An incoherent extension

I try to be fairly objective and reasonable in my comments on other people's houses and gardens because taste is a subjective thing and people may have good but unobvious reasons  for the choices that they have made. That said, I find it hard to excuse this extension in Sheridan Road.

The problem is the roof. The grey tiles makes no attempt to match the neighbours and the flat section makes to attempt to connect to the existing roof.

Doomed garages in Ferrymoor

The writing is on the wall for these garages in Ferrymoor as there is an approved planning application (22/1486/FUL) to demolish the garage block and redevelop the site as two three-storey four-bed townhouses.

Warning marks

Thames Water have been bust across the area in the last few years (with mixed results) and it looks as though they have Dukes Avenue in their sights as their are extensive marking on the pavement by Vetech Motor Services.

 

The extend and variety of the markings make the area look like a work of modern art and that is a good thing. The worry is the extent of the disruption when the works start; it is a busy pavement and the pedestrians will have to go somewhere.

Spying on The Shires

As Cedarwood on Church Road is refurbished and enlarged, the developers are keeping a close eye not just on the site but on the public realm alongside it. This camera is firmly pointing in to The Shires.

The Government guidance on the use of CCTV cameras states. "People should try to point their CCTV cameras away from their neighbours’ homes and gardens, shared spaces or public streets." Clearly the developers have not done this and if I lived in the neighbourhood I would be speaking to them about this unnecessary intrusion.

More posts in Parkleys

There already were a few posts, presumably to deter parking, on the south side of Parkleys and now there are a few more at the east end of the road.

Yellow door

Another refurbishment, this time in Clifford Road, that has gone for grey windows but this time there is a yellow door to make a bold statement. Next door also has a new porch but has played it safe and gone for a door that is grey, almost black.

Towpath cleared

The towpath is mostly easy to walk along and the few errant brambles that encroach are bent or cut back by users, people like myself who have been known to carry secateurs. The Council decided that more substantial action was required in places and have used machinery to cut the brambles right back.

Entry to Simpson Road

The last photo of Broughton Avenue, at least for a while, is of the remodelled entry to Simpson Road. The main change is on the left where the amount of paving has been reduced and no longer extends to the road, presumably to discourage people from crossing at that point.

There used to be four posts on the left too and now there is only one so let's hope that the grass verge is enough to deter bad parking during the school drop-offs and pick-ups.

New pedestrian crossing

Ham does not have many pedestrian crossings, despite the heavy footfall in several places, but the others schools have got one so I guess it makes sense for Meadlands to have one too. 

I am not that convinced by the location, crossings are always placed where it makes sense for cars and not where it makes best sense for pedestrians, and in this case far side does not align with the path to Teddington,  but all will be clear when all of the works have been completed, particularly the new parking restrictions around the moved bus stops.

Moving a bus stop

In the previous photo of the remodelling of Broughton Avenue I showed how the bus stop for the Richmond-bound 371 bus is being moved closer to the junction with Dukes Avenue and this photo shows where the Kingston-bound bus stop is going. 

That is Lock Road just beyond it and the current Richmond-bound stop beyond that.

Remodelling Broughton Avenue

Quite a lot has changed, and is still changing, in Broughton Avenue recently and it is going to take a few photographs to tell the whole story. I will start with three.

The north-west corner of the junction with Dukes Avenue has a lot of new paving which includes a new path through the middle of the grass triangle.

The new path is more obvious from this angle, looking towards Beaufort Road.

The reason for this path can just about be seen marked on the pavement in yellow.

The TfL symbol indicates that the bus stop is going to be moved here. Currently it is right down by Simpson Road so this is quite a change.

Petersham Close

Another street sign! The reasons for posting this one are; it is wall mounted and I like walls, the font is bold and clear, it gives the location as Ham not Petersham (I agree!), the "T" for no-through-road is all white and is placed on the left of the sign rather than the right which is where it is on more recent signs.

Gutted

What was, until quite recently, the Chinese takeaway Chef for You in Ashburnham Road has been seriously gutted; only the pink paintwork on the frontage is a reminder of what was once there.

If this is a refurbishment then it is a major one so it might be a refit for a new purpose.

Jude Gate demolished

Things have been moving quickly at Jude Gate on the north side of Ham Common; the house has been demolished, the hoardings have been (mostly) painted black and a pedestrian gate has been created in the front wall.

I am not expecting anything interesting to happen visually until the new house rises above the hoardings though I shall keep walking that way to check on progress.

Strong barriers

Every time I walk this passageway, that takes a shortcut past Tommy Steele Corner, I am bemused by the size and number of the barriers.

First there are three hefty posts, which should be more than enough to stop any motorised vehicle given that the narrowness of the road at that point means approaching at an angle. Behind them are three sets of very sturdy barriers placed to make pedestrians zig-zag awkwardly.

I can only assume that it has something to do with protecting the privacy of the aforementioned Tommy Steele. There are no such barriers at the other end of the path but that has a much narrower entrance and such measures may have been deemed unnecessary.

As always, I welcome enlightenment in the comments.

Back Lane Car Park closed

The signs say quite clearly that Back Lane Car Park was closed permanently on 31 August though the barrier (on 6 Sept, the date of this photo) was only blocking off the far end and there were cars parked in the remaining section. 

Clearly it was not an "advance warning" then either.

No enforcement

The painting of double yellow lines near Ham Gate was always going to be pointless due to the lack of enforcement and on a day when the parking was pretty solid along Ham Gate Avenue I took this specific photo to make that general point.

On the beach

This is another piece of art on the Ham Youth Centre building facing (obliquely) on to Ham Village Green.

Newman's House is hidden

I call this building, now part of Grey Court School, Newman's House because Cardinal Newman once lived there and while Google thinks it is called Grey Court Cottage (?), I will stick with my name until a better one comes along. 

That said, obviously the reason for posting this picture is that it is covered in scaffolding for some major works. This comes also exactly two years after there were major works to the far side of the building.

Sunny dog

There are several pictures in this style at Ham Youth Centre, appearing to be a break in the wall. This is a new one and its brightness helps it to stand out.

A gap in the wall

This is the distinctive wall to Stokes House in Ham Street and all that has changed in the last several years is the occasional cost of new paint, until it gained this gap in the rendering. I am not going to guess as to the purpose but will be keeping an eye on it to find out.

Target practice

I walk across and around Ham Village Green regularly (does't everyone?!) and I like the way that it keeps evolving. Of course the biggest change is yet to come with the redevelopment of Ham Close and so I wanted to capture more of it for posterity before it goes. 

The first picture is a simple goal, with a target placed in it, that faces on to the Green. Not quite in the same class artistically as the mosaic next to but worth recording nevertheless.

Demolishing Jude Gate

Jude Gate is crumbling and I will be inteested to see how much of it is eventually demolished. There were approved plans to demolish the building completely and build something new on the site (22/1568) then there were plans for refurbishment and extension (23/0294) and so I do not know what is going to happen. 

I rather hope it is a demolish and rebuild as the site deserves something much better.

Green

St. Andrews Place has been going through some changes in the last couple of years but none as obvious as this green frontage. This is clearly an undercoat for something more subdued, probably white, so we only have a short period to enjoy this exuberance. 

Russell Gardens fades

This sign faces west and slightly south so it gets a reasonable amount of sunlight but so do many other street signs and they do not look as faded as this. Apart from the complete loss of the "N", the fading gives the sign a certain charm without spoiling its effectiveness.

Wild tree

When this tree was planted in 2015, replacing an older one which had died, it was dwarfed by the railings around it. Eight years later and those railings are hardly visible. 

The tree is clearly in need to a little trim, not least to remove the obstruction on the path from Riverside Dive to Cutthroat Alley.