The scaffolding has come off 7 Lavender Hill – which used to be the home of CutPoint barbers over the ground floor and basement, and a 4-bed flat spread across the upper levels.  The property, close to the junction with Queenstown Road, was sold in 2017 for £915,000 (which apparently helped the owner move on to a happy retirement, after owning the building for 40 years!), and has since had a comprehensive makeover.  The building has gained an extra storey along the way and now houses (we understand) four flats, plus the shop on the ground floor.

The front façade has been comprehensively cleaned up, replacement windows have been installed, the brick pointing has been redone, and the stonework repaired and repainted (with the ornaments carefully picked out in gold) – it’s looking as good as when it was new! The contrast between the cleaned building and the long-empty Cedars pub next door is quite striking.  There’s still some work to do at the ground floor, but the overall result is already quite a change.  The work has been delivered by Balham-based APT Design and Build.

The Cedars next door is also slowly being internally refurbished, although it’s not yet clear whether the exterior will see as much attention.  It’s had a long fall from grace – in its final years it was the Ashtar bar, before they in turn moved to larger premises under railway arches in Vauxhall, since then it has variously been empty, squatted, and occupied by property guardians – while pigeons took over more and more of the exterior.  Fingers crossed the developers there will be inspired by what’s happened next door.