SOLAR sign

Save Our Lands and River (SOLAR) have been campaigning against Thames Water's TDRA (Teddington Direct River Abstraction) scheme for a couple of years and have organised and participated in many events to spread their message. This sign comes from their latest one.

Bishops Close is wet

The first section of Bishops Close, nearest the Common, is decidedly wet with water rising up between the paving stones in several places.

The extent of the problem can be judged by the amount of water flowing towards the nearest gutter and the high-tide line on the pavement.

I thought that I would be a good citizen and report it to Thames Water via their website, only to find that four people had beaten me to it.

I am sure that Thames Water will be there very soon to fix it!

Lock Road leak

Ironically, the leak that is flooding a section of Lock Road originates at the spur that goes to the pumbing station, so Thames Water really should know about it.

Test bore

Just as the Thames Water works next to Teddington Lock finish they move on to Northweald Lane to do a test bore there.

Aftermath

The work that started in July between the paths to Teddington Lock has finished, the construction site has been dismantled and all but cleared away, leaving a patch of bruised land waiting for spring to heal it.

"X" marks the spot

Thames Water's investigations for their controversial Teddington Direct River Abstraction (TDRA) are continuing with a test bore just off Northweald Lane.

Parkleys Sewage Pumping Station

The works at Parkleys Sewage Pumping Station have finished and the associated machinery and fences have gone leaving a little sign that they were ever there, just a sizeable patch of bare ground.

Construction Time Again

The area fenced off between the path and the track to Teddington Lock that announced it was going to be a construction site now looks more like one with the addition of these portakabins. 

Night leak

While I walk at night quite a lot I do not take that many pictures then, for obvious reasons, but I took one of this leak on the north side of Ham Common because it might not have been there for very long. And it wasn't.

Leak

There have been a series of leaks around the top end of Ham Parade for as long as I can recall and while Thames Water keep coming back to fix things there is another one flowing gently across the pavement now.

Pipe sections

Parkleys Sewage Pumping Station is well screened at the moment while works are in progress but a narrow gap between two plastic sheets allows the curious to see inside where two pipe sections are on display. 

I found it interesting to see the size of the pipes and although I was not sure what to expect they are a little larger than I thought that they might be.This helps to set the scale for the river abstraction works that Thames Water are planning for the area.

Sheeting

The (minor) saga of the fencing around Parkleys Sewage Pumping Station continues with the addition of sheeting to the temporary structure to hide the equipment and materials from view.

Ham, Baker and Co.

While it is nice to see the word "Ham" on a fire hydrant cover on Ham Parade, sadly the name has nothing to do with the place. The company was formed by Frederick Ham, William Baker and Claude Sansom in Westminster..

Frederic Ham was born at Greenwich in 1856, and was educated at the Greenwich Proprietary School and the City of London College. He was then employed at the works of Messrs. J. Stone and Co., Deptford, from 1874 to 1880, and for the next twelve years was engaged on sewerage and water works in various parts of England.

He was one of the founders of Ham, Baker and Co. in 18894 and it became a limited company in 1893.

Ham, Baker and Co.,was engaged in the erection of iron and brass foundries and fitting shops for the manufacture of engineers' specialities for sewerage and water works.

Subsequently contracts were carried out for the supply of all the fire hydrants used in London by the Metropolitan Water Board, and for penstocks and iron work for various Corporations and District Councils of Great Britain.

My thanks to Grace's Guide To British Industrial History for providing this information.

Works at Parkleys Sewage Pumping Station

The reason for the new fence around Parkleys Sewage Pumping Station (on the edge of Ham Common Woods) is now clear with more equipment and materials on site, and a portable loo too.

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.

Temporary fence

The sage of the fences around Parkleys Sewage Pumping Station on the edge of Ham Common Woods continues!

This year the situation has been no fence, permanent fence, no fence and now temporary fence. I presume that Thames Water expect to conclude the saga with a permanent fence and are now going through the correct procedures to erect one, having ignored this procedure previously.

It does not bode well for their plans to do extensive works for the new river abstraction at Teddington.

Fences removed

One of the aims of this blog is to capture Ham as it changes and this is one of those cases where those changes have come quickly.

Parkleys Sewage Pumping Station, on the edge of Ham Common Woods just off Ham Gate Avenue, has looked much like this for decades (though the addition of the word "sewage" to the sign might be new) until July when it was suddenly enclosed in a tall green fence. This has gone just as quickly as it came but I have the photo to prove that it was there.

 

Similarly these two covers nearby were recently protected by a substantial barrier. 

There is no obvious reason for this but, given that this is a conservation area, planning rules are  possibility.

Unexpected barrier

Thames Water, having put a green fence around Parkleys Pumping Station just of Ham Gate Avenue, are installing a more substantial barrier nearby. It seems to be guarding just a standard manhole cover.

The presence of the yellow gate suggests that there is more of the barrier to come in which case the already intrusive construction will be even worse.

Saint-Gobain PAM Warrior surface box cover

I am not intending this to become a theme but having posted a picture of a Stanton PLC H Warrior surface box cover recently I thought that I would show that they are not all the same by posting a picture of one made by Saint-Gobain PAM. 

The two fire hydrant covers are close to each other, one is next to Gate House Garden and the other is on the other side of Upper Ham Road towards Fox House.

I am sure that there is a good reason why one is painted blue and one is painted yellow, but I have no idea what that reason is.

Fenced off

It is just coincidence but this is the third Thames Water story in a week. 

Parkleys Pumping Station, just of Ham Gate Avenue, has been unprotected for years but now someone has decided that it needs a fence around it.