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Area Ten (6)
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Look at Romsey Town Design Statement for Romsey Harefield and Little Woodley Prepared by a team of volunteers in the area under the auspices of the
Streets and Street Furniture
Surfaces The public estate roads and pavements are tarmac, with some courses of brick setts across them. In Little Woodley Farm the main driveway has brick paving, beyond which are gravel driveways. Grange Mews roadway and footways are of plain tarmac, while the parking bays are picked out in brick paving. There are no designated paths adjacent to the road there. The driveways to Woodley Grange and the Coach House are of gravel. Street Lights, Poles, Boxes and Bins Some householders complain about street lights that are too close to their bedrooms. There is a mixture of styles of lamp standards across the area, with both lantern styles and lamps on a right-angled pole being present. Metal and concrete are used. The lights along the paths in Grange Mews are orange and set about a metre above ground level thus making it very difficult to see where to put one’s feet. The street scene is punctuated with overhead electricity and telephone cables in parts of Viney Avenue and Selsdon Avenue. In addition, a number of redundant poles have been left standing. Neither the electricity sub-stations nor the various service junction boxes are obtrusive in Eastern Romsey. There are dog waste bins at the Viney Avenue playground and waste bins can be found at various places throughout the area. A telephone box and post box are situated next to the shops, both of which are well-used, as is the post box in Campion Drive. Street Name signs Street names are displayed on metal signs, mostly planted in the pavement. They are placed to guide vehicles driving in from Winchester Road. There is difficulty in identifying streets accessed on foot or from any other direction. Trees, Hedges and Boundary Features Along Winchester Road, there is an established belt of mature trees and hedgerows. Part of this natural setting has been obscured by the erection of a large wooden fence for security reasons. Planting a hedge would soften the appearance of this fence, and if subjects such as hawthorn or holly were established they would deter trespassers as well as providing a natural corridor for wildlife. The trees and hedges of this area are considered to be an important visual feature to people approaching Romsey from the east.
The hedges remain from earlier agricultural uses of the land and are a significant landscape feature. They contain a variety of indigenous species such as hawthorn, holly and elderberry. Amongst the surviving hedgerows is a tall hedge between Viney Avenue and St Blaize Road. The fields to the south of Campion Drive are surrounded by hedges too. In addition, many private gardens are surrounded by hedges. Some of these have grown out over the footpaths. There are some old walls associated with Harefield House that have been retained and give a feeling of continuity to the area. The largest of these is to the east of the upper part of Viney Avenue. Where back gardens abut public space, they are enclosed either by wooden panel fences or brick walls. Those in Selsdon Avenue are particularly obtrusive for they dominate one side of the road. Some of the brick walls, particularly in Campion Drive have attractively curved corners. There is a modern low brick wall with concrete patterned inserts along the boundary between the old Little Woodley Farm house and Winchester Road. Parts of Woodley Grange are surrounded by brick walls, some of which have contrasting brick features. The boundary with the footpath to Campion Drive is mainly a close-boarded fence, although there is a short section of old wall. Design Recommendations
A selection of fences, walls and hedges
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