You’re at Liberty to buy a share: Canary Wharf district's new skyscraper brings first-time buyer flats with gym and concierge

Built 100 years ago, Millharbour dock met a need for space in east London to repair ships and unload cargo.

Now this Isle of Dogs district half a mile from Canary Wharf is getting thousands of new homes and first-time buyers have their bite at the cherry this month, with shared-ownership flats from £163,750 at Liberty at Crossharbour.

Excellent rail links include DLR trains from Crossharbour and South Quay stations in Zone 2, while from Canary Wharf commuters can pick up the Jubilee line to the City and West End.

Next year, when Crossrail lands, they will be using the east-west Elizabeth line, too.

As well as easy access to the shops, bars and restaurants at Canary Wharf, augmenting the basic range of really local shops and cafés, the development, in Limeharbour E14, is handy for Mudchute Park and Farm and Docklands Sailing and Watersports Centre, where you can learn to sail or windsurf.

The Greenwich foot tunnel runs beneath the Thames between Island Gardens and the Cutty Sark at Greenwich.

Shared-ownership flats at The Liberty Building, which is a Telford Homes development, are marketed by Notting Hill Genesis housing association.

For a 25 per cent share of a two-bedroom apartment with a full market price of £655,000, prices start at £163,750. Total monthly running costs, including rent, mortgage and service charge, will be in the region of £2,000.

A 40 per cent share of a one-bedroom flat starts at £184,000, and monthly costs are calculated at about £1,730.

UNACCEPTABLE ‘POOR DOORS’

Each apartment in the 25-storey building has a balcony, and with a 24/7 concierge service, residents’ gym, a landscaped piazza and courtyard garden, the development is a pretty luxurious first-time buyer option.

Perhaps the only real downside to this deal is more a matter of principle than anything else. The development has a main entrance and an affordable housing entrance — the latter being referred to in some quarters as a “Poor Door”.

Perhaps one day developers will catch on to the sheer unacceptability of segregating London first-time buyers, usually young, from their older and richer neighbours in this way.

Many of these novice buyers may well one day be seasoned main entrance buyers and won’t forget the developers who went in for an arrangement with separate entrances.

A spokesman for Telford Homes said: “There are two buildings, one of which includes the homes for sale and shared ownership, and the other [Kingfisher Court] which includes the homes for affordable rent.

“Kingfisher Court is managed by a housing association and having its own entrance allows the housing association to self-manage and maintain the building including cleaning and maintenance, which is their preferred practice.”

WHAT ELSE CAN I BUY IN ISLE OF DOGS?

The average price of an apartment in E14 stands at £520,745 according to the latest data from Rightmove — around £100,000 more than the average London first-time buyer now spends getting on to the housing ladder.

On the Isle of Dogs, however, there are pockets of better value to be found.

Poplar is particularly affordable. A budget of £425,000 would buy a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment with a terrace on the 14th floor at the Wharfside Point South development, with marvellous river views, on the market with Knight Frank. Call 020 8012 3472.

The south side of the Isle of Dogs means a longer walk to Canary Wharf, but you’ll get plenty of bang for your buck. Foxtons is selling a two-bedroom apartment on the top floor of a slightly dated low-rise building in Cahir Street for £350,000. Call 020 7133 7777 for more details.

Buyers seeking a one-bedroom flat for a £350,000 budget could get within 10 minutes’ walk of Canary Wharf with a £339,000 apartment in Byng Street, on sale with CBRE. Call 020 7205 2199.

Fans of period architecture could base themselves in Three Colt Street, where a one-bedroom flat within the lovely-looking former Limehouse Church Institute is on sale for offers over £350,000 with Springbok Properties. Call 0800 068 4015.