GUIDE PRICE: £400,000--£450,000.

INTERNAL VIEWINGS AVAILABLE ON REQUEST.

Ideal for small families, investors and professionals who commute as Preston Park Station, with direct trains to Brighton, Gatwick and London is a 5-minute walk, this loved two bedroom Victorian house with a westerly garden raised to catch the sun is on the market for the first time since 1956. Ready for a fresh start, time is on your side with four light and spacious main rooms with glorious, tiled fireplaces, a family- friendly eat-in kitchen which opens to a private terrace with steps to the peaceful oasis, and a modern bathroom. Preston is a popular area known for its friendly community where you are never far from fresh coffee or a croissant with local shops and cafés within a short stroll and the vibrant 7 Dials a few minutes by car or bus. The lush acres and sports facilities of Preston Park, which also hosts events including Pride, is just 7 minutes on foot, and Dyke Road’s open-air theatre, tennis courts, playground and café only 10 minutes’ walk, it is surrounded by good schools and Brighton Station, the city centre and the bars, restaurants and arts venues of the North Laine are just five minutes by cab.

Style: Terraced house circa 1897
Type 2 double bedrooms, 1 bathroom, living/dining room, kitchen
Area Preston
Floor Area 896 sq. ft.
Outside Space Raised westerly garden
Parking Permit zone A, no waiting list
Council Tax Band C

Preston has a relaxed, unpretentious vibe and it is just up the hill from Preston Park and shops, café and small Sainsbury’s. Quiet but convenient between London Road and Dyke Road, which both deliver you into the city and its beaches or out of it to the A23/A27 and South Downs National Park within minutes, you can enjoy an easy lifestyle and quiet nights in this fantastic family home within a terrace of neat period properties with real charm.

Set back from the quiet street which has plentiful permit parking with no waiting list, this Edwardian house has beautiful, scented roses in the front garden and sensitive improvements include energy efficient windows in the pretty broad box bays, a contemporary front door with Brighton blue in the stained glass and a smart electricity meter under the stairs.

Inside, the hallway is light and practical with discreet storage, and to the right, the living room is a restful retreat in which to spread your wings. Sunlight streams through the broad east bay which almost fills the whole wall and the vintage tiled fireplace is a joy where the vendor remembers having open fires as a child, but believes the chimneys have been capped. It may be an issue worth exploring however, as the chimney breasts and fireplaces on the ground floor are still present on the first.

Next door, guests can relax in comfortable seclusion in a private dining room which looks across the side return to the garden and is not overlooked. Sometimes used as a home office/occasional guest room in these historic terraces, there is another tiled fireplace to enjoy, a hatch through to the kitchen for a seamless dining experience and scope to put French doors where the window is as some neighbours have done, and there is also the choice to join the two receptions together, stnc.

At the end of the hallway a bright and cheerful eat-in kitchen is level with the two receptions- and the terrace to which it opens. Lined with windows a door opens to a partly covered side return, so an easy flow is there. Well planned with a sociable breakfast bar, although we all want the kitchen of our dreams, this stylish, user-friendly kitchen is good to go with an integrated electric hob and oven beneath a hood, plenty of storage and working surface, and plumbing is in place for a washer dryer.

Outside, the covered terrace and steps which could be gated lead to an oasis of calm in the heart of the city. Facing west, open to the south and raised to catch the sun, (as is usual in a city built on hills), secure behind walls, it is a tranquil haven made private by mature planting, and at the far end is space for a shed.

At the top of the stairs, a surprisingly large bathroom has all you need for now and plenty of space to play with, and quiet and at the back, the first of the double bedrooms has views over the garden. At the front, the second bedroom is a dream come true which stretches the full width of the building, and it looks east for the morning sunshine, so it is ready for you to make it your own restful retreat.

Agent says:
“Ideal for professionals, small families and investors, this inviting house is close to the station with parks nearby providing sports facilities and ready-made communities if you have children, jog or just walk the dog. There are friendly local amenities, every part of Brighton and Hove is easy to reach and local schools are good.”

Owner’s secret:
“My newlywed parents moved here in 1956 and it has been a very happy home since. I love the spacious, light rooms and the garden, which is lovely and quiet. It is very convenient for the station which has direct trains to Victoria, Kings Cross, London Bridge and Farringdon for example, and there are bus routes which go to Brighton or Hove. The street is peaceful and friendly and there are plenty of local events with something for everyone. Having Preston and Dyke Road Parks so close is great for community events, exercise, dog walkers and of course all the festivals, such as Brighton Pride and the Foodie Festival.”

What’s around you:
Shops: 1 min by car or 4 on foot up the hill to Tivoli Rd grocery store and café, 7 mins walk down to Local Sainsbury’s and 7 Dials 5 by car
Station: Preston Park 5 mins on foot, Brighton mainline 5-10 by cab
Seafront or Park: Dyke Road and Preston Park 10 mins walk, 2-3 by car, Seafront 15 to drive

Closest Schools:
Primary: Stanford Primary
Secondary: Varndean, Dorothy Stringer
Sixth Form: Varndean, BHASVIC
Private: Windlesham, Lancing Prep, Brighton College, Brighton & Hove High

5-6 minutes’ walk to Preston Park Station with friendly local shops, cafés and bistro pubs this area has a lovely community feel and the nearby primary schools, state and private, are good. Tucked away from the crowds, this house is between Dyke Road’s Park with tennis courts, open air theatre, playground and café, and Preston Park’s velodrome, sports facilities, fun runs and football clubs. Local bus routes go along both Dyke Road and London Road (both out of hearing) to the South Downs National Park or the beach, and you can get to the whole of the city including the world class shopping, fashionable bars, lively arts venues and international restaurants of Brighton’s 7 Dials and Queen’s Road, and Hove’s Church Road easily. If you commute by car, both the A23 and A27 are easy to reach and at the time of writing, permit zone A has no waiting list.