Oxted Gasholder - Courtyard Gardens October 2021

Welcome to blog number 24 about my October site visit to Courtyard Gardens in Oxted – built on the former gasholder site.

This blog forms part of a series of ongoing updates visually documenting the process from the demolition of the gasholder in January 2019, right through to the completion of 111 high-end one, two, and three-bedroom apartments and penthouses by St William, part of the Berkeley Group.

Block A and B are now complete! Project completion due January 2022.

A model of the development at Robert Leech Estate Agents on Station Road East, Oxted, just opposite the site.

Block A in the foreground with Block B adjoining back centre with Block C back left. Block A is Atkinson House, Block B is Beecham House and Block C is Hardwick House.

There are 41 apartments in Block A – 21 apartments in Block B and 49 apartments in Block C – including seven penthouses – two each in Blocks B & C and three in Block A.

The photographs featured in this blog were taken on 6 October 2021 showing the progress to date.

The photographs in the galleries below are each captioned top left – if viewing on a smartphone they may only be visible in landscape format.

Read on to find out more…

Spraying with water to clean the brickwork.

Maintenance access behind Block B.

Looking into car park B from maintenance access walkway. The grills complete the façade.

Block C from outside Block B.

Block B from the gardens.

The office cabins next to Block C are due to be removed in November to make way for further landscaping.

Landscaping preparation between Blocks B & C.

Beecham Hose entrance to Block B.

The entrance to Beecham House (Block B).

On the day of my visit, the brickwork was being cleaned on Block C following recent scaffold strikes. Landscaping continues on the podium and to the water feature area, and balcony balustrading is underway to Block C. Internally, communal ceiling closures are being undertaken and decorations continue within apartments.

The entrance to Atkinson House (Block A).

The hoist and silo outside Block C are due for removal end of October early November.

The drive entance to Blocks A on the right and B on the left.

Car park B for residents, underneath Block B and has Block C spaces too.

Each apartment is allocated one or two spaces depending on the flat size ( Spaces pre-fixed with a C or B depending on the block they live in).

Car park space for a resident in Block B.

A view from a penthouse apartment in Block C over the North Downs.

A view from Block C penthouse to a penthouse in Block A.

Extraction chimney from the plant room.

From a penthouse terrace in Block C looking over to a penthouse in Block A.

From a penthouse terrace in Block C looking over to Block A adjoining to Block B on the left.

A view from a penthouse terrace in Block C over the North Downs.

I would like to say a very big thank you so much to Ness Kingham, Assistant Site Manager who has been my brilliant point of contact over the past three years and has shown me around the site every month (except during the lockdowns). I have learned so much from Ness during my short visits about the construction of Courtyard Gardens. Wishing her all the very best on her next project with the Berkeley Group as she says goodbye to Courtyard Gardens.

A view from behind the shops on Station Road East - 30 January 2018

The same view from behind the shops on Station Road East – 6 October 2021.

The entrance to Block C where the resident mailboxes with be.

The living room of a penthouse in Block C.

A corridor in Block C.

The spacious hallway to one of the penthouses in Block C.

Insulation in one of the walls in Block C.

Cold water and sprinkler pipes, isolation valves and pressure gauges in Block C.

A window in Block C showing the brick work.

From a terrace in Block C.

A kitchen in an apartment in Block C.

Another kitchen in an apartment in Block C.

Living room onto a terrace in Block C.

Looking down from the office cabins to the terrace from the previous photo.

The office cabins adjacent to Block C are due for removal to make way for landscaping.

This fruit tree next to Block C called Cornus kousa, or Chinese dogwood produces a soft fruit that can be eaten without the skin. The Cornus kousa trees are also located on the podium so they’re a regular feature of the landscaping.

My reflection in a wardrobe mirror. I carry three cameras each with different lenses. Wide-angle, telephoto and standard.

I hope you are enjoying seeing and learning about the progress of the development as much as I am.

All of the images taken are held within my personal archive for posterity, please do get in touch if you would like to know more.

To read the blog from September 2021 please click here.

To read previous blogs, these can be found towards the bottom of the main blog page under ‘Featured’ blogs – this includes all 23 previous gasholder blogs.

For further information about Courtyard Gardens please follow this link to the Berkeley Group St William website.

More information here on the Robert Leech website too.

Looking forward to going back in October to photograph the progress as we edge closer to completion.

Thank you

Stella