<b><b>A convent in Chiswick has provided Wates with a great opportunity to provide a mix of renovated and new build homes for the west London market. Jeremy Gates reports on new homes for both the punters and 25 nuns</b></b><br><b>It is tempting to suggest that divine providence may have transformed the potential profitability of the redevelopment of a Victorian convent site in a fast-improving corner of west London - and presented Wates with a useful springboard to further residential projects in the capital.</b><br><b> It was in 1996 that the Missionary Sisters of Verona at last accepted that it made little sense to remain in rambling, rundown buildings built mostly in the 1870s. Just 25 of them were living in premises originally designed for more than 100, and many had little hope of the nursing care they needed in old and draughty buildings. </b><br><b><b>Sister act </b></b><br> Guided by agent Dunlop Haywood, the nuns selected Wates as a joint venture partner in the redevelopment of the 1.4acre site. The plan was to shift the nuns into a new building - partly a refurbishment of existing buildings up to 400 years old with a newly-built extension - on one corner of the site, with …