housing association based
in Staffordshire, completed six one-bedroom live/work studio flats in
Burslem, near Stoke-on-Trent. They are above three ground-floor craft
workshops, and are part of the town’s regeneration strategy.
Jason Conway, 35, a photographer and graphic designer, is a tenant. He pays
£67 a week for one of the studios, all of which have a central kitchen with
living and working space either side. “It’s brilliant,” says Conway, who has
lived there for a year. “Only creative businesses are allowed here, so we
have become quite a community, all helping each other. I have divided my
flat so that clients step into the office area without having to walk
through my bedroom.” Earlier this year, Mitchell Taylor Workshop, a Bath
architectural practice, in conjunction with Spaceworks, a developer, gained
planning approval for 29 carbon-neutral live/work units on the outskirts of
Avebury, Wiltshire. To be called Hangar 45 (a second world war airfield
stood on the site), the scheme takes live/work design a step further: all
properties will have ground-floor work spaces with a separate entrance.
There will be a communal hub, children’s play areas and landscaping.
Construction is due to begin at the end of this year.
“This is the first sizeable contemporary live/work scheme to gain planning
permission anywhere in the country,” says Piers Taylor, a partner in the
practice. “Successful live/work schemes are very much the way to go in
creating sustainable communities.”
Hangar 45 is the most sophisticated of several projects the practice is
working on with Spaceworks. It is also developing West End Barns, a 17-home
scheme on a brownfield site at Marsh-field village, near Bath. Due to be
finished by the end of the year, the range of one- to four-bedroom units
will cost between £195,000 and £475,000. The team is also building a
live/work village at Ross-on-Wye. The first phase consists of 45 homes,
although there is an outline plan for 225.
Tim Dwelly, a director of the Live Work Network, an information source for
professionals in the field, regularly advises government, regional
development agencies and local authorities. He gives two main reasons that
live/work schemes are being officially encouraged: “One is recognition by
government that business start-ups can be easier at home, especially with
advances in technology, and can therefore boost the enterprise culture; the
second is global warming. Increasingly, people prefer not to commute.”
Dwelly is advising the Duchy of Cornwall on 30 live/work units proposed for an
850-home, Poundbury-style housing development in Newquay, Cornwall.
Meanwhile, in rural Lanca-shire, the property developer Gerald Hitman has
been granted planning permission for 26 units at Brockhall Village, between
Preston and Clitheroe. He also plans a 300-strong live/work village at
Barrow, south of Clitheroe.
Most high-street lenders will provide mortgages to live/work buyers, but many
prefer the work space to be no more than 30% of the total floor area. Other
factors that may affect their decision include how often the property may be
visited by clients, what parking is required, and potential noise.
Live Work Network, 0845 324 5717, www.liveworkhomes.co.uk
