Ryde, St John's Conservation Area - Isle of Wight Council

Ryde, St John’s Conservation Area Appraisal 21Fig. 29—Stone wall and stone cartoucheor the meaning of this is (the wall may havebeen the boundary of a garden owned by oneof the properties on West Hill Road).23 Public realm23.1 The character of the street scene isgreatly enhanced by historic street furnitureand historic surfaces and this is oftenoverlooked during development work and theinstallation of underground services. Again, aswith other areas, most surfaces are tarmac butthere are original limestone kerbs and gulleyswhich should be retained.24 Green spaces and biodiversityvalue24.1 The large gardens contribute to thegreen appearance and the feeling of opennessbut, undoubtedly, the major contribution comesfrom the inner parkland. Although the parklandis overgrown and is now predominantlywooded this open space has anoverwhelmingly positive impact on the area.Originally landscaped parkland the area is nowdominated by self-seeded trees. Within thegrounds of the villas themselves a more formaltree planting has taken place (including exoticspecimens) although this is being eroded bythe need to provide car parking space for subdividedvillas.Fig. 30—High Park Road25 Key views and vistas25.1 There are a number of important viewsin and out of the St John’s character area.These include views down East Hill Road withthe belt of trees on the east side (in thegrounds of Bishop Lovett School) and theregular stepping down of the villas on the westside and views out from West Hill Road acrossRyde (Fig. 30) and to the Solent.25.2 From outside the area, the buildingsand inner parkland of St John’s Park are highlyvisible from various aspects of Ryde and fromthe Solent.24.2 Equally important is the wooded areato the east of East Hill Road, part of thegrounds of Bishop Lovett Middle School.