A Guide to Living in Tower Hamlets

Please review your development:

When I moved in, the flat was furnished with the basics, and everything was to an above average standard. The development is very clean and modern, and all of the facilities are great. I particularly like to use the meeting room to work in.
The concierge are super friendly but the system for collecting parcels from them is not ideal. The parcel may be delivered to the concierge, and I will receive a notification from the delivery company, but I can’t collect it until the concierge register the parcel and notify you. Obviously at busy times of day, the concierge have lots to register and write down before they notify you to pick it up from them, so this is quite slow and annoying.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

The train is really loud when it passes- I don’t mind in the morning but late at night it can be disruptive.

What is the best feature of your home:

I like the kitchen- it’s super modern. All the appliances work off electricity, there is no gas.

Please review your development:

The apartment is managed so most of the day by day headache are quickly addressed by the residents team. This includes fixing home appliance, which you can leave to them (no need to take half day off work to wait for maintenance). This also means giving up a bit of rights, such has having your own door lock or your own internet connection (as the WiFi is shared), but generally there are no problem with this. Make sure you are looped with all the communications if you don’t want to find strangers in your place working maintenance of fixing air filters.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

– communal areas might be booked but there’s no way to know so it’s either you book them (and pay) or you may need to leave any moment because somebody did, I think this should be improved by them
– despite the cooling system, my apartment is very warm. Even with heating system turned off the temperature won’t fall below 25 degree, I had them check and this cannot be changed. Way too hot, and you can’t open the window ( in my case) because of the trains

Dislikes:
– There is a lot of garbage around the place
– Canal is quite dirty and not well maintained
– Housing prices are quite expensive

Please review your development:

There are many positives of living in this establishment! Firstly, the area is very pleasant and quiet which is great for someone like me who loves a quieter scene as opposed to the traditional noise and bustle of London life. What makes this development stand out in particular is it’s close proximity to essential facilities and amenities whilst still occupying a very calm atmosphere. Finally, the area itself has a lot of character which is a welcoming feature!

The downsides of this development however are the substantial amounts of garbage littered around the place as well as the canal being quite dirty and murky. The area is beautiful in general and it’s a shame there isn’t a bigger initiative to keep it clean by the council. The establishment is also quite expensive to live in.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

Having researched the area before coming here, there is nothing I wish I had known before moving in.

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

I haven’t raised any personal concerns or issues to the management so I have no current view or opinion of their services.

My favourite thing in the area would have to be the canal but also, I really like the great independent cafes and microbreweries. CRATE Brewery & Pizzeria is my personal favourite!

Please review your development:

The main reason I chose to live at this development was because of the location. I love the fact that it is along the canal, close to lots of green space, including Victoria park. As well as this, the area is fairly residential which is great, but also it is close to central London and Westfield Stratford.

My apartment is large, open plan and very modern. It has a large balcony which overlooks the canal, which I love. My favourite room would have to be the open plan living room/kitchen because it is very spacious, especially for London. Although, the doors to the balcony are made of glass so it gets quiet cold in there. We are allowed to hang things on the walls, which is good and the furnishings it came with were of good quality.

The building management here at Omega Works are quick to respond, however when it comes to fixing the issues, they take much longer. This is because there is a long process of communication and approval that they have to go through in order to get the sign off to fix the problem. Things are usually broken for a few days before they get fixed which isn’t great.

The building doesn’t have many facilities, we do have a concierge though – this is handy because they collect my parcels, so I never miss a delivery. We also have a little garden, but apart from this, we don’t have any other facilities. The residents sometime organise events on the Facebook group we have, but there are no official ones organised by the developer. Because of this I don’t really feel a community feel within the development, but my neighbours are nice nevertheless, I’ve never had any issues with them.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

The one thing that I wish I had known was how cold the flat gets – especially in winter. And how expensive the energy bills are to heat it up. All the appliances here are electric, there is no gas heating.

If there is one thing you would change about your flat or property what would it be:

I would change the insolation, I wish it was warmer in the flat and the heating to be cheaper.