2 Ashfield Close

Cars parked on the drive had thwarted all of my previous attempts to take a full-width picture of 2 Ashfield Close following its extensive refurbishment so I was glad to finally find it car free. The house is both distinctive and attractive.

Lost green space

I am posting another picture of the not-demolished-after-all 14 Cedar Heights because the work on the new driveway has been completed and also to make the point that while the residents of Cedar Heights and nearby are up in arms about proposed changes to a small green space at the entrance to the road this is generally how they treat their own green spaces.

New path and more

Now saved from planned demolition, 14 Cedar Heights is being visibly improved. The rather formal path to the front door is perhaps the most obvious change and it is easy to mis that where there are now brown weatherboards there used to be white render.

Unexpected windows

I visited Cedar Heights specifically to see is number 14 had been demolished, as per its approved planning application, and was very surprised to find it not only standing but equipped with new Anglian windows.

One one hand I am disappointed that the interesting new building shown in the plans will no longer be built but I am happy that the new windows are exactly right for the house.

A last look

14 Cedar Heights is looking very rundown and neglected for a good reason, it is about to be demolished. I have been expecting this for almost a year and am looking forward to seeing this house fall and a new one rising to replace it.

2 Ashfield Close

I have been following the refurbishment of 2 Ashfield Close for almost a year and while most of the work was completed a little while ago I have been thwarted in my attempts to get a picture of the finished house by workmen and/or cars interrupting the view, until now.

I still think it is less exciting than the original house though I will concede that it is better than I feared during the refurbishment. The front garden is a big help as are the two sections of vertical cladding. It is also good to see a prominent house number.

GG LOC

It is not that unusual to come across a film crew locally but this is the first time that I have done so in Ashfield Close. 

It was the "GG LOC" sign at the entrance to Ceadar Heights that alerted me to the filming but I was intending to check up on those roads anyway.

White boxes

The hoardings have come down at 2 Ashfield Close revealing a rather unassuming set of white boxes riddled with glass. Despite being brashly modern it has little street impact but a good front garden could fix that.

See-through house

While 2 Ashfield Close goes though an extensive renovation and so is devoid of blinds and curtains, it is possible to see right through it from Meadow Close.

Making an interesting house bland

Once upon a time 2 Ashfield Close was an interesting house, and I said so in 2015. One of the things that made it interesting was the unusual roof line and in the latest refurbishment that has been, unaccountably, removed.

The colouring of the house was interesting too and there is still some chance that the new frontage will repeat the use of more than one colour, but I am not that hopeful.

The house has also failed to learn the lessons of its near neighbour across the road which also had large picture windows which the new owners sensibly broke up with glazing bars,

Three chimneys

There is nothing particularly special or unusual about these chimneys at the entrance to Cedar Heights  (as far as I can tell), they just look good, and that is enough to get them noticed.

Good progress in Ashfield Close

I like what they are doing to 3 Ashfield Close. The changes look quite modest (especially when compared to the recent extension to number 5 which benefits from a much wider plot) and they suit the house well. As always, a good match on the bricks is a big help.

2 Ashfield Close is being refreshed

Yesterday I said that 14 Cedar Heights had the potential to become one of the most interesting houses in the area and was going to make the point that this is an honour already held by its neighbour across the road at 2 Ashfield Close. 

Unfortunately that house is being refurbished and I cannot tell from the plans whether it will lose its distinctiveness in the process. 

 

This is what 2 Ashfield Close used to look like.

14 Cedar Heights

14 Cedar Heights is an unremarkable house on an usual plot. The style is very much of its age and it looks like many of its neighbours; the plot, however, includes the curved section between Cedar Heights and Ashfield Close.

What makes the house noteworthy is that it is due to be demolished and, if the plans are to believed, be replaced by one of the most exciting houses in the area, if not the most exciting.

This is a development project that I will be following with great interest.

Getting ready

The Cedar Heights / Ashfield Close enclave is one of the construction hot=spots at the moment and another project looks to be starting. It is just a couple of doors away from an excellent extension at the end of the close os it has a high bar to aim for.

Large windows

The last time that I posted a picture of this house in Cedar Heights I admired the greyness of what could be seen above the hoardings and now they gave gone revealing the whole house for the first time.

I have mixed views,

As a building the house is fine, good even, but the location is problematic. This is a busy road, despite being a dead-end, because people park here for Richmond Park, particularly the playground just inside Dysart Gate, and those large windows are not very private. Also the paved area in front of the downstairs window is the only place to park a car which is not the best view to have from a living room.

In praise of 5 Ashfield Close

The two small no-trough roads Cedar Height and Ashfield Close are something of a redevelopment hotspot at the moment and I posted a picture of the extension to 5 Ashfield Close being constructed about a year ago. The work has now finished and very nice it looks too.

The wood panelling in two columns on the front define the appearance and they work well with the black small-paned windows.

The only negative, and that has nothing to do with the house, is the metallic blue car on the drive which meant I had to take my photo of the house from this angle. The house looks even better fully face-on and one day I will be there when the car is not to take the photo to prove it.

Grey can work

I have been, and will continue to be, pretty scathing about the mantra of adding inappropriate grey windows when renovating a house but there are times when it works, as in this example in Cedar Heights.

A difference here is that this is a more modern house and that white is not the default colour in the road.

Roof timbers

Again I have the recent storms to thank for removing the sheeting and exposing the new roof timbers in this house in Cedar Heights.

Construction in Cedar Heights

Cedar Heights has seen a few major projects in recent years and might be about to see another. It is too early to tell how much of a transformation is planned, and looking at the planning application (if there is one!) is cheating in my book, but I hope that the opportunity is taken to make a moderately interesting house into something a bit more special and a bit more fitting for the road.