Flat 3, George Street, Hailsham

A flat for one, and no apologies about it. This is a compact first-floor studio right in the middle of Hailsham, and it knows exactly what it is. If you also need a spare room, this isn't it. If you want to live in the middle of everything without driving, read on.

Start with the town, because that is what you are really buying into. Tesco is straight up the street. Asda is not far behind it. The shops, cafes, pubs, cinema, and leisure centre with its pool are all within walking distance, and buses leave the High Street for Eastbourne, Polegate, Lewes, and Brighton. If you commute by train, Polegate is the nearest station, around three miles south, with direct services up to London Victoria.

Then there is the way in, which is the surprise. The communal entrance hall has kept its original staircase: varnished timber handrails, moulded and curved, turned banister rails, and grey carpet running the whole way up. It is the sort of thing old town-centre buildings hold on to, and you do not often find it attached to a studio. Up one flight and you have your own private front door, with a door intercom handset inside so you can hear who is at the door before you go down.

Inside, a small inner hallway does the sensible job of keeping the front door away from the living space. The studio room itself is a good length, which is the whole trick with a studio: it means the sleeping end can sit apart from the living end instead of everything piling into the middle. Silver-grey carpet, white walls, satin white woodwork and a double radiator under a uPVC double-glazed window. A plain, light backdrop that will not fight whatever furniture you bring.

The kitchen is a proper fitted kitchen, not a cupboard with a hob in it. Off-white units above and below a dark granite-effect worktop, a four-ring ceramic hob under a brushed steel and glass extractor, an electric oven below it, a single-bowl sink and drainer with a chrome-trimmed mixer tap, white tiled splashbacks and the wall-mounted gas boiler. There is space and plumbing for a washing machine, which a lot of studios cannot offer at all. There is also room for a small table, so you can eat a meal sitting down like a civilised person, which is rarer in a studio than it ought to be. The shower room is separate and complete: a shower cubicle with a hinged glass door and a thermostatic mixer, a pedestal basin, a WC and an extractor fan. Gas central heating with radiators and uPVC double glazing.

Two things to be straight about. There is no outside space, and there is no parking with the flat. George Street is the town centre, so you'll use public car parks and on-street parking when there's space. If you would rather walk anyway, neither will trouble you much. Ready to see it in person? Use the call or email buttons on this listing.


Council Tax Band: A (Wealden District Council)