A modern upgrade to Ryde Esplanade Train Station has been approved by the local authority, but it may not be so modern after all as councillors ask for a more Victorian feel to the building.
Originally built in 1864 for a horse-drawn tram service, the Ryde Esplanade railway station has been altered heavily since, changing it into the building we know today.
Proposals to adapt the building once again are part of the major £10million Ryde Interchange works.They have been put forward by the Isle of Wight Council and would connect the station with the pedestrian tramway pier as well as seeing a glass entrance feature, reopen public toilets and a new cafe provision.
Speaking at the council’s planning committee on Tuesday, where the application was decided, Stewart Chandler, the council’s highways and transport client manager, said the authority would have liked to have done more with the station but government funding would only allow for refurbishments and not a new building.
The work would retain historic elements of the station and make the most of heritage assets.
Councillor Chris Quirk said at the moment, people get off the train and get the impression the Esplanade station is functional rather than historical. Any work done to the station would make it look better, he said, but the current proposals would not enhance the Ryde Conservation Area.
Council officers said through planning conditions, the authority can approve the type of materials and colour scheme used on the building so can reflect the heritage nature and tie it into the wider building. The majority of changes to the station, officers pointed out, were mainly to the parts built in the 1960s and not the Victorian part of building.
However, councillors felt the proposed glass entrance feature was not representative of the Victorian building.
Councillor Vanessa Churchman said she thought it was a lovely-looking building but in the wrong place and could not see how it sits on a Victorian esplanade. She said the entrance feature looks like a sore thumb sitting up in the air.
Councillor Peter Spink said the council was missing an opportunity to enhance the appearance and while he appreciated it was a limited budget felt it would not necessarily cost more to refurbish the station in a period style.
The application was accepted unanimously by the planning committee with changes to permission ensuring external materials used paid special regard to the Victorian character of the conservation area.
All works included in the Ryde Interchange scheme have to be completed by 1st April 2023.
And so this expensive unwanted fiasco continues. 2023, you mean 2033, going on the effort put in on a daily basis. Typical IoW.
Personally that diagram stands out like a sore thumb !!!!!
All that glass , open invitation for for vandalism !!!!!
It’s ugly ……
Sorry to burst some peoples bubble, but Victorian architecture really isn’t that aesthetically pleasing. Ryde Esplanade has for far too long now looked like a tatty museum piece. Nice to see something modern proposed at last. Time to start living for now with something fresh & beautiful than, as some would have us do, live in the dim & distant past!
Victorian attractions remain a core reason people come over here. Struggling to think of a modern man-made attraction which gets the punters in.
Yet again money comes before history and heritage. Matches the crime and anti-social behaviour in the town – ugly.
And slowly the heritage of Britain gets wiped. The architecture that defines us as a uniquely recognisable country is erased. Soon you won’t be able to tell from a picture where in the world it was taken.
wake up you moron… move forward with the times… this is 2022 not 1822… Why not have something NEW, show off English architecture of today…, so maybe in 200 years time it will be in our history books…
there’s plenty of new houses to show off English architecture of today. Don’t think Barratts will be drooled over in 200 years do you?
Do you actually believe that offensive name-calling adds weight to your ridiculous opinion?
You really are Incredible!!
Quite obvious that council person lives in the past.. maybe he should move into Osborne house.. Would be nice to see new architecture in Ryde, something showing the skills of this era 2022… not 1822… !! Move forward with the times…
Demolition would have been better and cheaper