Extension revealed

For several months the most recent extension in Burnell Avenue was hidden behind boards and now, with the work almost done, it stands revealed. It was hardly worth the wait as it looks like an exact copy of other recent extensions. I am hoping for a little originality in the final details and/or the garden.

Unroadworthy vehicle

I think it is safe to say that this vehicle "parked" in Burnell Avenue is unroadworthy. I think it is being worked on, or being stripped for parts, but while this is going on it creates a doleful image and hurts the character of the road.

Yet another extension in Burnell Avenue

It is hard to find a house in Burnell Avenue that has not been extended sideways and/or upwardards and this is one of the very last to fall to this temptation.

Missing post box

The arrow claims to be pointing towards a post box; it doesn't (yet).

This is the frontage of the latest property in Burnell Avenue to join the expansion craze, number 2 I believe. 

The other projects along there have not resorted to hoardings like this so I have been able to check on progress every time that I walk past but this one is going to be more frustrating. I was looking for a letter box in the hope that it offered a glimpse inside but it looks as though I am not going to be able to do that either.

Small house

Having assumed that they were filming at Burnell Avenue Open Space I can only further assume that this small house is a prop that they used.

Filming at Burnell Avenue Open Space

It was rather late in a grey damp day that I came across what I took to be the remnants of a filming session at Burnell Avenue Open Space. I am not sure what the attraction is, other than the generous parking, but I have been filming being done there a few times now.

Another lost garden

This substantially refurbished house in Burnell Avenue seems determined to be at odds with its neighbours, the roof is the wrong colour and the frontage neither matches the original brick houses or those that have gone all white. And now the garden has been sacrificed for cars in a road that still prides itself in having a good number of good gardens.

More grey

The last time I posted a picture of this major redevlopment in Burnell Avenue it was to comment on the grey roofs and this time it is to comment on the grey windows. Colour-wise these are less out of keeping than the roofs, which makes the colour a small negative and not a positive, but their design is not to my liking - I think that the windows in the top right corner are much nicer.

Grey roofs

Despite the many different shapes and sizes of extensions added to the houses in Burnell Avenue there has remained a uniformity of style in the roofs; until now. All the other roofs in the street are a shade of terracotta, except for one small side extension, which makes the choice of grey for these three roofs surprising and unwelcome.

Preparations

On a damp and blustery Thursday afternoon people were busy preparing for something in Burnell Avenue Open Space and were erecting a marquee.

 

And nearby, but not too close, was a line of temporary toilets.

I suspect that it was for one of the many run events that go through the area each year but the pirpose does not really matter, I am simply recording that they were there.

Major works in Burnell Avenue

Once upon a time the houses on Burnell Avenue all looked the same then the owners started to build extensions in all directions and they look, to be honest, something of a mess. This house had avoided the extension epidemic until now and is catching up quickly with extensions to the front, side and roof, and removal of internal walls.

There is also a new building at the end of the garden. You cannot see it from this angle so I will try to take a photo that features it prominently. At least I now know that the builders down tools at midday for lunch so I can take photos then.

Seagulls

Seagulls are one of the many things that I know little about so I have no idea why they suddenly found the field between Burnell Avenue and the river so interesting. My guess would include rain and worms but that is only a guess.

Pretty garden

As part of my ongoing exploration of Ham I sometimes approach Burnell Avenue from the river and on this occasion my reward was this display of flowers. I like the way that the colour is spread across the garden, and the window box, so that there is something pretty to look at in every direction.

Neat extension in Burnell Avenue

This extension in Burnell Avenue is almost complete and has revealed its design. And it is a good design too. Perhaps it benefited from looking at the many other extensions in the road to see what works and does not but, whatever the reason this is definitely one of the better ones.

I like the the small windows in the extension that provide additional light to the new room and also make it look a little less like an extension. I also like the way that all the windows have been replaced with a matching design and that design has some character.

Through the wounded trees

I have already shared a couple of photos of the major clearance of the trees and bushes that protect the river from Burnell Avenue and I decided to share another one as this was from a different angle and was taken on a gloriously bright (and bitterly cold) day.

Again the clearance of and under the trees is striking and that work has allowed the houses behind to intrude on the view. I hope that Spring will fix that.

Major thinning out

A few days after the initial shock of seeing the major works along the towpath besides Burnell Avenue I was back and it was lovely and bright for photographs.

The extent of the thinning out was clear once all the debris had been removed and it was major. All of the ground cover vegetation had been removed leaving just the trees. I do not approve because the houses in Burnell Avenue now intrude on the natural idyll and I am sure that the wildlife does not approve either.

A closer look at the works shows that not only was the scrub cleared but the trees took bit of a hammering too.

More cutting back along the towpath

It was a foggy day in October when taking my usual walk to work that I was struck by the cutting back of the trees and bushes along the towpath opposite Burnell Avenue. There had been cutbacks along there before but not to this extent.

The Border Stone stands exposed when only a few weeks earlier I was standing next to it sheltering from the rain under a tree.

I can see the argument for exposing the river but I preferred it when coming across the weir was always a surprise and the first warning that it was there came from the noise it makes.

Work was in progress on the other side of the towpath too and the debris on the ground shows just how much of the vegetation was being removed.

While I can see an argument for exposing the river surely there is no sensible reason for making the ramshackle houses on Burnell Avenue more visible.

An expected addition

I was expecting this house to gain an extension, and it has. For some time I enjoyed the wildness of the abandoned front garden until new owners came and tidied everything up.

Having reclaimed the house and garden they are now adding what is a fairly standard extension for Burnell Avenue with the house growing on one side and to the front. What matters is the facing that they put on the blocks and I will be looking out for that.

White and cream

The cream house had a brick finish until recently then it had a block extension added at the front and the cream finish was added in a simple attempt to blend the two parts together. That, of course, is why the house next to it is white.

As the plague of extension claims most of Burnell Avenue the characteristic brick is being lost and the houses are loosing their shared style. Individual houses might look fine, and some do, but the road looks bit of a mess.

Another extension in Burnell Avenue

Remarkably there are still some houses in Burnell Avenue that have not been extended beyond all recognition of what they once were. This is one of the last to fall. The grey blocks make quite an impression and I took this picture from the other side of the green while walking along the tow path, hence the unusually low angle.