Ravensbury Estate

Products used: Beamish Blend bricks

Project location: Mitcham

Architects: Clarion Housing Group

Brickwork Contractor: Galliford Try

The regeneration of the Ravensbury Estate in Mitcham has created a community-focused neighbourhood with over 200 homes comprising a range of houses and flats.

Ravensbury is part of a £1 billion Merton Refurbishment project involving three neighbourhood estates being carried out by Clarion Housing Group to create 2,800 homes involving the replacement of 1,000 existing homes as well as developing a further 1,800 new homes and the provision of a large accessible community centre, which will be almost double the size of the previous one.

HTA has undertaken in-depth consultation with the Ravensbury community over several years to shape the Masterplan in line with residents’ objectives. The proposals will blend together the old and new parts of the estate with tree-lined streets that provide easy walking routes to neighbouring Ravensbury Park and Morden Hall Park.

At the planning stage Clarion Housing Group liaised with local residents to find out what they would like to see, and the scheme was developed taking into consideration their feedback.

A feature of the buildings are Ibstock’s Beamish Blend bricks, which are a waterstruck, solid facing brick that is red / multi in colour with a light texture. The new homes are all low-rise ensuring that the suburban village-like character of the neighbourhood was kept and included tree lined streets and a central landscaped swale.

There is a range of two and three bed houses, news houses and dormer properties which are spacious, modern homes finished in a brick façade. There is provision for resident and visitor parking.

The scheme includes three or four-bed river front houses, along with four-bed town houses – all finished in a brick facade. These properties include full-height widows to improve natural light and come with their own first-floor balconies.

The Ravensbury Estate also has a range of one and two-bed flats with full height windows to make the most of the natural light, as well as flats for older residents built with accessibility in mind.