Occupied

I took a picture of 23A/B/C Clifford Road when they were completed in March and I would like to use their subsequent occupation as an excuse to post another picture of them though the actual reason is that the light was much kinder on this visit.

Preparing the ground

The ground next to the medical services block on Ashburnham Road is being prepared for something. My guess would be a portakabin of some sort but I will have to wait and see to be certain.

Reroofing in Sheridan Road

This may be a programmer of work by RHP, something the residents have organised themselves or just coincidence but there is a lot of reroofing going on in Sheridan Road and a lot of scaffolding installed in the process.

In to the Woods

The path through Ham Common Woods on the north side of Ham Gate Avenue is a gentle curve that returns you to the main road, which makes it something of a mysterious place, a path for exploration not for travelling.

That mystery is unnecessarily reduced by widening the entrance next to Ormeley Lodge. This makes the path look big, important and purposeful and encourages walkers to stride in confidently when the aim should be to make them approach with caution as to where the path might leave or even if it is a real path at all.

Gate moved

One of the things that I try to do in this blog is capture changes in the area, especially those that can easily go unnoticed, and this is a good example of that. Only a month ago I heralded the arrival of a new gate in Ham Gate Avenue and it has now been moved!

On the brick pillar behind the gate to the left you can see the mark of where the frame used to be before the gate was moved to be alongside the pavement. That seems a more logical place for it but the interesting boundary to Ham Common may have dictated its earlier positioning and may force it to go back there.

Early decorations

I am not going to show much in the way of seasonal decorations this year, at least that is the plan, and I have only shown these as they are the first that I have seen and so mark the beginning of the season.

There are two of these wreaths on the newish gates in Ham Gate Avenue. The gates are large and set well back from the road so need large decorations to make any sort of impact. These do.

Ham Parade Market Garden Wheel

The new little garden in the south-east corner of Ham Parade has a cute little sign explaining that it was created by Ham Parade Market. The market is a welcome addition to the area and the garden is too.

Ham Friends Club

All I know about Ham Friends Club (Google was no help) is that at some point someone decided they deserved this sign on Ashburnham Road.

Losing a little bit more space

One of the attractive features of Royal Park Gate is the many small open areas, such as this one at the entrance to Biggin Hill Close. Most of these are attached to the neighbouring properties and there has been a steady series of works to enclose them. The overall effect is to make the area look more developed and less open, which is a bad thing.

Incidentally, Google Maps Street View refuses to show the roads in this part of Royal Park Gate, and has done so for some time, but Apple Maps reminds me that this area used to contain a tree and a large bush.

 

Not only is the vegetation gone and the garage growing but there is a few fence too making the open space a closed one and the area just a little bit uglier.

 

Looking over the fence and the extent of the new garage can be seen.