A growing number of concerns over the Ryde Interchange scheme — which includes demolishing a cafe and public toilets — have been raised by the town’s residents and business owners.
As part of the Transforming Cities Fund, the Isle of Wight has received £10million out of a joint bid between Hampshire and Portsmouth to increase connectivity for travellers, while making the area around the pier a safer place.
In Ryde, the proposals come from the Isle of Wight Council to improve the bus station and Esplanade highways layout, Wightlink to install a dedicated footpath and cycle track on the disused tramway up the pier and, in yet to be announced plans, South Western Railway look set to upgrade the train station.
However, concerns over the council’s plans to rework the Esplanade have drawn criticism from businesses, residents and a key figure of the regeneration working group who all say they have not been consulted on the matter.
Having resigned from the group so she could share the plans, Cathy Foulkes has raised faults with the plans for not complying with previous designs, reports from influential parties and a seeming unwillingness to change the layout. Cathy argues that despite the funding being given for sustainable transport, there are more roads, the potential for even more traffic build-up and a lack of public amenities with the demolition of the most-used public toilets on the Island and the cafe at the start of the pier.
Using reports from public bodies and experts, the proposals, Cathy says, go against recommendations, including road layout designs from 2005 which included a roundabout to manage the level of traffic 16 years ago, but have been disregarded in favour of the current proposals, which she says will make delays significantly worse.
Historic England said, following their visit in June 2019, it would be a ‘disaster if the design of the Esplanade was based on traffic-engineering considerations’ and the council should seek to reduce the number of traffic movements along the Esplanade to create a pedestrian-friendly environment.
The Isle of Wight Council’s strategic manager for regeneration infrastructure and transport capital programme Dave Newton, however, said he would completely challenge the idea that the current proposals had been designed with vehicle engineering in mind. Also, that there is more square mileage of highway than there currently is. He said:
“While that is incredibly important and has a high priority because this is about improving sustainable transport and the funding that comes along to enable that, we have strived to, and I believe we have, hugely improved the pedestrian priority in the area.
“We have made that space much more pedestrian-friendly in these proposals, and I am open to opinions which is why we are having a consultation.”
Mr Newton said if you walk through the bus station at the moment, it feels as if you are walking through a bus car park and are not welcome, something he wants to reverse. He said:
“The buses play an important part in this but they are not entirely golden which I would suggest the situation currently is: to achieve that we have increased the amount of pedestrian-friendly space.”
Mr Newton said the proposals are to include public toilets and the cafe in the train station, but the train station itself won’t be demolished and rebuilt as was the original plan in 2005.
Although the plans may show a loss of planting, Mr Newton said they are looking to put more greenery elsewhere and it is important to the council to maintain the tulip tree.
The Isle of Wight Council cabinet is being asked to approve the implementation of the scheme at its July meeting while also authorising the director of neighbourhoods to make the final decisions. Residents and businesses have expressed their frustration at the fact no consultation on the overall layout has been carried out prior to the matter coming before Cabinet.
More details can be found at www.iow.gov.uk/Residents/Transport-Parking-and-Streets/Highways-PFI/Highway-Improvement-Schemes1.
Don’t fix it if it ain’t broke!
Although the proposed walkway on the pier is much needed what they have planned will leave it underwater at high tide.
cllr ward designed it using his massive skills as an engineer, joking aside if they don’t put proper sides on it people will get very wet in easterly blows especially on spring tides as waves regularly break over the railway.
Another ill conceived rushed unneeded expensive vanity project I do not wish my taxes to be spent on.
A bus station is a bus “car” park, that is its function, that is where buses stop.
Whilst having no interest in the cafe it is disgusting that the essential toilets are not removed until a suitable replacement is provided.
I thought you couldn’t get more stupid and moronic than ward but it seems not to be the case.
I believe this is another example of the we will do what we want and we will only tell you about after it has been agreed to behind closed doors.
This consultation with the public and businesses should have taken place a long time ago and not left to the last minute.
Good grief, let’s destroy once again another little bit of history all in the name of progress! These buildings have been here for over 50 years probably a lot longer, do much so I’m wondering if there’s a preservation order on them! The land, grass lawn etc is the same! Leave it alone!
Guaranteed they’ll mess it up and make it worse. Just look at what happened to St Mary’s roundabout.
decided by councillors who dont live along the seafront and never use the bus.
these people need removing from their jobs ….this is a poorly thought out idea which doesnt have input from residents and service users
climate emergency they say…solution..concrete over more co2 absorbing greenery and build more roads.. you couldn’t make it up
The cafe is a pleasant place to sit for visitors or locals, outdoors by the sea. Why would you get rid. Try opening the unused nice rink instead
Mr Newton said if you walk through the bus station at the moment, it feels as if you are walking through a bus car park
….
clearly Mr Newton is not even listening to his own words – the bus station is where they park the buses – it is the bus park – jeez -not difficult is it
all Mr Newton is doing is peddling his own book on this and is probably “incentivised” somewhere along the line.
Having been to Ryde on a bus recently and used the cafe and toilets, this looks a mess not progress. The biggest problem I had was car drivers trying to run me over entering the pier, this seems to give them even more opportunity to succeed. I can see nothing to encourage pedestrians, only efforts to increase traffic.
Leave it alone! For goodness sake, what is wrong with the people who make these decisions?
Let’s procrastinate and Navel gaze forever. Or?