Winter tree

Most of the days recently have been gloomy if dry, it is winter after all, so when the sun has come out I have gone for a walk and I have been rewarded with sights like this.

Facing the wrong way

The driver of this van managed to get it facing the wrong way simply by ignoring the No Entry signs on that section of Ham Common.

Blocked gate

When Royal Park Gate was built there was a gate at the end of Northweald Lane giving access to the path next to the playground. This was a useful gate as the alternative was to walk back up to Debden Close and then down the foot path through the centre of the development. Despite the obvious need for this gate the residents immediately next to it have chosen to block it to make their area even more private than it already was.

I witnessed the danger of doing this recently. There was an incident in the playground involving a child and the fire brigade was called. The fire engine got to the closest point, the end of Northweald Lane, only to find their way blocked. Luckily one of the residents, who had built their own private gate onto the central path, was able to allow them through his garden.

Permeability, the ability to move freely through an area, is a good thing and anything that prevents this, like obstructed gates, is undeniably bad.

Broken wall

The wall that hides most of Manor House in Ham Street shows signs of many repairs over the years and some more are needed to plug a couple of gaps like this one.

A growing garage

This growing garage sits on the junction of Northweald Lane and Biggin Hill Close and while there does not seem to be a great deal with it (yet!) it has claimed a small patch of greenery, including a tree.

New wall

While the more interesting work is going on behind the hoardings it is good to see that the substantially remodelled house is gaining a brick front wall, as both of its neighbours do.

Railings on the move

This is a small change but it is big enough for me to notice and big enough to have an impact on the area. The railings used to follow a straight line as path curved slightly creating an area of greenery alongside the pavement, now they have been bent to meet the new brick pillar.

This was not mentioned in the planning application for the new boundary and so a further application may be required to allow this additional land-grab to happen.

A change of plan

Less than a year ago I was celebrating the changes at Lime Tree Cottage, 2 Sandy Lane which included the redecoration of this extension along with the rest of the cottage. Now the extension is being remodelled with, amongst other things, new windows being added.

Garden clearance

A lot of work has been done on this house in Ham Farm Road in the last few years and now it is the front garden's turn for some treatment. To be honest, it was not much of a garden before, just a collection of trees and shrubs that had been allowed to grow as they wished, but now mist of them have been cleared or cut right back.

I guess that this clearance is a prelude to some recreation and I look forward to seeing that, or as much of it as I can peeking through the ramshackle hedge.