Entrance to Richmond Chase

The poster shows what the entrance to Richmond Chase will look like once the rebuilding of Latchmere House. The poster, like the photograph, cheats a little by showing the view from between two blocks of affordable housing that form the real entrance.

I have nothing against the affordable housing, just the opposite, I wish there was ore of it. My argument is against the design of the site that hides the centrepiece, Latchmere House, behind a wall of red brick.

New fence and gates

This new fence and gates in  Woodville Road are brash and somewhat shocking at the moment. They are also very neat and tidy. Weathering and time will improve the look without tarnishing the structure.

Major works on Launch Lock

The larger Barge Lock had a complete refit a few years ago (I took a photo of the works in April 2014) and now it is the turn of the Launch Lock. The old timbers that protect the passing boats from the stone walls have been removed and new ones are lying beside the lock ready to be fitted.

Meadowview

I was walking past Meadowview on Rushmead (off Croft Way) when the sign caught my eye. I think it is new though cannot find any old pictures of it to compare. The neat and modest sign deserves to be noticed, even if it is not new.

Pots and plants

Colourful gardens are always welcome and even more so during the grey Winter months.

The back of Beaufort House

I have posted a picture of the back of Beaufort House before (the front is in Ham Street facing Sandy Lane) but that was several years ago (seven!) and the hedge has grown since then. It is a tidy hedge and I can see why it is there, it is just a shame that it hides a lot of the house and so masks its symmetry.

Orange and blue

The yellow cafe on Upper Ham Road was short-lived and has now been replaced by an aggressively orange and blue plumbing and heating business. I took this picture while work was still in progress and the frontage has become even more orange since then. I'll take another picture once the work has completed.

I have no idea how this is allowed in a conservation area or why anybody thought that the colour scheme was a good idea.

BP57 JSZ parks badly again

It would be a full-time job to post pictures of every example of bad parking that I see so I just do the most egregious and the most unusual. This is an unusual one and also a repeat offender.

Previously I caught BP57 JSZ parked awkwardly on double-yellow lines on Ham Common. This time it was in the entrance to Northweald Lane. There are yellow lines to keep the narrow entrance clear which the driver has chosen to ignore. The car is also facing the wrong way and is partially obscured by the fake gates to Royal Park Gate so the parking is both dangerous and inconsiderate.

One more window

The appearance of the old building is being copied in the new, which does not excuse the crime of demolishing it without permission. The latest arrival is that large window on the upper level. Now we are just waiting to see what the replacement for the carriage door will be.