PAPER D
A PLACE PLAN
FOR RYDE
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The town’s motto dates from the incorporation as Ryde
Borough in 1868. It can certainly be read as meaning,
Healthy, Beautiful Place’, but its phrasing, deliberately
ambiguous, allows for another interpretation, ‘ Community
AMOENITAS
That Celebrates Healthy and Beautiful Way of Living’. This
subtle shift between place and person, between the quality
SALUBRITAS
and resilience of the town’s architecture and public realm, and
the wellbeing of those who inhabit it, seems as pertinent now
URBANITAS
as it must have done then, at another time of great political
and social turmoil. It was an acclamation that demanded, and
promised, inspiring vision, effective partnership and practical
action for change.
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4. INTRODUCTION
5. RATIONALE AND METHOD
PART 1. THE COMPOSITION OF RYDE
9. CULTURAL CAPITAL
17. NATURAL CAPITAL
22. COMBINING BUILT AND NATURAL HERITAGE
25. SOCIAL CAPITAL
35. SOCIO-ECONOMIC INFRASTRUCTURE
41. FUTURE RYDE
45. PUBLIC OPINION
PART 2. DIAGNOSIS AND EVALUATION
50. FINDING THE THREADS
53. KEY THEMES
PART 3. PRIORITIES AND ACTIONS
CONTENTS
58. FIVE CHALLENGES
THE DOMINANCE OF TRANSPORT
THE URBAN EXTENSION
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
THE IMPACT OF GRANT FUNDING
A PLACE-BASED VISION
64. FIVE SOLUTIONS
A MANIFESTO FOR RYDE
A THIRD SECTOR COMPACT
A REVIVIED COASTAL COMMUNITY TEAM
A NETWORK OF PROJECTS TO ENRICH PUBLIC REALM
SOCIAL ENTERPRISE ZONES
96. CONCLUSION
99. SOURCE DOCUMENTS
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Arc has been commissioned to prepare a Place Plan for
Ryde, providing actions for positive change and
regeneration across its priority retail and seafront areas
and setting the whole within a context that characterises
the town.
INTRODUCTION
The methodology for the work is a literature review
covering the last 15 years, extracting consistent and
coherent themes, topics and public opinions that can be
applied to place-based regeneration in Ryde.
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RATIONALE AND METHOD
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The Place Plan for Ryde is derived from a hierarchy of publicly available
data sets and published information.
National data is sourced from the Office of National Statistics and UK
Government departmental reports as they apply to the town and
National Data
parish of Ryde.
applying to Ryde
County data is sourced primarily from the Isle of Wight Council Core
County data
Strategy (2012), the Draft Island Plan (2015 on wards) and their
applying to Ryde
collected supporting and technical documents and reports.
Parish data comes from electoral ward and local super-output area
Ryde Parish data
information published on the Isle of Wight Council website, local plans
and policies published by Ryde Town Council and supporting
documents and reports considered and referred to by the town council
in decision making.
Ryde Public
Comment
Public comments, opinions and suggestions are sourced from town
council consultations on budget and policy statements, work
undertaken by and commissioned through the Isle of Wight Council
Regeneration team as part of the ‘Wight We Want’ consultation.
All reference documents are listed in the appendix, page 101. D - 6
The Place Plan identifies a set of strategic challenges to the town
and its future. These are predicated on the conclusions and
recommendations of the reference and source materials referred
to in the appendix.
Ryde Geography
and Demography
The challenges and solutions proposed are organized around core
elements of place-based regeneration:
Ryde Foundation
Capital
Geography and Demography - the distribution and extent of
the physical and human characteristics of Ryde.
Ryde Land Use
Policy
Foundation Capital - the quantity, quality and ‘health’ of the
natural, cultural and social components of Ryde.
Land Use Policy - the framework of international, national and
local decision-making with regard to development and
Ryde Governance
infrastructure.
Governance - the role of local authorities at county and parish
level and the network of organizations and institutions
involved in the provision of public services and amenities.
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PART 1. THE
COMPOSITION OF RYDE
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CULTURAL CAPITAL
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There are 470 Listed Building entries within the Ryde parish set within an extensive built
environment Conservation Area with two component parts.
75% of Union Street is listed.
8 listed churches help to define Ryde’s skyline, protected within the Conservation rea
designation.
Ryde’s cultural heritage also includes 2 Scheduled Monuments and 13 Local List items (protected
at the level of the local authority).
The Conservation Area spills out across Ryde Sands, east and west of the Pier, creating a
designated environment unusual in its extent and diversity of form, overlapping with ecological
protections to create a block of protected urban environment unique on the Island.
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Heritage Designations
Source: IWC Island Plan Draft Proposals Map
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The parish of Ryde comprises the town centre, with its ‘upper’ and ‘lower’ features, but also a
ring of distinctive historic settlements: Binstead, Haylands, Swanmore, Oakfield and Elmfield.
The new electoral arrangements for Isle of Wight Council published in June 2019 by the Local
Government Boundary Commission for England, recognises the importance of these district
identities in the naming of some of the proposed ward revisions.
The continuing expansion of Ryde, incorporating and eventually enveloping some of these historic
centres (particularly Swanmore, Oakfield and Elmfield), risks the erosion of Ryde’s cultural
landscape unless the change that is coming allows the character of these places to be fully
expressed in the evolution of the town and its parish.
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Source: OS 1:25000 1937 - 61
Ryde is the ‘carnival of carnivals’, dating from Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1887, it is the oldest in
the UK. The parade route is arguably the best on the Island and so has brought other significant public
events and spectacles to the town, Pride, Mardi Gras, Pearl Izumi, Ryde Slide.
The IW Scooter Rally, one of the largest of its sort in the world, is prominent in Ryde and has been since
its inception in 1981. The Esplanade and its public spaces provides the large and accessible assembly areas
essential to the event; any significant changes to road layouts and public realm will need to fully consider
the unintended impacts.
Under The Pier, in its seventh year, celebrates the built and natural environment of Ryde in an
exploration of the shoreline from Western Gardens to the pier head each summer.
Ryde in Bloom has worked for over a decade to promote and encourage gardens and greenspace with
increasing interest in sustainability, biodiversity and community partnership.
In 1986 the Vernon Square Preservation Society purchased the historic gardens on Melville Street, now
restored and managed for public and community benefit by the Vernon Square Conservation Society Ltd.
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The Biosphere Mardi-Gras (courtesy of New Carnival Company)
The town hosts two nationally important arts organizations, The New Carnival Company and
Shademakers, both closely associated with carnival. Shademakers also runs The Depozitory, an arts venue
in Ryde combining exhibition and gallery space with studio and workshop hire.
Ryde Arts CIC has been running an arts festival in the town for sixteen years.
Ryde has the Ryde Society, Historic Ryde Society and Ryde Social Heritage Group, all working to protect
and celebrate the cultural heritage of the town.
Heritage transport (an complement to contemporary transport imperatives in the town) has a strong
presence in the Isle of Wight Bus Museum and the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. The Bus Museum is a
founding body in the annual Beer and Buses Weekend enjoyed by many thousands of residents and
visitors.
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‘Down to the Town’ art workshop
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NATURAL CAPITAL
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There are 5 levels of ecological protection in operation across the parish of Ryde. Four are
essentially coterminous and cover the whole of the town’s seafront and Ryde Sands:
Ramsar - an international wetland designation.
Special Protection Area - a Natura2000 European designation.
Potential Special Protection Area - a second layer of provisional designation, treated as if fully
protected in policy and law.
Site of Special Scientific Interest - a UK habitat and species protection in law.
The fifth ecological protection is Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC), designated
by the Isle of Wight Council.
A quarter of the Parish of Ryde is recognized, the majority at international level, for its ecological
importance.
The whole of Ryde is of course incorporated in the new IW Biosphere reserve designation. The
themes of biological and cultural diversity at the core of Biosphere’s purpose, are particularly
concentrated, and potentially exemplified, in built and natural environments of the town and its
parish.
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Ecological Designations
Source: IWC Island Plan Draft Proposals Map
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Ryde’s rich biodiversity features several ‘charismatic’ species closely associated with the town and
its environment. The flocks of brent geese and sanderlings on the winter shore, the multi-coloured
marine sponge gardens growing under Ryde Pier, ground-nesting bees and their bee-wolf hunters in
the North Walk dunes and all four of the Island’s unique mammal assemblage, dormouse, red
squirrel, bechsteins and barbastelle bats, in its coastal woodlands.
The tree and woodland landscape of Ryde is patchily distributed, many parts carry some level of
protection against damage or loss. Tree Protection Orders (TPOs) form a dense network within
some parts of the Conservation Areas and are important elements in the character and layout of
the town, but there are other important tree features more vulnerable to change.
Ryde has few street trees for example, and so where they do appear, they are the more
important. The Esplanade’s holm oaks and planes are Edwardian landmarks but are not protected.
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Tree Designations
Source: IWC Island Plan Draft Proposals Map
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COMBINING BUILT AND
NATURAL HERITAGE
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When these environmental designations are combined, they reveal Ryde’s exceptionally rich
natural and cultural landscape, encompassing the heart of the town.
This unusual concentration of cultural and natural capital, overlapping large areas of Ryde’s
residential and business community, represents an untapped resource that can support positive
socio-economic change, an approach validated by the 2019 IWC Regeneration Strategy and by
the draft Solent Local Industrial Strategy.
The Biosphere designation awarded to the Island on June 19th 2019, actively supports this
strategy for sustainable development. Ryde has the potential to be exemplary in its positive and
active engagement with the 3 principles of Biosphere:
1. Conserving and enhancing its biological and cultural diversity.
2. Putting its stock of natural and cultural capital to work for the livelihoods and wellbeing of
the people who live and work within its bounds.
3. Sharing information freely between its partners, stakeholders and communities, building
the strongest constituency it can for a sustainable future.
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Combined Designations
Source: IWC Island Plan Draft Proposals Map
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SOCIAL CAPITAL
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The 2009 and 2010 audits of open space and green infrastructure across the Island showed that
while Ryde is well-supplied with school sports fields, allotments and church grounds, it is
deficient in the provision of freely accessible greenspace when measured against national
standards. New audits of open space are now being undertaken by IWC and there is an
important opportunity for Ryde, and RTC, to actively engage with this evaluation, through for
example the proposed Greenspace Forum.
Ryde is notably lacking in ‘cross-town’ public footpaths, reducing waymarked orientation. Paths
start at the edge of the town and run into outlying areas such as Binstead, Smallbrook and
Spring Vale.
The Esplanade is likely to be a part of the route of the new National Trail, the England Coastal
Path, to be set out in 2020 and to be opened officially in 2021 as part of the national Year of the
English Coast, supported by Natural England, the Coastal Partnerships Network, the Coastal
Communities Alliance, the National Coastal Tourism Academy, the New Economics Foundation,
and the Local Government Association Coastal Special Interest Group.
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Amenity Space
Source: IWC Infrastructure Delivery Plan
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Public Greenspace
Source: IWC Island Plan Draft Proposals Map
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Public Footpath ‘vacuum’
Source: The Land App
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Police statistics for Ryde show that areas suffering from the highest levels of deprivation also
have some of the worst results on the Island for crime, particularly violent crime.
Hampshire Constabulary is working with consultants MutualGain to apply the ‘World Café’
approach to building stronger local community resilience.
Ryde Town Council is working with the Isle of Wight Council and the Aspire Ryde charity to
provide local support and advice through the Community Connector project.
spire’s own consultation work has highlighted access to housing, homelessness and mental
health as significant issues of concern in the town.
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Crime Statistics
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Source: Office for Police and Crime Commissioner - InterAct dataset
Data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in 2019 shows a core of nationally
significant socio-economic deprivation (as measured by Indices of Multiple Deprivation) running
through the central and eastern parts of Ryde.
A comparison with data from previous years (2011, 2015) shows that this has become a
persistent and worsening feature of the town.
The work of the Aspire Ryde charity has identified deprivation, homelessness and mental health
as priority issues of local concern within its network of service users and providers.
Early feedback from the Ryde World Café project run by Hampshire Constabulary raises issues
that include:
Intimidation and fear as a result of some ‘youth’ activity.
A lack of respect and understanding across generations.
Limited youth provision and a lack of support.
Adult street drinking and cannabis use creating expectations of lawlessness and exploitation
of young people.
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2019 Indices of Multiple Deprivation
Source: Consumer Data Research Centre
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Ryde has important centres of community support, advice and intervention which, although not
presently closely connected in the way that they are managed and operated, together provide
significant services to the residents of the town. These include:
Network Ryde, a youth service project funded by Ryde Town Council; it was established in
April 2017 to support young people aged 11-19 from a dedicated youth café located at 147
High Street. Network Ryde also manages the seafront skatepark.
Aspire Ryde, a charity based in the former Holy Trinity church providing social and
community support for all ages. It also has a Community Hub centre in the High Street. The
Community Connector project, co-funded by Ryde Town Council, is based here.
Churches Together in Ryde, a network of the 16 churches in the parish, offering a range of
events, activities and drop-in services such as those at St. John’s in Elmfield.
The Children's Centre in George Street, providing health and parenting advice and support.
Ryde Library, a vibrant resource for all ages, providing a Help Centre and working closely
with Ryde Arts.
There is an opportunity to strengthen and amplify community and youth support through
combining and coordinating between the various services.
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Wreath Making at Ryde Library (courtesy of Ryde Arts)
SOCIO-ECONOMIC
INFRASTRUCTURE
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The heart of the town comprises its Esplanade and its retail core of Union Street and High Street.
The ‘Tourism Opportunity Zone’ and ‘Town Centre’ policy priorities that these areas respectively
comprise, are naturally antagonistic, given the disjointed pedestrian access between them, the
dominance of transport and traffic interests within them, and the creation of two opposing poles
each seeking to anchor high footfall.
The Historic Places Review Panel clearly describes the bigger issue of vehicle dominance and its
impact on Ryde; change on this scale will require a fundamental review of what is formally
adopted as critical infrastructure for the future of the town (for example in the emerging Island
Plan):
"In order to begin to resolve the problems facing both the Esplanade and the High Street/Union Street areas (and
the interface between them), the Panel considered that a town-wide traffic review will be necessary. As is the case
for Newport, the Council might experiment with temporary road closures or narrowing on certain parts of High
Street/Union Street and Lind Street to test the impact which pedestrianisation might have upon vehicular
movement, the retail economy and people’s perceptions about the quality of their shopping experience.“
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Town Centre (black) and Tourism
Opportunity Zone (yellow) policy areas
Source: IWC Island Plan Draft Proposals Map
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The hovercraft from Ryde Pier
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One of the distinctive features of Ryde is its distribution of economic centres set within
residential districts and priority public space. This has the effect of creating employment and
retail ‘neighbourhoods’, further emphasised as the south and east peri-urban fringe is developed.
The distribution of the main centres of business rate valuation and receipt shows a pattern of
economic activity and infrastructure distributed in a ring within the town. Important economic
centres currently ‘edge of town’ such as Nicholson Road and Westridge, are enveloped by the
spread of ‘Future Ryde’ defined by existing and pending development approvals and allocations.
Ryde’s public car parks raise almost £500K pa with Quay Road alone delivering over a third of this
figure.
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Centres of Non-Domestic Public Revenue
Source: IWC business rates and car park income data (annual figures)
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FUTURE RYDE
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Ryde faces significant change in the structure of its communities given the extent and location of
approvals, site allocations, and proposed allocations for residential, recreational and industrial
development.
These areas together create an urban extension along its southern and eastern borders,
increasing the size of the town by a third and significantly altering the definition and pattern of
Ryde’s peri-urban settlement from Swanmore to Elmfield.
The expansion of the town will bring with it demands on primary school provision and access to
healthcare and the planning of these services will need to be carefully considered to prevent the
relocation and displacement of facilities from disadvantaging existing communities.
In the same way, the extended and diversified sports facilities planned for Smallbrook will need
to find the right approach to anticipating the needs of the urban without triggering the
relocation or loss of town centre and seafront amenities (such as the skatepark).
It will be essential that the town council, in partnership with key local organizations and
agencies, can plan for, and influence, the social, economic and environmental changes to come.
A close working partnership with both the Regeneration and Planning departments of the Isle of
Wight Council is important.
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Illustrative Approvals, Allocations and
Proposals for Development
Source: IWC Draft Island Planning Strategy
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An essential part of planning for, and shaping a Future Ryde, is the transport infrastructure that
will support it.
Critical junctions will need improvement, both to manage existing demand and to accommodate
the needs of Ryde over the period of the new Island Plan.
Given the dominance that vehicle traffic has in the life of Ryde, the formulation of a transport
infrastructure plan will have to consider pedestrian and cycle links as part of a healthy, safe and
sustainable future. A well-connected place is one that provides high-quality pedestrian and
cycling options and alternatives, and for Ryde, as a community that includes high levels of
households with no access to a car, this is particularly important.
Related to infrastructure planning is the provision of public transport and its reach within Ryde.
The transport interchange provides great advantages for travellers and commuters between the
centre of Ryde and other places, but within the town and its outskirts itself there remain
challenges, for example Southern Housing’s new extra-care development at Haylands has no bus
service. Access to a community bus scheme that brings together the various existing providers
would contribute to infrastructure planning. The presence in the town of a bus museum active in
its community is a part of this discussion.
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PUBLIC OPINION
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Keep the Esplanade free from residential development and indeed
any obstructive/intrusive building works.
PUBLIC CONSULTATION UNDERTAKEN
BY RYDE TOWN COUNCIL AND THE
Make more of the Esplanade as Ryde’s most important public space
ISLE OF WIGHT COUNCIL DURING
(it must remain public and free). Western Gardens is a particular
2017 AND 2018, REACHED OVER 2000
priority.
PEOPLE AND GENERATED AN
Address critical road and transport junctions, including the seafront
INVALUABLE DATABASE OF LOCAL
interchange itself, must be improved for the movement of traffic and
OPINION, MEMORY AND
for the safety and convenience of residents and visitors.
EXPERIENCE.
THE ‘C LLS TO CTION’ C N BE
Encourage (or demand) better engagement between the operation
GROUPED INTO DOMINANT
of the transport operators that dominate so much of Ryde’s public
THEMES͙
realm, and the civic and community life of the town.
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Secure the Town Hall, the Arena (and its curtilage) and the Harbour
for the benefit of the community of Ryde (and especially for its young
people).
Improve essential public realm from the Esplanade, through Union
͙CONTINUED
Street, to the High Street (more and better seating, better
orientation, more public information, more landscaping and street
art).
Improve flexible, local, public transport options within the town itself
to supplement the major through-town services of the interchange.
Tackle local wellbeing priorities of poor mental health, loneliness and
isolation, poverty and income inequality.
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A desire to see more facilities for young people.
A fear of crime and anti-social behaviour.
A FEATURE OF PUBLIC FEEDBACK TO
THE TOWN COUNCIL’S BUDGET ND
A call for widespread enhancements to public realm.
POSITION STATEMENT
reluctance to pay for ‘frills’.
CONSULTATIONS IS A TENDENCY
TOWARDS MUTUALLY
ANTAGONISTIC POSITIONS. THIS
A need for greater employment opportunity in the town.
TENSION BETWEEN COMPETING
A fear of over-development.
OBJECTIVES IS A CHARACTERISTIC OF
RYDE’S REGENER TION DISCOURSE.
The esplanade must be protected as free, accessible public
space
The esplanade is in economic decline.
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PART 2. DIAGNOSIS AND
EVALUATION
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FINDING THE THREADS
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There is then a substantial directory of Ryde data, survey, study consultation and assessment,
particularly covering the period from the Ryde Development Trust to the current work of the Isle of
Wight Council Regeneration department (a period of approximately 15 years).
In addition there is the mapped policy framework for land use and development that applies to Ryde
through the Core Strategy of the Isle of Wight Council (2012) and its successor, the 2019 Island Plan
currently phased for adoption in 2021.
Extracting some common, coherent and locally distinctive themes from this resource is a necessary
step in the creation of a Place Plan since this must be practicable within the regulatory context of
policy and law.
The review of the document archive and contemporary strategic work for Ryde suggest three key
areas of consistent concern: the physical fabric of the town, its foundation resources, and its
governance.
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Barfield
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KEY THEMES
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A fractured and incoherent public realm, described by the Heritage
Panel as (in places) ‘absolutely dire’.
A deficit of accessible public greenspace, meaning that those
patches that exist are a critical resource.
A dominating transport estate that can seem conspicuously
indifferent to the town’s shared and communal life.
TOWN FABRIC
A pattern of defining, landmark buildings in decline.
A southern arc of almost contiguous approvals and allocations that
together form a 30%, urban extension of the town.
Risks to the historic pattern and identity of settlement on Ryde’s
southern periphery as the urban extension affects Haylands,
Swanmore, Oakfield and Elmfield in particular.
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Weak social resilience, with a concentration of very high-level
deprivation right at the heart of the town, a deficit in public facilities
and activities, especially for the young. This is set alongside a sharp
demographic gradient between the oldest and youngest populations
(for example Binstead and Ryde South).
Strong arts identity, two Arts Council England National Portfolio
Organizations, Ryde Arts CIC, Ryde Carnival, annual events
programme.
FOUNDATIONS
Strong cultural identity and evidence of community action for change
(noted by the Heritage Panel visit).
Strong natural identity, Ryde Sands, its seascape and coastal wildlife.
An investment narrative dominated by transport operators and their
interests on the one hand, but on the other, a growing small business
voice through the local association.
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Ryde Town Council position predicated on what IWC ‘should be
doing’. Lack of a bold, clear manifesto for town regeneration
from within, leaving Ryde vulnerable to ‘getting what it’s given’
from without.
Consequently (perhaps) public opinion on civic improvement
weighted towards defensive positions (CCTV, graffiti, ASB etc.).
GOVERNANCE
Very strong annual public investment through local grants and
contributions (£230K) but without clear direction to achieve
cumulative gains for public and community benefit and so
tending to be dissipated.
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PART 3. PRIORITIES AND
ACTIONS
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FIVE CHALLENGES
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Fixing the mismatch between decisions made in the interests of the five
transport operators/owners (including Island Roads) and the resulting
impacts on a public realm (especially greenspace) that is in deficit both in
quantity and quality.
The interchange dominates essential public space where the Town Centre
meets the Esplanade. The plans for new investment via SEHRT represent a
critical test of vision and will to see commercial and community interests
considered as coactive in the context of shaping a better Ryde. Whatever
the constraints of project criteria applying to the Pier, and the layout and
infrastructure of the interchange, good design must at least protect public
1. THE
space, and should endeavour to enrich it.
DOMINANCE OF
The plans for public realm improvements that will come from the HSHAZ in
the town’s High Street will take place within the highway estate controlled
TRANSPORT
by Island Roads. New projects will have to be assessed as improvements to,
or exemptions from the network and these decisions will have
consequences for deliverability.
These are just two current examples amongst others that illustrate why a
new relationship between Ryde Town Council, as the major custodian of
the town and its parish, and the five transport bodies, is urgently required.
The extension of this dialogue to the bigger picture of transport
infrastructure and service planning, including integration with pedestrian
and cycle alternatives must be the ambition.
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Understanding, influencing and steering the impact of Ryde’s urban
extension. This profound change to the shape and life of the town is
already set in place, but its impact on the public realm, pedestrian
permeability and civic quality of the town can still be shaped by Ryde
Town Council working in partnership with its partners and allies.
Not all of the permissions, current and proposed allocations, may be
fulfilled or not, but they will affect and change the life of Ryde
2. THE URBAN
nonetheless. Population estimates for these areas have already
influenced the reform of IWC wards which will be used in the 2021 local
EXTENSION
elections. Sites allocated but undeveloped can fall into disuse and
dereliction.
The relationship between the town council and the IWC Regeneration
and Planning teams is vital, to set out the local requirements (‘Ryde
Rules’) for the determination of development applications and for the
delivery of public benefit through supplementary design guidance,
planning conditions and s106 agreements.
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pplying Ryde’s unique concentration of cultural and natural capital to
the benefit of everyday life in the town, with particular regard to its
core of worsening deprivation. This is a Biosphere priority.
The outstanding quality of Ryde’s ecology, arts pedigree and built
heritage is the raw material for enterprise. As assets for a year-round
visitor economy, as a priority pathway for national and regional
3. SUSTAINABLE
investment in the emerging green economy, as opportunities for new
creative industry, as ‘pull’ for new business location, and as a source of
DEVELOPMENT
new specialist training and skills development, these natural and cultural
resources have the power to build sustainability.
Creating and supplying these opportunities so that they are accessible
and relevant to the most deprived and disadvantaged communities
requires a strongly localized approach utilizing a patchwork of
neighbourhood sites that integrate with centres of public and voluntary
intervention.
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Getting more from the town council’s exemplary investment in
public life via the £230K of grants and contributions, to ensure a
year-on-year accumulation of visible civic gains driven by a bold,
coherent, proactive and locally-driven enrichment of public
experience.
Ryde Town Council supports both new grant applicants and regularly
funded organizations and has thus built up a considerable portfolio of
projects, programmes and initiatives in which it has a stake on behalf
4. THE IMPACT OF
of the residents of Ryde. Helping to sustain local charities and
underwriting important local events is an important service in itself
GRANT FUNDING
but more can be done to accumulate year-on-year civic gains by
aligning the outputs of funded work to a coherent plan for the town.
This need not change the small grant facility with its easy entry
requirements for smaller sums which is such an important scheme for
individuals and small or unincorporated groups.
Such an approach is likely to attract other funding to accelerate
progress by providing a ‘match’ towards clear and consistent
outcomes for public and community benefit.
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Enshrining these priorities in a clear, compelling vision for Ryde and
its communities, driven by the town council and shared by an active
partnership of local organizations.
Ryde Town Council is the catalyst for place-based regeneration across
its neighbourhoods and communities. There is a sense in which Ryde
is a town driving with its hand-brake on; there is so much goodwill
and determination to see it succeed, so much data and material to
5. A PLACE-BASED
inform and guide action, and so much work being done across such a
spread of organizations, but the release of its full momentum can
VISION
only come from a central driving force.
Ryde Town Council is the essential body through which the
governance and impetus for a place plan, and the long-term, patient
delivery of sustainable progress will be delivered, through positive
partnership and enterprising collaboration.
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FIVE SOLUTIONS
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The Town Council’s Vision for Ryde is:
“To support and enhance the health, well-being and economy of Ryde
to the benefit of residents, local businesses and visitors within a
culture that makes best use of our heritage and the beauty of Ryde”
This statement can be developed into a more specific public
statement of significance and intent, a Manifesto for Ryde.
The foundations for such a document, taken from local
consultations over the past 2 years would include :
1. A MANIFESTO
Protecting and enhancing free, accessible public space with a
special focus on green infrastructure.
FOR RYDE
Breaking the dominance of traffic in the public realm.
Protecting and celebrating Ryde’s iconic buildings and the
skyline and streetscape they compose.
Protecting and celebrating Ryde’s landscape and wildlife.
Creating and sustaining activities and opportunities for young
people.
Creating and sustaining opportunities for all, to live and work
in Ryde.
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Once written and agreed, the manifesto can form the basis for a
series of essential partnership agreements with stakeholders who
have significant control over or effect upon life in Ryde. It is
fundamental to the co-design of services to meet a public intent.
These agreements might be in the form of Memoranda of
Understanding, or Agreement, (MOU, MOA); types of provision
that establish an important public statement of cooperation, but
do not (at first) constitute a legally enforceable obligation.
THE MANIFESTO
The transport estate partnership agreement should be between
RTC and the 5 owners and operators of the transport
PUT INTO ACTION
infrastructure that dominate Ryde seafront: Wightlink, Island Line,
Hovertravel, Southern Vectis and Island Roads (and Isle of Wight
Council)
The regeneration partnership agreement should be between RTC,
IWC (Regeneration and Planning), Ryde Business Association, IW
Chamber of Commerce, The Ryde Society and Ryde Arts CIC as the
basis for the resurrection of the Ryde Coastal Community Team.
The health and wellbeing partnership agreement should be
between RTC, NHS/CCG, and the North-East Locality Hub.
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Ryde Town Council invests £230K annually in the work of local
voluntary, community, arts and youth organizations. The capacity of this
contribution to build year-on-year public benefits in the civic life of the
town is unfulfilled because there is no guiding plan or manifesto that
underpins funding decisions. General support for important local
organizations, aiding their survival and sustaining their work, is an
important objective, but without a framework for ensuring a wider,
planned, social and community benefit, the full impact of the town
council’s investment cannot be realised.
The networks of public realm project locations proposed, and the 6
zones that connect them, provide a convenient and effective route to
2. A THIRD SECTOR
cumulative public gains. If a performance organization is asked to
deliver some part of its event programme at one or other of the public
COMPACT
project sites, for example, or a community advice team a public drop-in,
then both the cultural capital of the town’s third sector, and the social
capital of its neighbourhoods, are increased.
One approach would be to establish compacts with relevant grant
recipients such that there is an agreement that they will contribute an
amount of their time and work to building a more coherent shared
endeavour. The connection made by RTC between Network Ryde and
the management of the skatepark is an example of this approach that
could be expanded.
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Strong local partnerships, federations between public, private and
community sectors, are an essential support to the delivery of the
sustained positive change to be set out in the Town Council’s manifesto.
Ryde’s great advantages, in the depth and breadth of community
engagement in its way of life, have been very recognised, and rewarded,
through the successful HSHAZ bid. A collaboration between the town
council, the business association, Ryde Arts and the Ryde Society,
amongst others, has therefore already been successful.
An independent, democratic structure to support such a partnership is an
3. A REVIVED
important step in enabling successful actions to progress and extend. In
the case of Ryde, such a vehicle already exists in the form of its Coastal
COASTAL
Community Team, established in 2015 as part of joint working between
Ryde Town Council and the Chamber of Commerce.
COMMUNITY
Coastal Community Teams across the country have proven to be useful in
resourcing local projects and programmes, through the Coastal Revival
TEAM
Fund, the Coastal Communities Fund, and as a recognised grant recipient
for other funds, including Section 106 contributions.
CCTs are fundamentally economic regeneration entities, and so a revival
of the Ryde team (which has already published an economic plan) would
potentially offer a way forwards for the work of the Ryde Regeneration
Group, as well as establishing a strong local civic partnership to shape
better outcomes for the town and its communities, from development
proposals, public infrastructure works, NHS and CCG planning, and
70
Economic Partnership.
By selecting key public places (such as those raised through recent
consultations), small enough individually to be significantly improved,
even with modest funds, but together extensive enough to create a
coherent network of civic enhancements and each a short walk from
the next (300m or less), it is possible to deliver visible positive change
across the whole of the priority Town Centre and Seafront domain,
extending up through the Monkton Brook corridor to join the urban
4. A NETWORK OF
extension land south and east.
PROJECTS TO
Public realm enhancements comprise landscape, art, information,
ENRICH PUBLIC
orientation, seating/meeting, play, opportunity for event and spectacle
and interventions for wildlife.
REALM
Each project provides an opportunity to combine natural and cultural
content through the active participation of, for example:
Ryde Arts CIC and the National Portfolio Organizations.
The Ryde Society and the Historic Ryde Society.
The IW Biosphere, Solent Bird Aware and Natural Enterprise.
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There are existing and prospective initiatives ready to connect these
projects and give them context and extension:
The High Street Heritage Action Zone (HSHAZ) for the High Street
(a significant success and great credit to the bidding partnership).
Potential public asset investments: the Town Hall, the Arena, the
A NETWORK OF
Harbour, Appley Tower.
The England Coastal Path, the first National Trail in a decade,
PROJECTS TO
running the length of the Esplanade.
ENRICH PUBLIC
The Ryde Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP)
linking Elmfield and Oakfield to the coast through the Monkton
REALM
Brook corridor.
The South East Hampshire Rapid Transit (SEHRT) bid shared with
Portsmouth City Council, proposing improvements to the
interchange and its public realm.
The urban extension to Ryde in approved, allocated and proposed
residential and employment developments.
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1a. Network Ryde
1b. Ryde Library
2.
Minghella Square
3.
Town Square
4.
Ryde Town Hall
5.
St. Thomas’ Square
6.
Western Gardens ‘Plaza’
7.
The Arena
8.
Ryde Skatepark
9.
Ryde Harbour
10. Rose Garden
11. Ashley Gardens
12. Eastern Gardens
13. Memorial Gardens
14. North Walk
15. Appley Tower
16. Appley Park
17. Simeon Recreation
18. Monkton Street
Public Project Locations 1
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19. The Arc playground and woodland
20. Pig Leg Lane Village Green
21. Nicholson Road community field
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Public Project Locations 2
The project network proposed, drawn from key public sites
referenced in existing literature and community consultation, can
next be grouped according to common themes, identities and
actions.
This ‘neighbourhood’ approach fits well with the economic
THE PROJECTS FALL
infrastructure of Ryde, creating opportunities for closer
combinations of amenity and enterprise, public assets and
NATURALLY INTO
livelihood.
ZONES OR
6 zones have been identified and are indicated and described and
explained in the following pages.
‘NEIGHBOURHOODS’
The Esplanade is the largest, and most challenging of the project
OF ACTION
zones but captures and encapsulates every priority for
regeneration and revival that is identified for the town as a whole.
It is therefore truly talismanic in its impact and influence. If the
Esplanade is set to work, to fulfil its potential as high-performance
public realm, then the whole town benefits, by direct effect, or by
positive precedent.
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ESPLANADE ZONE
ST. THOM S’ ZONE
APPLEY ZONE
MONKTON VILLAGE ZONE
HIGH STREET ZONE
Project Zone Locations 1
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1. Both existing civic centres as well as public spaces. (a) Network Ryde. A
centre of youth work and an important public anchor point at the top of
the High Street, linking with Ryde Academy in particular. Opportunities to
support HSHAZ community and cultural programmes. Opportunity for
public investment in property, securing flats above to support key worker,
affordable rent, affordable workspace, emergency accommodation
support and project income. (b) Ryde Library, home of the Citizens Advice
Bureau and a significant centre of arts and community activity. There is an
important opportunity to further invest in the buildings and resources
here as part of HSHAZ outreach and engagement, furthering the work of
the library in supporting life chances and life quality in Ryde as well as
HIGH STREET ZONE
protecting the right to participate in a shared community.
2. Minghella Square. Scope for concentrated public realm enhancement
within the ‘dwell time’ enrichment work of HSH Z.
3. Town Square. High footfall area with important orientation potential
through to Ryde Library. Existing markets and events can be
supplemented with a calendar of free public events through HSHAZ. Both
the cultural and community engagement programmes can play a
significant role in this programming. A role of central hub for public space
enhancement through the commissioning of public art (from sculpture to
decorative detailing and imaginative wayfinding) is possible.
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Star Street
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4. Ryde Town Hall and Theatre. An opportunity for public purchase as
an investment asset (yellow colour coding is used for all such
projects). The work of the Ryde Empty Buildings Group under the
title ‘Creative Ryde’ has clearly established a justification for public
acquisition and regeneration through makerspace and affiliated
industries. Ryde Town Council continues to explore this possibility
through lottery funding. A partnership with the IWC commercial
property acquisition strategy, or a locally created version of it,
provides an alternative, or complementary approach. The
ST. THOM S’ ZONE
importance of active and visible intervention to save, revive and
actively and positively utilise Ryde’s critical cultural capital cannot
be overstated. The town hall is one of four such opportunities
identified in the project network.
5. St. Thomas’ Square. The centre of the town, marking old and new
boundaries between upper and lower Ryde, the home of the town
council, and a prominent civic space. The cultural programme to
be delivered through HSHAZ may offer an opportunity to
programme new activity and spectacle and better draw out a
coherent space that incorporates the pedestrian crossings the
plaza and the town hall area.
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6. Western Gardens. This area includes the lower part of Union Street,
together creating a third town square or plaza. The essential task here
is to connect infrastructure changes to the transport interchange
planned by SEHRT with equivalent and simultaneous enhancement to
public realm. Improvements to landscaping, seating, signage and
orientation to achieve easier, safer and more pleasant pedestrian
access between appealing open spaces must be a condition of public
investment in the interchange. A new link from Union Street to
Western Gardens across St. Thomas Street would assist in the revival
ESPLANADE ZONE
of interest in the Western Sands’ four beaches (accessibility
improvements also required), and the development of a key anchor
point between town centre and esplanade.
7. Ryde Arena. A visible centre of decay on the seafront and in public
ownership. One solution to the protracted and expensive stalemate
with the current tenant might be, as with the Town Hall, to buy back
the lease as a commercial investment decision. This would provide
options for a reworking of the Quay Road public estate to secure
rental and car parking income, better use redundant spaces, restore
and expand public amenity, integrate the England Coastal Path and
create new and affordable opportunities for local enterprise.
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Under The Pier event
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8. Ryde Skatepark. An important resource for in a suitable and accessible
location. Its lease expires in 2020. The role of the skatepark, as part of
an enhanced recreational space that stretches from Western Gardens
to Puckpool, is essential. Its loss, following the closure of the Arena,
would further demoralize and disaffect Ryde’s young people. There is
an immediate opportunity to integrate the future of the skatepark with
the leasehold arrangements for the adjacent harbour, establishing an
active centre of sport and leisure activity run by the town, for the town.
9. Ryde Harbour. RTC has taken very positive steps towards establishing
ESPLANADE ZONE
and running a community harbour, looking to expand the range of
recreational, educational and economic opportunities that the facility
can provide. The harbour is one of four bellwether public asset
investment projects that together would establish RTC as an ‘Enterprise
Council’.
10. The Rose Garden. A small public space in the flow of people using the
Esplanade and interchange, with great potential to concentrate
enrichment for visitors , residents and workers alike. Improvements to
seating, planting for wildlife, boundary treatments and the architecture
of the space (all easily rose-themed), can be delivered to create a place
that is sought out within the seafront public estate.
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11. Ashley Gardens. A small but important public space. This well-
maintained and formal garden includes a town pond, a rare feature on
the Island. There is scope to make better use of this attraction as
waymarking and orientation between the Esplanade and the Monkton
Street neighbourhood. Landscaping for increased ecological value can
be incorporated into both the beds and the pond, emphasising Ryde’s
status as a coastal nature haven and increasing the possibilities of
wildlife encounter for visitors and residents alike.
ESPLANADE ZONE
12. Eastern Gardens. nother in the series of gardens that punctuate Ryde’s
seafront. A formal landscaped greenspace with potential for boosted
wildlife value (as part of a coastal garden/seafront rewilding effort),
public art commissioning, public events, public information and
orientation connecting with the England Coastal Path.
13. Memorial Gardens. The same mix of ecological gain (in both planted
and built environments), orientation between seafront and hinterland,
England Coastal Path and LCWIP routes to the south, small-scale arts
interventions and public information, will help to increase the
cumulative impact of the sparse and fragmented green infrastructure
that characterises Ryde.
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14. North Walk and the Canoe Lake. The lake and its margins are
designated as a Site of Importance for nature Conservation (SINC
C214A). There is an opportunity here to emphasise the relict dune
ecology and manage the sandy slopes to reduce invasive plant cover
and restore a coastal flora. The lake also provides a winter refuge for
ESPLANADE ZONE
wildfowl, with a feral population present the year round. By actively
managing the site as an urban nature reserve, interpreting its wildlife
value, providing information on what to look for and when, increasing
and improving coastal habitats and removing degraded areas, it is
possible to combine recreational and conservation functions and to
connect this work with the wider narrative of Biosphere that is
exemplified by Ryde.
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Ivy bees in the North Walk dune
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15. Appley Tower. Work is being undertaken by Natural Enterprise, with
support from the Coastal Revival Fund, to assess options for sustainable
redevelopment of this Grade II listed building. The potential for its use
as a tourism venue, café, bar and restaurant is being developed in more
detail. There are important opportunities to incorporate the building’s
‘observatory’ appeal also, looking out onto the European protected
sites of Ryde Sands, backed by the Repton landscape of Appley Park, a
perfect Biosphere combination.
APPLEY ZONE
16. Appley Park. An important public space in itself, with cultural and
ecological value for recreation, education and tourism. Appley connects
the town’s seafront esplanade with the outposts of Puckpool and
Harcourt. The latter’s existing development history has embedded a
requirement for extensive new public green infrastructure, better
connecting ppley and Puckpool. In this way ppley’s influence over
Harcourt’s design creates an essential bridge into the eastern and
southern arc of proposed and permitted development, potentially
prompting the creation of continuously connected new public realm
from Harcourt to Puckpool, Westridge and Smallbrook.
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17. Simeon Street Recreation Ground. A public greenspace significantly and
unfavourably altered by recent flood defence works. The Rec is another
example of the lack of connection between infrastructure works and the
shared life of the community affected. There could, and should, have
been investment in the recreational value of the site as part of the
agreed programme of public works, but the prompt for this intervention
must come from the town itself. This is why a Manifesto for Ryde, and its
implementation through strategic agreements with key stakeholders
(which would include the Environment Agency and Southern Water given
their prominent presence in the life of the town) is required. There is an
MONKTON VILLAGE
opportunity to revisit the site and begin to repair damage done to its
ZONE
utility and appeal as a public park. The Rec is an important orientation
point between the Esplanade and the Oakvale corridor.
18. Monkton Street. The Monkton Street neighbourhood has a strongly
individual character, with its mix of shops, cafes (such as the new
Monkton Arts Café) , small industrial estates and dense streetscape. It
connects easily, via Park Road and St. Johns Wood Road, with the Oakvale
green corridor to the south (a route also featuring in the town’s draft
Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan). There is great potential to
emphasise the locally distinctive sense of place in and around Monkton
Street, establishing both destination and linking roles within the project
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network.
OAKVALE ZONE
Project Zone Locations 2
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19. The Arc play area and woodland. These areas are owned and
managed by Sovereign Housing Association as part of their Slade
Road estate; both the playground and the river valley wood are
publicly accessible at all times, from public footpath/bridleway
R54 and from Nicholson Road. A report produced (by Arc
Consulting) for Sovereign in 2018, proposed enhancements to
the open space and green infrastructure, focussing in particular
OAKVALE ZONE
on the opportunity to create a greater mix of use:
By strengthening the connections between the Nicholson Road
commercial district, the Slade Road/Oakvale neighbourhood, footpath
R54, and bringing these connections together around the play area and
its surroundings, a strong sense of shared space can be created. This
work encourages a diversity of interactions between people of all ages
and helps to develop local routines that incorporate The Arc. A greater
and more diverse presence can serve to build security and safety (less
forbidding, more observers and participants) and help drive behavioural
change towards a more optimistic view of the space. It becomes a place
worth caring about, less prone to littering, dog-fouling and damage.”
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Aspire seen from The Arc
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20. Pig Leg Lane. One of the Island’s few Village Greens (Swanmore
Meadows) and one of two in Ryde (with Play Lane Millennium Green).
It is also designated as a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation
(SINC 213A) and is managed on behalf of Ryde Town Council by the
charity Natural Enterprise as part of their Gift To Nature programme.
Pig Leg Lane forms a continuous accessible greenspace of over 14Ha
with the Sovereign rc sites and Nicholson Road’s proposed community
space creating one of the largest such areas on the Island, essentially a
country park. This combined area sits in the centre of the Ryde urban
OAKVALE ZONE
extension, comprising the redevelopment of the adjacent vineyard,
Pennyfeathers to the south and Nicholson Road to the east. Its
significance to ‘Future Ryde’ scenarios is therefore significant.
21. Nicholson Road. This is a priority IWC site in the Island’s Regeneration
Strategy. Much of the site will remain accessible green infrastructure
and particular attention is being paid to the northern section to be
given over to community facilities. Included in this is the field bisected
by footpath R55 which will remain as public open space. The point at
which this site meets the Arc woodland to the north and the Swanmore
Village Green to the west is also the junction of six public rights of way,
making it a significant landmark and orientation point into ‘Future Ryde’
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neighbourhoods.
The six project zones are all positioned along existing rights of way
and pedestrian and cycling routes recommended in the Local
Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) as well as the
England Coastal Path (ECP).
THE ZONED
The Oakvale and Appley zones also form essential connectors into
‘NEIGHBOURHOODS
the future urban extension along the south and east of Ryde,
comprising permissions and allocations that may be developed.
OF CTION’ RE
A new route is therefore possible between these zones, running
CONNECTED AND
through the green infrastructure provision of current and future
PROVIDE A
development schemes if they are delivered. This must be a high-
quality walking and cycling route that encourages and facilitates
BRIDGEHEAD TO THE
the flow of people between zones.
RYDE URBAN
It is essential that Ryde Town Council and its partners ensure,
EXTENSION
should developments be approved within this south-east belt,
that greenspace and public realm are integrated between them
so that maximum permeability is achieved for existing and new
communities.
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The creation of flow and movement within and between the zones is
fundamental to building social capital in Ryde and is based on three
key principles for shaping better places:
Create a public realm that improves the quantity and diversity of
THE ZONED
human interactions and everyday meetings and so increases the
‘NEIGHBOURHOODS
likelihood of future positive events.
OF CTION’ RE
Combine and connect public spaces to make coherent networks
CONNECTED AND
for communal living.
PROVIDE A
Build social life by making it easy for shared activity to happen in a
public context, encouraging collaboration and participation that
BRIDGEHEAD TO THE
adds value to neighbourhoods.
RYDE URBAN
This combination of locally distinct districts and neighbourhoods,
EXTENSION
with strong individual sense of place, well connected and permeable
for pedestrians and cyclists, fostering the meeting of people and the
exploration of a wide and varied public realm, must be at the heart of
planning for Ryde.
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LCWIP routes
Connecting
and ECP
the Zones
LCWIP
Ryde Urban
routes
Extension areas
Project Zones
Future
connector
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The strongly nucleated nature of Ryde’s economic activity, embedded in
pockets amongst densely residential and high-profile visitor areas, lends
itself to a social enterprise approach to neighbourhood regeneration and
the development of opportunity and livelihood. A network of Social
Enterprise Zones can be envisaged, overlapping with the public realm
project zones and connected across the town as it is now and as it may
5. SOCIAL
become.
ENTERPRISE ZONES
A Social Enterprise Zone combines an active collaboration and partnership
of public, private and voluntary sectors in establishing, supporting and
developing business, industry, employment and training. Its objective is to
build sustainable economic development, based particularly on the
foundation resources of place in its natural and cultural capital, that has a
strongly positive effect on the social conditions and wellbeing of its
neighbourhood.
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A Ryde Social Enterprise Zone will look at commercial acquisition and
management of affordable workspace by local authorities, productive
meanwhile use of redundant property, combinations of funding support
including regional LEP, Coastal Communities and related government
initiatives, local levy ‘bundles’ including s106 infrastructure support, car
park revenue and business rate interventions, and the creation of
hyperlocal Business Improvement Districts.
Opportunities for new social investment will be created by the
SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
establishment and development of a social enterprise model for Ryde’s
ZONES
neighbourhoods. Organizations and funders such as Triodos, Locality and
Power To Change are likely to take a positive interest in such an
approach.
The UNESCO Biospheres have strong foundations in sustainable economic
development. The Social Enterprise and Biosphere Reserve (SEBR)
Network was established in 2013 with the objective of “building
sustainable, healthy and equitable societies, economies and thriving
human settlements in harmony with the biosphere.” The Island’s new
status as a World Biosphere Reserve will give it access to global
experience and expertise in this field.
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CENTRAL
ESPLANADE
APPLEY AND
PUCKPOOL
HIGH STREET AND
ST. THOMAS
RINK ROAD AND
MONKTON STREET
NICHOLSON ROAD
SOCIAL ENTERPRISE ZONES
WESTRIDGE
(mapped over public realm projects,
future Ryde and connecting routes)
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High Street and St. Thomas. The work of HSHAZ and its cultural
consortium over the next four years will bring new focus to this area, its
properties and shared and public realm. Network Ryde (147 High Street)
already provides a locus of public investment at the south end, and the
plans to buy back the Town Hall provide another at the north end.
SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
Central Esplanade. The Arena, Pavilion, Skatepark, Harbour and Quay
Road car park together create a dominant social enterprise zone on the
ZONES
seafront. The Esplanade, predominantly in public ownership, suffers
from stagnation under very long leaseholds with little coherent, shared
regeneration direction. The central zone offers a unique opportunity
for a social enterprise approach to renewal with RTC and IWC working
together to secure the economic opportunities of the five assets as one
project, setting a new and optimistic precedent for the rest of the
seafront including the interchange which also has its redundant and
underused spaces, and integrating the protection of the site’s essential
natural and cultural capital and the inviolability of free, permanent
public access.
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Appley and Puckpool. The combination of Appley Tower, Puckpool Park,
Appley Park and the Harcourt development between, provides an
important eastern anchor point for Ryde’s regeneration, linking into the
urban extension to come. The mix of disused and underutilised built and
open spaces opens opportunities for a focussed social enterprise
SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
approach to this zone.
ZONES
Rink Road and Monkton Street. With its distinctive combination of small
industrial parks, dense residential estate and ‘village’ streetscape and
public realm, this zone has all the characteristics of an urban quarter. A
partnership between county and town councils might consider local
measures for promoting and potentially leading on mixed-use
redevelopment and affordable workspace initiatives.
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Nicholson Road. The combination of international business, small local
traders, housing association offices (and adjacent properties and land),
post office, and extensive local authority land ownership already
provides all of the ingredients for successful social enterprise. The
current extension of the site offers a cue to bring stakeholders together
around a social enterprise purpose, better engaged with the
SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
surrounding community, and anticipating the new communities to
ZONES
come.
Westridge. This out-of-town site will sit directly alongside the urban
extension of Ryde and its existing mix of large retail, leisure attractions,
local authority offices unused space is well positioned to evolve
alongside the needs of its existing and growing community. The
development of the museum stores into a new records and heritage
centre is an ideal public catalyst for more ambitious social enterprise
thinking in partnership with the Westridge businesses.
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CONCLUSION
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In plans and policies for 15 years and more, Ryde is the town ‘most likely
to succeed’. Its extraordinary setting, the depth and breadth of its cultural
and natural content, its public assets, its architectural beauty, its role as
both Island destination and Island gateway, and the active participation of
its community in so much of its shared and civic life, are all the ingredients
for success. Yet Ryde’s great potential to deliver the commonwealth of
public wellbeing that it promises remains unfulfilled. This is not for want of
resolution or conviction, there are so many individuals, groups and
organizations committed to the town. It seems truer to say that what is
THE TOWN
needed is that single focus of purpose, consistently and repeatedly
applied, and designed to be effectively shared between agents and across
WITH ALL THE
sectors.
GIFTS
A catalyst is needed for change, and there has never been such active
chemistry in Ryde as now. The focus on regeneration, the evolving Island
Plan, projects for public estate and buildings, national funding successes
and the award of Biosphere, are all overlapping and interacting.
There is a unique opportunity now, in the hands of the Town Council, to
set in motion a plan that will celebrate the distinctive characteristics of
place while demanding the best of the new, so that quality and
authenticity adds richness to a life in Ryde.
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APPENDIX
List of Reference Documents
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The Wight We Want ‘Island Conversation’ results 2017
Budget Consultation Responses RTC 2018
Comments of Draft Outline Position Statement RTC 2018
Ryde Conservation Area Conservation Area Appraisal Adopted April 2011
Isle of Wight Council Retail Study May 2018 WYG
Planning for Ryde, Ryde Town Council’s position statement final : 24012019
Full Ryde Town Council, 28 January 2019 Paper by: Saskia Blackmore and Ady White, Town Clerk Ryde
Harbour - Options Paper
Register of Assets held by Ryde Town Council - Value exceeding £100
DOCUMENT
Ryde Town Council budget 2019-20
Grant agreement in relation to Isle of Wight: community connections, between Isle of Wight Council
and Ryde Town Council 2019
LIST
1st March 2018 List of possible Town improvement projects identified by the RTC Planning Committee
Public Spaces Protection Order Proposals for Ryde 2019
Ryde Town Council public realm budget allocation guidance and prioritisation framework 2018
Public Realm Funding Application Form RTC
Ryde Town Council Public Realm Strategy, delivering co-ordinated improvements to the Public Realm in
Ryde. March 2018 CCT
RTC Property land registry
Creative Ryde: acquiring and developing Ryde Town Hall as a landmark cultural centre feasibility study
- final version Ryde Empty Buildings Group 28th February 2019
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Indices of Multiple Deprivation 2015, 2019, ONS
Island Plan, Isle of Wight Core Strategy 2012
IW Green infrastructure Mapping Study Halcrow 2010
2009 Open Space, Sport and Recreation Audit Halcrow 2009
Area Action Plan Informal Discussion Document The Ryde Plan 2014
The Ryde Plan Consultation Draft 2015
Key Ward Information, Ryde Cluster , IWC
Ryde Coastal Community Team bids and documents
Ryde -Isle of Wight | vision & objectives stage1 and 2 march 2015, IW Chamber of Commerce
DOCUMENT
Area Regeneration Workshops Ryde, The Bay, West Wight, West Medina and East Medina
Island Infrastructure Investment Plan Final Report Solent Local Enterprise Partnership May 2018
LIST
Ryde Town Council outline position statement draft: 18092018
Interim Solent Recreation Mitigation Strategy First Annual Report on Implementation October 2015
Interim Solent Recreation Mitigation Strategy Second Annual Report on Implementation June 2016
Interim Solent Recreation Mitigation Strategy Third Annual Report on Implementation June 2017
Ryde Car Park Income 2018 IWC
The Ryde Consultations 2018 Arc
High Street Heritage Action Zone EOI RTC 2019
Historic Places Panel review paper, The Isle of Wight 2019
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Solent Recreation Mitigation Strategy Fourth Annual Report on Implementation June 2018
Solent Recreation Mitigation Strategy Fifth Annual Report on Implementation June 2019
Comments on Island plan Ryde regeneration area statement 2019
Island Planning Strategy Draft 2018Consultation
Inspiration Island Isle of Wight Regeneration Strategy ISSUE 1 June 2019
Ryde Gateway to the Isle of Wight, MA student work, Portsmouth University 2018 undertaken as a part
DOCUMENT
of the University of a Portsmouth school of architecture, MUD Studio (Making Understanding & Doing)
programme, with Isle of Wight Council Regeneration Team 2018
Ryde Nicholson Road Member & Key Stakeholder / Pre-application Presentation August 2019
LIST
Ryde Public Realm Strategy 2004 Atkins/RDT
South East Hampshire Rapid Transit Bid, Ryde Transport Hub update June 2019
Vision for Ryde, paper to full council - 9 April 2018
Portsmouth School of Architecture design research Collaboration with The IoW Regeneration Team
2018
Transforming Place, Transforming People, Aspire Ryde Community Consultation Review 2016
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