Russell Harris is listing a Victorian water tower in Cheshire for £3 million. The 90ft-tall Lymm landmark was renovated into an award-winning home over seven years.
From a £138,000 purchase to a £3 million landmark
Russell Harris and his wife, Jannette, purchased the abandoned 19th-century structure in 1997 for just £138,000. Over the following seven years,the couple invested more than £1 million to transform the 90ft-tall landmark into a striking contemporary residence. This ambitious project is part of a broader trend in high-end real estate where historical industrial assets are repurposed into unique, luxury living spaces.
Such conversions often require significant capital and creative engineering to balance modern comfort with the preservation of heritage. For the Harris family, the project was not merely a renovation but a decade-long commitment to breathing life into a piece of Cheshire's architectural history.
A 6,000-square-foot sanctuary with a £75,000 annual telecom lease
The Lymm property provides more than 6,000 square feet of accommodation spread across five storeys. According to the Lymm Water Tower webste, the residence features a double-height main bedroom, a winter lounge, a home office, a cinema room, a gym, and a sauna. At the very top, approximately 26 meters above the ground, the original spiral staircase leads to a private roof garden. Mr. Harris noted that the rooftop terrace offers 360-degree views, allowing reesidents to watch the traffic on the M6 while enjoying the scenery of the Peak District and the Welsh hills.
A distinctive feature of this Cheshire home is its ability to generate consistent revenue. As the report notes, telecommunications companies lease a small area high inside the tower, providing an established passive income of around £75,000 per year. This built-in income stream makes the property more than just a residence; it is a functional piece of local infrastructure.
The legacy of Kevin McCloud’s top 100 project
The architectural significance of the tower has been recognized by some of the most prominent names in British design. Most notably, Grand Designs host Kevin McCloud selected the property as one of his top 100 projects, even though the home never actually appeared on the Channel 4 series. The transformation was also a public event, as the Harris family's work was captured in a 15-part UKTV series called "Seven-Year Makeover," which allowed viewers to follow the journy from abandoned tower to award-winning home.
Will the £3 million valuation overcome previous market hurdles?
While the property is a one-of-a-kind asset, potential buyers may weigh its unique features against its complex history. The home was last put on the market in 2016 with an asking price of £2.5 million, but the sale failed to close, and the property was subsequently withdrawn. this leaves several questions for the market: will a buyer be willing to pay the £500,000 premium over the 2016 price, and how will the responsibilities of maintaining a Grade II-listed structure impact the long-term appeal? Furthermore, it remains to be seen if the next owner will continue to facilitate the telecom lease that provides the tower's unique passive income.
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