Hi

looked under the bonnet today and noticed a gap between the metal (chassis) and the rubber part of the suspension strut -is this normal? Looks to me like it should be a tight fit. If not is it likely caused by incorrect fitting or general wear and tear? 

There is excessive tyre wear on the inside of both front tyres 🥺.  

Thanks!

Normal.

This is a normal situation, the rubber can go weak but usually results in a slight knocking noise when turning the wheel, the essive wear on the 2 front tyres could be a few problems as in worn bushes track rod ends etc, it would pay you to check all bushes including the drop links for wear and if nothing is found take it o a decent garage when you fit 2 new tyres and have it tracked, don't take it now as the tyre wear will put the tracking out and will change again when new tyres are fitted

Thanks for the comments - needed a new tie rod👍