Appendix A

Spaces

Key spaces

1. High St (Garfield Road - Star Street)

* Semi-pedestrianised street with poor quality paving, furniture and decorative lighting;

* By allowing limited vehicle access, shops and cafes are not utilising pavement space for outdoor seating;

* Pedestrian comfort and perceptions of safety are limited by presence of occasional traffic;

* Opportunities for resurfacing footway and carriageway with materials that complement the historic character of the street, such as high quality natural stone or concrete slabs and setts;

* Opportunity to restrict vehicular access to the street between 10am and 4pm to allow pedestrians to linger in the street more and provide the potential for increased street trading, such as specialist markets;

* Removal of outdated brick seating and planting areas which create street clutter and replacement with a new strategically located suite of high quality contemporary black street furniture would enable easier access through the space and visually enhance it;

* Street forms important part of route of Ryde Carnival. New street furniture should be carefully positioned or be removable, to facilitate crowd movement.

2. St. Thomas’ Square

* Square fronted by attractive historic buildings such as the Colonnades on Lind Street, the Crown Hotel, St Thomas' Church and Lind Hill. Important view to Town Hall tower to west;

* Natwest Bank within centre of Square is visually incongruous and detracts from the perception of this space as a formal square;

* Main vehicular route through town centre takes traffic through Thomas’ Square as part of the oneway system. This limits pedestrian movement and reduces its attractiveness as a space to linger in;

* Opportunities to enhance area to front of Natwest Bank and Crown Hotel, widening pavements and providing attractive seating area;

* Use of high-quality, contemporary black street furniture would mark the transition between the town centre spaces’ strong historic character and a more understated vision for the High Street;

* Use of high quality natural stone for paving should be used to enhance the setting of the adjacent historic buildings;

* Paving should be used to unify the space and minimise the impact of the vehicular routes through it;

* Opportunities to modify traffic flows/restrictions within the town-centre could reduce vehicular access to parts of the Square in the evening, allowing increased for its use by pavement cafés;

* Alternative potential for relocation of Natwest Bank and redevelopment of the site in the centre of the Square. This could either be a civic square or provide a site for a new contemporary building. If replaced, the building should contain a high proportion of glazing to maintain the visual integrity of the square. Redeveloping this site as a bar or restaurant would provide the opportunity for increasing evening activity within the square, provide a link with Ryde Theatre and the shops in The Colonnade.