Ham Close First Homes Finished, 1 in 10 Wheelchair Ready

The first new homes in the Ham Close regeneration are finished. Richmond Council said on 27 October that they were “newly completed”, and its housing lead has toured them.

The council’s announcement focused on how the flats are built for people with limited mobility. When the whole scheme is finished, 10% of the homes will be suitable for wheelchair users. The council says the rest are designed so they can be adapted later as people’s needs change.

What is in the new homes

The council described the home that Councillor Chris Varley, Lead Member for Housing, visited. It has:

• a fully fitted shower room with support rails
• a kitchen with an electric rise-and-fall worktop
• pull-out storage, and an oven shelf for moving hot dishes safely

Across the development, the council lists these features:

• every bathroom is prepared for a level-access shower, and some have already been converted to shower rooms for residents
• wider hallways and doors
• sockets and switches placed where they are easier to reach
• lifts in every building

The council employs a specialist housing occupational therapist. It says that person works with housing associations, their project teams and residents from the start of a scheme to the end.

“Everyone should have a home that supports them to live independently and with dignity,” Councillor Varley said. “Accessibility has been considered from the beginning of this scheme.”

Where Ham Close has got to

Ham Close is an estate of 192 flats in Ham owned by Richmond Housing Partnership (RHP). The council’s Ham Close project page sets out the full scheme:

Hill is building it with RHP and the council. Richmond’s Planning Committee approved the scheme unanimously on 14 December 2022, according to the regeneration programme’s own record.

Phase 1 is 70 homes. RHP’s winter 2024 newsletter expected tenants and homeowners to move in during spring 2026. The first block topped out in November 2025, and in March the council said the first affordable homes would be done “early this summer”. So the homes have arrived a few months later than first planned. The council’s release does not say how many of the 70 are now finished, or how many households have moved in.

Phase 1 also includes two community buildings:

• The Hive, a community centre run by Achieving for Children, which will be the new home of Ham Youth Club. It is backed by £7 million of council money.
• The Makers Barn, a workshop space for Richmond MakerLabs, replacing the caretaker’s cottage the group uses now.

Both were due to finish this summer alongside the first homes. This week’s release mentions them but does not say whether they have opened.

What comes next

Phase 2 needs the older blocks emptied first. RHP’s newsletter says the next homes, and the first part of the basement car park, will go where the Ham Youth Centre, Bowes Lyon House, Benson House, Bentinck House and Cavendish House stand now.

The council confirmed a compulsory purchase order for the estate on 20 March 2024. RHP set leaseholders deadlines to agree sales before it would rely on the order: 30 June 2025 for Benson, Bowes Lyon and Cavendish Houses, and 30 June 2026 for the other eight blocks.

What it means for you

• If you are an RHP tenant at Ham Close, your new home offer, rent and moving date come from RHP’s regeneration team. Contact details are on the regeneration programme site. Tenants also have a free independent adviser from TPAS on 0800 731 1619.
• If you live in Ham, the finished scheme adds 14,675 square metres of public open space, including a linear park linking to Ham Village Green, according to the council’s project page.
• If you are on the housing register, the borough’s rules on who gets priority for homes like these are being reviewed. The council is consulting on changes until 18 January 2027.

For other planned building in the borough, see our Richmond planning news.