We moved into our present home, an upstairs flat almost exactly a year ago. We had heard the flats were in line for further renovations, (they had just had new kitchens and bathrooms fitted to bring them up to standard) including the outside walls back and front. Therefore we didn’t worry too much about the fact that it was quite cold back then. The layout of the flat is good and the views are lovely.
But after no sign of action for months we finally received notification of the plans from our local council. It seems the alterations are actually more directed at making the shops underneath us more presentable and attracting long-term tenants.
New signage and frontages on shops, new doors on flats, brought forward to bring entrances inline with the street, rather than recessed. Nice new brick instead of 1960′s tiling at ground floor level, but no mention of weatherproofing on the flats above. So basically we are not getting what we thought and the housing Association has misled us.
The plans make the finished design look lovely (I won’t bore you by putting the plans on here) but they don’t make our lives easier.
The fact that they are planning on bringing the doors forward is going to make the already large hallways even larger. It would make sense to me to leave the existing entrances there, so this would in effect form a vestibule at the front, but they are not doing that. So basically we will have an even larger (un-lived in) space down stairs to try to heat, as this obviously has an effect on temperatures upstairs.
Especially with my health problems (I have asthma among other things and I’ve had serious bronchitis recently) we don’t intend to stay here for another winter unless the plans are changed.
My daughter has just landed a new job in Rawtenstall. As one of my sons has bought a house there with his fiancée, we are seriously considering that area. Hopefully our worst weather this year is over now and we have time to find somewhere else before the next winter.
Rawtenstall. View from a hill in Haslingden.
Things may not be going good right now, but like music, it changes to please us. Jo
Definitely. Like I said in one of my previous posts ..you never know what’s around the corner! x