What exactly is a townhouse? City AM explains

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The Chelsea Barracks development – 12 years in the making – has been sparking all sorts of prime property-related conversations right from its inception.

The ‘super-prime’ 13-acre site on Chelsea Bridge Road was sold by the Ministry of Defence in 2007, and now comprises over 400 residential units, a swimming pool, medical centre, community gardens and five acres of public squares and gardens. Apartments in phase one have price tags ranging from £2m to £50m amongst the new £3.5bn neighbourhood south of Sloane Square.

The recent launch of 13 ‘townhouses’ got London’s business-focused newspaper, City AM, discussing what exactly is a ‘townhouse’. Is it any house situated in a town? Or is it a very specific type of building? Can it only be defined as a ‘town’ house if it belongs to someone who also has a ‘country’ house?

The conclusion seems to be that, the classic townhouse is a terraced house, built round a garden square, with at least three storeys. Whatever they are, the townhouse has an enduring appeal, and the properties in Chelsea Barracks are likely to prove popular. But these types of house don’t work for everyone. For some buyers, the convenience of ‘lateral’ living scores higher than this slightly nostalgic kind of vertical living. For London prime property expert Mark Parkinson, many people actively want to live in a townhouse, but in a regional town, rather than London, and in preference to “moving out to the middle of nowhere”.