Albany Road, London, SE5

BRICKWORKS SAYS

Opposite the huge open sweep of Burgess Park, this first-floor two-bedroom flat forms part of a small yet confident 2017 development by Emulsion Architects. From the street, its material palette nods to the area’s industrial past, with metal mesh and charred timber cladding lending texture and depth.

Inside, things feel light: floor-to-ceiling windows pull in generous daylight and frame views over the park and the fishing lake, giving the whole place an easy calm. There’s a small balcony for morning coffee or evening pottering, and a sliding partition allows the main living space to be opened up or closed off to form the second bedroom.

Throughout, the design is executed to a high specification, featuring solid beech high-performance flooring and Carrara marble bathrooms. The kitchen is finished with black Valchromat panels and a sustainable paper-based composite worktop known as Richlite, complemented by Samsung appliances. Heating is managed through a Nest smart thermostat that adapts to usage patterns.

Step outside and those 56 hectares of parkland become your front garden — a lake, sports facilities, Chumleigh Gardens, weekend Parkruns and the occasional summer festival all included. You’re also neatly positioned between Bermondsey, London Bridge, Camberwell and Peckham, which are close enough for spontaneity, but far enough to feel like you’ve escaped it all.

THE OWNER SAYS

I loved this property the moment I saw it, and have continued to love it ever since. Filled with natural light all day, I often curl up on the sofa like a cat in the sunshine to read or listen to something, looking out over the greenery of the park. The specification across the apartment is high throughout, from beautiful flooring, to the marble bathroom, and I have taken great care of it all since buying it when it was brand new, in 2017.

Similarly my neighbours downstairs have also lived here since the beginning and we have all become friends. The proximity to Elephant & Castle, London Bridge, Peckham, Camberwell and Dulwich, as well as increasing numbers of local places in the area make this a great location, balancing the community feel of this corner of south London with the proximity to everything London has to offer.

POINTS TO CONSIDER

Energy Performance Certificate (EPC):
Current Energy Rating B
Potential Energy Rating B

Council Tax:
Band E in the borough of Southwark
£2,405 in 2025/26

Utilities:
Current monthly costs are approx. £100 for electricity, water and gas.
Figures naturally change seasonally.

Tenure:
Leasehold, with 116 years left on the lease.
The freeholder is the flat’s architect, Michael Deeley, who retains ownership of Flat 2.

Service charge:
£1,250 per year, which covers maintenance as required, regular cleaning of communal areas, repairs, insurances and administration. There is currently a surplus.

Ground rent:
£250 per year, paid annually.

Neighbours:
In the building, there are 3 flats in total.

EWS1:
The building is exempt.

Getting around:
Many bus routes are within a 10-minute walk from the flat, taking you to nearby tube stations and central London. Several tube stations can be reached on foot in around 30 minutes or less, including London Bridge (Jubilee and Northern lines, and National Rail, Z1), Queens Road Peckham (Windrush line, Z2), and Elephant & Castle (Bakerloo and Northern lines, Z1+2).

There is a planned Bakerloo Line Extension (BLE) in the works, which proposes a new station named Burgess Park, located nearby at the site of the existing Tesco on Old Kent Road. This project aims to extend the line from Elephant & Castle to Lewisham, with potential completion expected around 2040.

Onward plans:
The owner is moving to another city to study. They are actively looking for their next home.

Anything else:
The development in which this flat sits was a self-initiated project by Emulsion, which reimagined the former site of an off-licence as three contemporary urban homes arranged across four storeys. Instead of clearing the site, the scheme adopts an adaptive reuse strategy, which contributes to achieving a BREEAM Excellent rating.

The development consists of an original brick building from the 1950's flanked by two modern extensions; an aluminium mesh-clad two-storey element to the front corner and a charred timber-clad unit on top.

The selection of materials draws influence from the area’s industrial past and the energy of the former Surrey Canal that once ran through what is now Burgess Park. It incorporates elements such as metal mesh and Japanese charred timber (shou-sugi ban) cladding, with its colours ranging from inky black to a silver-grey that shimmers in sunlight.

Balcony

5.9m x 0.98m